Office of the Assemblies

Dear Cat,

 

Thank you for conveying to me Resolution 50: Establishing Automatic Professor Updates on Check-in at Cornell Health. While I appreciate the spirit of this resolution, as referenced in Resolution 50, Cornell Health already has a policy related to health excuses—one that promotes honest communication and trust between students and faculty. As members of a caring community in which health and well-being are shared goals, open communication is key to support. While the desire for automated communication with faculty is understood, I do not believe this approach will achieve the desired outcome.

 

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students visit Cornell Health for a wide range of reasons, including many that would not constitute a reasonable excuse to miss class (e.g., pharmacy visits, non-urgent health conditions, meetings with group advisors, etc.). As ​we resume normal campus operations and the number of in-person services increases, the percentage of visits warranting an absence will decrease.

 

I appreciate the work that went into the resolution, however we will not be moving forward with this proposal.

 

Sincerely,

 

Martha E. Pollack

 

 

 

Martha E. Pollack

President, Cornell University

300 Day Hall

Ithaca, NY 14853

Tel: 607-255-5201