by Dan Huttenlocher, Dean of Cornell Tech
This week I joined the Board of Directors of Corning Incorporated, one of the world’s leading materials science companies. For those of you who don’t know Corning, the company has a strong culture and long history of technology innovation in materials science, most notably glass and ceramics. What I find particularly intriguing is Corning’s role as one of the foundational companies that enable new digital technologies, with their leadership in fiber optics, optical networking, and as the creators of world famous Gorilla glass that plays such a central role in today’s mobile devices. I am very excited about this opportunity to serve on Corning’s board, where I expect to learn a lot about running a great organization that continues to innovate over a long period of time, while also bringing to the table the perspective of the rapidly moving, highly iterative digital economy.
As the Dean of Cornell Tech my job is multi-faceted: from guiding core academic decisions such as faculty hiring, curriculum development, and the scope of our research activities; to building strategic relationships with companies, entrepreneurs, investors, government agencies and nonprofits; to overseeing the design of the new campus on Roosevelt Island and developing sources of support for the campus and its activities. For me what ties all of these together is that we are building a new academic organization focused specifically on the digital age, and creating a new culture that bridges academia, commercial activity and societal good. I see the opportunity to serve on Corning’s board as a great fit.
