Office of the Vice President
Carolyn Ainslie
The Division of Planning and Budget provides leadership and facilitation in applying the university's resources to most effectively meet institutional priorities and academic programming needs. The Division links resource allocation to institutional needs through the annual budgeting process, through financial planning, through academic and administrative reviews, and through institutional self-examination by targeted survey research efforts. In today's environment, Cornell is being asked to do more with less, to improve the use of our resources, to be innovative, to make wise choices. At the root of these issues is the concept of stewardship -- the institution's responsibility to take care of the resources entrusted to it.
In addition, higher education has become the focus of increased public scrutiny and debate, creating external pressures. This scrutiny involves government agencies, accrediting bodies and the media, the general public, and more directly involved stakeholders such as students and donors. Hot-button topics such as increases in tuition and fees, the use of public resources, access and diversity, and the assessment of student achievement, have led to calls for greater transparency and accountability in the use of resources.
Edmund Spenser wrote of "the ever-whirling wheel of Change," and to many of us at Cornell change has become a way of life. People change, organizations change, procedures change, administrative systems change-nothing seems fixed and stable. Yet change can be a welcome event. I am confident of certain things that will affect the future and bring about positive change. First, Cornell has at its disposal a significant and impressive array of financial, physical, and human resources and a tremendous history of support from alumni and friends. Second, the combination of these and other assets attracts some of the best and brightest students and scholars in the world. Third, members of the Cornell community at all levels have shown a remarkable ability to act as entrepreneurs in the best sense of the word-to undertake the impossible and make it happen.
To be good stewards, we must have accurate and balanced information and strong decision-making processes. The Division of Planning and Budget is committed to support the university's mission of educational research and public service by providing the planning tools and information needed by Cornell's academic and administrative leadership in support of university priorities and functions.
Carolyn N. Ainslie
Vice President for Planning and Budget
March 2006
Address
Cornell University
Vice President for Planning and Budget
440 Day Hall
Ithaca, New York 14853-2801
(607) 255-0155
(607) 255-2990 (fax)