Cornell Traditions
First held in 1901 as “Spring Day,” this event featured parades, circus acts, and faculty-built floats before evolving into a live music celebration.
Slope Day
Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993, she was the second woman ever to serve on the court.
Ruth Bader-Ginsburg
This Collegetown carb infused staple fueled many late-night study sessions in the 80s and 90s.
Collegetown Bagels
A recent grad and NYC-based fashion designer, this board member helped run the Cornell Fashion & Design Expo and now works in ready-to-wear.
Jackson Kwon
Founded in 1919, the precursor to Human Ecology focused on applying science to the domestic sphere and bore this now-retired name—still visible on campus architecture.
Home Economics
Cornell’s famously inclusive motto, carved into its identity—and often paraphrased into four words—originated with Ezra Cornell in 1868.
“Any person, any study”
This author, Cornell class of 1921, is best known for penning Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little — and for co-authoring a classic guide to style still used in college writing today.
E.B. White
You didn’t really go to Cornell until you waited 45 minutes in line here—for food you’ll probably burn your mouth on.
What is Shortstop Deli? (accept: Hot Truck or SS Deli)
Before joining Amtrak’s infrastructure planning team, this board member launched a public art program for train stations and once hosted DEA students at Moynihan Train Hall.
Sharon Tepper
As of 2025, CHE employs roughly this number of professors and lecturers — a figure that reflects its range of interdisciplinary departments from design to human development to nutritional sciences.
105
What month do first-year architecture students parade a handmade beast across campus in the tradition called Dragon Day?
March
This Human Ecology grad co-founded a luxury fabric care brand after growing frustrated with traditional dry cleaning — eventually selling it to Unilever.
Gwen Whiting
Known for lake-effect snow, biting wind tunnels, and surprise April flurries, this recurring Ithaca event tests every Cornellian’s grit.
Winter
This military veteran, student advocate, and former varsity athlete served as chair of the CHE Dean’s Advisory Council—and helped found the Cornell Undergraduate Veterans Association.
Nathan Eapen
During a period of campus‑wide curricular reform and social upheaval, Cornell’s College of Home Economics officially became the College of Human Ecology in this year.
1969
Since 1868, this selective student group has upheld a musical tradition—ascending 161 steps multiple times daily to perform original concerts from atop McGraw Tower.
Chimemastres
This 1956 Hotel School graduate quietly gave away over $8 billion through his foundation, living frugally while funding universities, public health, and peace efforts around the globe.
Chuck Feeney
Accessible via Cascadilla Street or by kayak, this cooperative venue at the base of Cayuga Lake has been Ithaca’s unofficial embassy for regional agriculture.
Ithaca Farmers Market
Along with her CHE intern, board member Marni Amsellem collaborated on a project focused on storytelling, wellness, and content delivery — resulting in what final product that travels farther than a PDF ever could.
Audiobook
Now a centerpiece outside MVR Hall, this 34-foot-wide walk-through installation by Professor Jenny Sabin reflects the College’s integration of design, science, and technology.
PolyForm
Named for a botanist and early faculty member, this Arts Quad landmark is said to bestow good luck on students who sit before an exam — though few can name the person it honors.
Brainard’s Bench
While earning his PhD in engineering physics at Cornell in the 1960s, this inventor changed music forever with an electronic instrument embraced by the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and the Grateful Dead.
Robert Moog
Named for a 19th-century convicted murderer and self-taught linguist, this longtime Collegetown bar and restaurant served loaded fries and lore until closing in 2020.
Rulloff’s
This senior finance executive is passionate about HumEc and Hot Truck sandwiches, and once discussed the college’s Instagram strategy after reconnecting with Professor Mathios… in Berlin.
Dan Wallitt
In the 1930s, Human Ecology faculty addressed the Great Depression by developing these fortified cereal products to combat malnutrition across the U.S.
Milkorno and Milkwheato