Cal Walker, former associate director of Cornell’s Learning Strategies Center (LCS) and co-founder of the Village at Ithaca, an organization dedicated to helping minority and low-income students in the Ithaca City School District (ICSD), has been appointed as the new Cornell Outreach Liaison to the ICSD.

This new position, created in part to build partnerships with Ithaca-area schools, serves multiple purposes: by helping to coordinate and focus Cornell’s outreach efforts, Walker hopes to improve communication between the university and the ICSD and to make Cornell’s resources more accessible to schools and the Ithaca community.

In addition to these goals, Walker hopes to focus on the ICSD’s goal of “eliminating race, class, and disability as predictors of student success.” Walker would also like to see an increase the number of low-income and minority students who are prepared to continue with higher education, specifically at Cornell University.

Walker has much to share with the Cornell and ICSD communities, with an extensive background in education and administration. A graduate of Livingstone College with a degree in business administration, he worked with Procter & Gamble for 15 years before joining Cornell University in 1993. At Cornell, Walker worked in the LSC as an associate director. The LSC, a division of the Student and Academic Services Department, is the central academic support unit at Cornell University, providing such help as supplemental instruction (including critical reading and thinking courses), tutoring services, study skills workshops, and individual consultations for students. Walker’s experience working with Cornell undergraduates has taught him the importance of a sound high school education in preparation for college. “To be effective in high school, students must have sufficient foundational grounding in elementary and middle school,” said Walker.

Walker is also the co-founder and executive director of the Village at Ithaca. The Village helps to inform students, families, educators, and the community about educational opportunities through programs and services. Specifically, the programs help to ensure that African-American and Latino students more consistently meet and exceed district and state academic standards. “The organization has been recognized for its educational advocacy in promoting equity and furthering the cause of social justice in our community,” said Walker.

In addition to the LSC and the Village at Ithaca, Walker has also been involved with local community and school issues, and is passionate about expanding access and opportunity for students and families within the district. He has served on a number of boards and committees, including the Access to College Education (ACE) Operating Committee, Cornell’s Pre-College Education Outreach Initiative, and several others with educational emphases.

As Cornell’s liaison to the ICSD, Walker hopes to help extend the scope and increase the efficacy of Cornell’s outreach program while contributing to program and staff development. In addition, he hopes to expand his role as not only a community liaison, but also as a support system targeting students and families who could use his help. Walker expects to see significant positive changes in the future, which will be detailed in the Annual Equity Report Card, an evaluation tool that the ICSD uses to measure equity in Ithaca schools.