“Although we work in information technology, we’re really not in the technology business, we’re in the people business. Relationships matter.”

CEMI Implementation Manager Steve Kish opened the August 26, 2026, Town Hall with this reminder, setting the tone for a discussion that focused less on technology itself and more on the people, processes, and partnerships needed to help Cornell thrive in a changing world. Throughout the session, speakers returned to a common theme: unified administrative systems matter because they help Cornell’s people spend less time working around administrative barriers and more time advancing the university’s mission of teaching, research, outreach, patient care, and engagement.

Preparing Cornell for a Changing Future

Provost Kavita Bala reflected on the need to prepare Cornell for an unpredictable future. While leaders cannot guarantee what is ahead, she noted that they can position the university to respond effectively to new opportunities and challenges. As Cornell increasingly seeks to operate as “one university,” unified administrative systems and trusted data are becoming essential tools for collaboration, decision-making, and strategic planning.

Bala highlighted the challenges Cornell faces today when critical information must be assembled through manual processes across multiple systems. She emphasized that unified data and administrative foundations will help the university respond more nimbly and quickly to changing circumstances. She also addressed questions about research administration, noting that advances in technology, including AI, continue to influence how Cornell evaluates future solutions. Current CEMI efforts in this area remain focused on post-award research administration processes and systems.

Building Systems That Match Cornell’s Ambition

Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development Fred Van Sickle shared how the Donor and Engagement Experience Project is helping lay the groundwork for the future of constituent engagement. He reflected on the remarkable accomplishments Cornell’s advancement teams have achieved using existing systems, including support for one of the most successful fundraising campaigns in the university’s history. At the same time, he emphasized the need for tools that better support the staff who carry out that work every day.  

Through the Kindsight Ascend platform, Cornell is bringing together multiple constituent communities and systems while creating a more unified view of alumni, donors, parents, friends, and other supporters. The project’s “golden record” approach will help provide a more complete understanding of constituent engagement and reduce many of the manual processes staff navigate today. Integration with Workday Finance will further streamline operations and improve the flow of information across systems.

Continuous Improvement as a Way of Working

Returning to the theme of people and relationships, Kish emphasized that meaningful transformation does not happen through a single technology implementation. It happens through collaboration across campuses, colleges, and units as teams work together to design processes and solutions that serve the entire university.

Because technology, regulations, and institutional needs will continue to evolve, CEMI is adopting a continuous improvement approach rather than viewing modernization as a one-time event. The goal is not simply to implement new administrative systems, but to build Cornell’s long-term capacity to adapt, learn, and improve. CEMI leaders described this as a culture of “iterate and deliver,” where ongoing enhancements and growing organizational capability are expected parts of the journey.

Updated CEMI Goals

Together, these goals reflect a shared vision for a Cornell where people spend less time navigating fragmented systems and manual processes, and more time focused on the work that matters most. As the town hall made clear, the success of CEMI will ultimately be measured not by the technology it implements, but by the people it enables and the mission it helps advance.