To achieve this type of foundation, teams of Cornell community members and leaders with expertise in critical functional areas are focused on the processes, policies, and technology solutions supporting seven vertical pillars..

Use a campus login to access details such as the leadership team and updates about each functional area as provided by its team members.

Budget

Cornell’s budget professionals create and manage a structured financial planning process that encompasses both operating and capital budgets. Our budget leaders help drive many of the university’s most significant financial, staffing, and foundational model initiatives, while representing budget interests across all campuses. This team will support Cornell’s move towards a unified budget tool throughout the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) process.

Donor and Engagement Experience

Spanning campuses and infrastructures, the Donor and Engagement Experience team is collaborating to build a platform capable of providing advanced data capabilities and a modern tool set to improve the experience of everyone who uses these systems across Cornell. Engaging our audiences more efficiently and effectively will help drive engagement and fundraising outcomes in support of Cornell’s most urgent needs. 

Finance

Everyone who gets paid, purchases course materials, manages a budget, conducts research, or travels on business on behalf of the university is impacted by its Finance processes, policies, and systems. Although modernizing the university’s Finance functions include implementing current and future-ready technology, much of this team’s time is spent thinking about how community members will interact with this technology and how processes and policies are similar or different across the colleges, schools, and campuses.

Human Resources

Blending the unique approaches and needs of the university’s multiple locations and focuses, the functional team targeting the modernization of Human Resources systems and processes has explored a broad range of activities used to support the management and development of Cornell’s workforce. It spans multiple areas including, but not limited to, recruiting and staffing, compensation and benefits, time tracking and administration, payroll, talent management, and workforce planning.

Research Administration

Combining the expertise of multiple research support groups, the Research Administration functional team of CEMI will help advance the university’s mission of scholarship, scientific discovery, and societal impact by modernizing and harmonizing the processes and systems used to apply for, administer, and report grant funding. Research Administration supports both researchers and entrepreneurs through a comprehensive framework that includes advocacy, infrastructure, and administrative services.

Student Services

From the moment a student joins Cornell, the university is tasked with tracking their information and progress using a multitude of systems to manage student records, financial aid, coursework, billing, and everything in between. Students touch dozens of systems meant to help them be successful, but these technologies can oftentimes prove cumbersome. The functional Student Services team of CEMI will identify and implement technical solutions and processes to alleviate these pain points and ensure an improved each student’s journey to graduation across all Cornell campuses.  

Technical

Cornell’s ERP modernization through the CEMI program is powered by a team working across every function—the Technical team. While each CEMI functional area includes its own technical experts and stakeholders, the Technical team operates across all domains—bringing a unified perspective to modernization. Their work focuses on designing and enhancing the foundational architectures and platforms that support not only CEMI, but also parallel and future initiatives across the university. By deeply engaging in shared infrastructure and system design, the Technical team in CEMI ensures modernization efforts are cohesive rather than siloed. Their contributions are enabling scalable systems, improving data reliability, and building the technical backbone for a more integrated, efficient, and future-ready Cornell.

As common as possible, as different as necessary.

“As common as possible, as different as necessary” is the guiding principle to reflect the CEMI vision for administrative and financial systems across our campuses in Ithaca, New York City, and Doha. Common solutions will allow information to flow seamlessly among campuses, enabling everyone to easily get the answers they need. We’ll maintain unique solutions only where truly necessary.

Shaped by the Cornell Community: Get Involved

Contribute your skills and experience to the Cornell Experience Modernization Initiative (CEMI). Community members know the current processes and systems best—and what it’s going to take to change how we do things.

Use the new community interest forms to ask a question, suggest improvements, get involved in a CEMI team, or join the mailing list to stay informed.

The CEMI hub for these forms is managed through Salesforce and is accessed via campus login: https://cornell.my.site.com/cemi/s/.

Visit the Project Teams page to meet some of the Cornell community members shaping the CEMI program.