Working as One: In the November 2025 webinar, Cornell’s Chief Global Information Officer Curtis Cole addressed the breadth of the CEMI transformation and emphasized its multiple phases and initiatives, including the selection of Workday for HR, budget, and finance, with an expected go-live of summer 2028. 

The implementation of the Workday system is only the first of multiple initiatives and solutions that will each be critical to achieving an environment where everyone using administrative processes and systems at Cornell can work as one. Cole said, “Our goal is to make work easier for everyone. We want everybody spending less time on administration and more time on the stuff that really matters: our actual mission. We want people to have the data they need to make decisions, and a much easier chance of working with one another. Making it easier for faculty to collaborate, easier for students to use the power of the whole university. To do that, we’ve got to get rid of these administrative barriers. And hopefully that will give us an enhanced experience for everyone. You’ll get a new computer interface, better access to information, fewer barriers, and fewer complex processes to get your work done. That’s the goal we’re going to push for.”

To achieve the goal of working as one, the CEMI transformation includes design teams, readinness initiatives, and other activities that support one or more funcational focus areas: budget, data and analytics, donor and experience engagement, finance, HR, research administration, and student services, plus a techical focus team that is working on the infrastructure needed to link all those functions. More information about each of those areas of focus and their teams can be found in the CEMI website. The CEMI working groups and teams continue to form and expand. See ways to get involved with CEMI, ask a question, or be added to the CEMI Community mailing list for quarterly updates and invitations to webinars.