Pathways to Purpose

Credits: 1 credit. Letter or S/U grades.
Instruction Mode: Hybrid (asynchronous online preparation culminating in an interactive weekend summit)
Course Dates: January 25 – February 28, 2027
Weekend Summit Dates: February 20 – February 21, 2027
Prerequisite: None
Open to: Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.
Distribution Requirements: CA-HE | SBA-HE | Liberal Studies in the College of Engineering | Counts toward the 20 out-of-college credits in the College of Arts & Sciences
Drop Deadline: Feb 12, 2027. If you drop after this date, a “W” will be posted on your transcript.

Instructors:

Adi Grabiner-Keinan, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Director & Senior Lecturer of the Center for Dialogue & Pluralism (Lead Instructor)
Colleen Barry, Dean of the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, co-Director of the Cornell Health Policy Center
Rachel Dunifon, Dean of the College of Human Ecology, Professor in the Department of Psychology & the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Lisa Nishii, Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Undergraduate Education; Professor, the ILR School; Director, ILR WIDE (Workplace Inclusion and Diversity Education), the ILR School
Rachel Beatty Reidl, Director of the Cornell Center on Global Democracy; Professor, Department of Government and Brooks School of Public Policy

A significant portion of the weekend summit will be devoted to exploring one of our four focus areas—law, health, technology, or business—in greater depth. When you enroll in the course, you will select your preferred focus area by registering for the corresponding discussion section.

Students who choose LAW will explore questions like:

How do voting laws reflect or restrict democratic participation?

Where is the line between free speech and hate speech in academic (college campuses) and civic spaces?

What immigration policies and practices best serve democracy?

Should voting be mandatory in a democratic society?

Students who choose HEALTH will explore questions like:

When and how should public health measures restrict individual choice?

How do different approaches to mental health impact civic participation and/or democracy?

Is public healthcare necessary for a truly democratic society?

Students who choose TECHNOLOGY will explore questions like:

Who should regulate artificial intelligence in a democracy, and what risks arise if we don’t?

How should higher education institutions incorporate or limit the use of generative artificial intelligence in classroom settings?

How do social media algorithms shape what people believe and how they engage civically?

Students who choose BUSINESS will explore questions like:

What role, if any, do private sector businesses have in promoting civic engagement and democracy?

Should businesses publicly take stances on political and social issues?

How do unions and labor protections strengthen or challenge democratic participation?

What should businesses be allowed to profit from?

Saturday, February 20 | 10:00 am – 5:30 pm

10:00 am – 10:15 am | Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:15 am – 11:15 am | What Cornell Owes Democracy (Faculty & academic leadership dialogue panel)
11:15 am – 12:15 pm | Civic and Professional Leadership for the Greatest Good – Cornell Alumni in Action (Alumni dialogue panel)
12:15 pm – 12:45 pm | Lunch in Focus Area Small Groups
12:45 pm – 4:00 pm | Current Issues in Law, Health, Tech, & Business (Focus area small groups led by faculty & facilitators)
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm | What is College For? – Purpose at Cornell (Focus area small groups led by facilitators & course instructors)

Sunday, February 21 | 12:30 pm – 5:30 pm

12:30 pm – 2:30 pm | Purpose in Career: Law, Health, Tech, Business (Focus area panels with faculty and alumni moderated by course instructors)
2:40 pm – 4:00 pm | Habits of Heart and Mind: How to Fortify Civic Culture at Cornell & Beyond (Focus area small groups led by facilitators & course instructors)
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm | Where Do We Go From Here? (Focus area small groups led by facilitators & course instructors)

How can your Cornell education help you lead a life of purpose and impact while on campus and in your future career? How can we engage with complex social, political, and scientific challenges in a way that supports resilient democracies? What knowledge and competencies are essential for future leaders, and how can we communicate effectively across differences to foster collaboration and progress?

This one-credit course – held in person over a day and a half with asynchronous preparation beforehand – invites students to reflect on these questions while exploring how their academic journey can serve as a foundation for civic leadership and professional purpose. You will learn alongside students from across Cornell’s colleges and connect with faculty, alumni, and leaders who not only bring a range of professional expertise, but also actively practice civic engagement in their fields. In addition to broad exposure, you’ll choose a focus area – law, health, technology, or business – and examine its role in advancing democratic principles and practices. Through this lens, you’ll engage with varied perspectives, challenges, and solutions, while practicing communication skills and participating in small group dialogues with peers.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Examine the connections between their college experience, professional pursuits, and broader efforts to strengthen civic discourse and democracy in the world
• Identify the relationships between freedom and responsibility in their individual and communal lives
• Formulate ways to practice discourse across differences and engage in democratic practices in various life contexts
• Recognize their role as advocates for civic engagement within their communities
• Apply skills for communication, connection, and collaboration across differences

• Network with faculty experts and alumni
• Connect with peers across colleges
• Formulate and refine your own perspective on big questions on leadership, democracy, and impact
• Explore how your academic journey can serve as a foundation for civic leadership and professional purpose
• Develop your leadership competencies
• Develop your AAMC premed competencies
• Receive a certificate of completion to support your educational and professional development

Students who took the inaugural offering of the course demonstrated a significant increase in their scores on a brief measure of purpose in life (Hill et al., 2016) between the pre-survey and a survey completed shortly after the course. The increase remained statistically significant on a follow-up survey collected four months after the course. 

“This course helped me think more intentionally about what gives my life meaning by connecting my personal values to real-world impact. It showed me that purpose is not just about career success, but also about serving others and contributing to my community. Moving forward, I want to seek opportunities that align my interests with making a positive difference.”

“I think this course opened my eyes up to the unique options of interacting with my community and giving back as a core source of purpose and meaning, rather than focusing solely on career or academics.”

“I’ve met many successful people who’ve shared that their early twenties were a confusing time, and that they didn’t follow the path they once imagined. Instead, by moving away from those original plans, they found their true passions and interests. I think this gave me a bunch of hope that – even if I am not completely sure – I can find a path that I will eventually find fulfilling.”

“This course significantly shaped how I think about my life’s direction by reframing purpose as something interconnected with democracy and civic engagement. I now see purpose not just as a career path, but as an evolving commitment to serving others and contributing meaningfully to my community. The overall summit experience pushed me to reflect more intentionally on how my future in healthcare can align with larger social responsibilities.”

In a survey of over 6,000 Americans, community norms emerged as one of the strongest predictors of interest in connecting across differences (More in Common, 2025).  We adapted their measure to gauge students’ sense of whether Cornell’s norms are seen as supporting engagement across differences and found a statistically significant increase from pre-surveys to post-surveys. 

“I believe I learned that students can engage in conversations and have disagreements in a mature manner. I was nervous to speak up sometimes, and felt that my viewpoint could be seen as controversial. However, I learned that some of my opinions influenced others, whether it be reinforcing it or changing direction towards my views. I thought it was great to see the importance of having difficult conversations!”

“I gained the knowledge that people are willing and able to express their honest views when a respectful environment is pre-established. This countered my belief that many of my peers engage in self-censorship, and helped build my interest in having more conversations across difference.”