by Don Ely, Professor Emeritus, Syracuse University
November 2006
Richard Cornell wins the 2006 AECT Distinguished Service Award
In October 2006 Dick Cornell received the International Division's Distinguished Service Award at the AECT Dallas conference. It was the second time that this award had been made to him. I asked him a number of questions to get his reaction, not only to the award being given twice but that, in the history of the Division; he has garnered more awards than any other member (these are listed).
1. What was your reaction when, once more, you received the International Division's Distinguished Service Award, having also received it in 1989?
It was a total surprise. I had no clue that such an award was in the offing. I had just come into the room, having donned my customary formal outfit to begin work as the auctioneer (or perhaps it was when I returned after having taken a break
I don't remember the timeline). Amy Bradshaw and Chih Tu were at the front of the room and said that it was now time to raise funds for a special purpose.
With that, they took a plaque out to the audience and solicited funds from those present. I could not see the plaque so had no clue what it said nor for whom it would be given. I just had to stand there looking kind of foolish while they went about the room bringing in dollars, not realizing it had my name on it. Amy and Jenny both said that being so sneaky was the only way they knew how to present the plaque to me without knowing what it was.
I was taken aback, dumbfounded, and then deeply touched. Also a little embarrassed.
2. Both the International Division and AECT have made you a recipient in the past, let's count them.
2006 International Division Distinguished Service Award
2003 International Contributions Award
2003 AECT Distinguished Service Award
2003 AECT ect Foundation Diamond Mentor Award
1996 International Division Presidential Award
1989 International Division Distinguished Service Award
1988 International Division President's Award
3. What other awards have I missed?
2006 Golden Degree of Pro Eszterh?zy K?roly College gold medal presented by the Advisory Board of Lyceum Pro Scientis Foundation in Eger , Hungary
2005 International Contributions Award, National Aerospace University KhAI, Kharkov, Ukraine
2003 International Year of the Monkey Plaque, Xiamen Univcersity Technology Conference, Xiamen, China
2002 Honorary Member award, International Council for Educational Media, Granada , Spain
2002 Medallion from Ministry of Education, Tel Aviv, Israel
2001 Key to the City, Shanghai Municipal Government
2001 International Leadership Award, National Audiovisual Education Association of China (Taiwan)
2001 International Contribution Award, Porto , Portugal
1998 - Asia International University ( Macau ) Award
1998 Crystal Award, International Conference on Instructional Technology and Lifelong Learning, Taipei
1998 ETDC Conference Award, Lingnan University , Hong Kong
1989 Lindbergh Grant Recipient, Charles A. Lindbergh Fund
4. Did you ever think any of this would have happened when you were my student at Syracuse in 1963?
No, and such was never my intention. It just kind of happened. You mentored me, along with Jerry Mars, and the continual message I heard was to continue helping others. I honestly did not keep track of such things as awards, other than to document them as they came along, mainly for the annual reports required of me by my department chair. I had to go back in time to find out which ones came my way. Some day they will go to my two sons and probably end up in a storage box in one of their attics. Don't misunderstand, I value and appreciate all of them but they were never a motivating source for me.
5. If not, what did motivate you?
Since I was a lad growing up at the orphanage, (Mooseheart, the Child City ), I never forgot their motto: Enter to learn, leave to serve. I guess they did a good job of indoctrinating me as I've always gone through life as an explainer, more than a deep thinker. I look at experiences I've had and then try to explain what they mean, not just to me but to others. Growing up in an orphanage taught me to survive, to fend for myself, but also to remember that it was through the help of others that allowed that to happen.
Dissemination of information has always been my goal, as a speaker/analyst, a professor, a mentor, and a neighbor. I have been incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to have traveled the world, to have seen, heard, touched, tasted, felt the pulse of those in more than fifty countries. My aim is to share what I have experienced with my peers and students, to let them hear, through other's words, what life is like around the world.
The thing motivating me in this regard is that our American students, for the most part, are woefully ignorant of what is happening around the world and my continual objective is to share with them what they have not experienced. I do this simply because, upon graduation, they will most likely be working as members of instructional design teams, and in those teams there increasingly will be those from other cultures and language groups. How can they possibly succeed in such teams if they know little or nothing about how other cultures think, process information, manage tasks, and communicate between themselves and others?
One approach I used while a professor was to go out and recruit students from other countries and entice them back to Orlando for graduate study. A second way was to take my students outside the United States to actually see how others live, work, learn, and play. We went to Europe , Taiwan , China , and Puerto Rico and each time, new revelations were found, friendships cemented, and future collaborations begun. That's really what motivates me and thus, why I have worked so long with the International Division.
6. Speaking of the International Division, what steps do you see being taken to enhance the Division's current goals?
I hesitate to say what should now be undertaken as those events are the purview of the new Division President, Chih Tu. He has asked me to assist him where necessary, and I will, but it will be Chih who now sets the goals for the coming year. I know he has a number of initiatives that are important to both he and the Division Board and I will do all I can to help where needed.
My sense is that Dr. Tu is well equipped to lead our Division and my staying out of the way to let that happen is also good. His own growth as an international leader is important to me, and he knows that both I and his Board are there to help in whatever ways he deems appropriate. Our young leaders, such as Chih, need room to grow, the chance to truly lead through their own good works.
7. So, mentoring is key?
Definitely! It is kind of like how you treated me over the years, always encouraging but still standing back to allow me to succeed (or fail) on my own merits. Along they way you personally introduced me to the giants of our field and I've always tried to do the same for my students, following your model.
I knew all along that, should I need your help, you would be there, and you were, numerous times. So too, must I stand back and watch my own students struggle with their own professional development, remaining in the background and letting each of them emerge as their own entities. Every time one of them leaves the academic nest a piece of me goes with them. Every commencement when one of my kids crosses the stage, a tear comes to my eye.
8. Any last comments?
I would say, to both my students and peers, go forth and share, serve, and never stop learning! Give of yourself where ever possible. Be vulnerable to your students as they surely have been to you. Realize, as do I, that increasingly, as the technology evolves and the paradigms increase in number, live with the fact that you have to accept that being an expert is increasingly elusive so don't try. Just be yourself, offer what you can, learn from your students, and give them back the wisdom of your years. What a wonderful symbiosis that could be!
Thank you, Dick. You have served the field well with your special understanding of other people and their contributions. We in the International Division of AECT will continue to follow your contributions of service as we help to create leaders for the future. D.P.E.
