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# Cornell University Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

## Details

**Authors** Rodriguez J

**Year** 2022

**Publisher** Journal of Systems Thinking 2(1):1-16

**Kind of work** article

**Discipline** Public Health

**Secondary disciplines** Public Policy

**Reading level** intermediate

**Kind of engagement** scholarly

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.54120/jost.2025-0069JR) 
10.54120/jost.2025-0069JR

## In authors' words

### Abstract

To better understand how Cornell handled the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to map the university's response and interaction with the virus. I completed an economics course in undergrad at Cornell on the economics of higher education which spurred my interest in mapping Cornell's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of the mapping comes from prerequisite knowledge I acquired from the course. The backwards economics and administrative deadweight loss that occurs as a result of academic organizational madness is very intriguing so I wanted to map how exactly Cornell was so effective in their response strategy. Initially, dealing with the ramifications of an unprecedented global health crisis in the Spring 2020 proved to be a difficult and chaotic endeavor for university administration. University leadership had to provide directions to stakeholders throughout the Ithaca community to ensure that students returned home safely without causing an outbreak in the community. Additionally, given that the faculty and staff are populated with many older individuals, there was a genuine need to ensure de-densifying of the Cornell campus. After the chaos, it was discovered that Cornell's handling of the pandemic was uniquely effective among large research universities. The university's handling of the pandemic was featured on various new outlets as a result. In the Fall 2020 semester, in-person and hybrid instructions resumed, bringing the campus back despite the presence of a life-threatening virus. Despite this, the campus managed to remain open throughout the 2020-2021 school year which cannot be said for many other colleges and universities. Therefore, Cornell's handling of the pandemic provides the perfect opportunity for a map to better understand how the university used channels to ensure safety while under semi-normal operations.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

A systems map of Cornell University's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from the chaotic spring of 2020 through the reopened 2020–21 school year.

### What they found (results)

Cornell's handling proved uniquely effective among large research universities — the campus stayed open all year — and the map traces the channels that kept the community safe under semi-normal operations.

## Commentary

### In short

Maps how Cornell University responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on the economics of higher education.

### Response

A systems map of one university's pandemic response, built with Cabrera's Agent-Based Approach. A worked application on a live case, with no comparison against institutions that handled it differently.

**Patterns it shows** R

## Questions it bears on

- Q10. [What is an adaptive organization?](https://dsrpevidence.org/question/adaptive-organization)
- Q18. [What is culture ($\mathbb{C}$), and where does it live?](https://dsrpevidence.org/question/culture)
- Q28. [Does improving mental fitness improve outcomes?](https://dsrpevidence.org/question/fitness-improves-outcomes)

**How to cite this** Rodriguez J (2022). Cornell University Response to COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Systems Thinking 2(1):1-16.