The Cornell University campus encompasses 740 acres atop East Hill overlooking the city of Ithaca and the head of Cayuga Lake, one of the largest of the Finger Lakes. Ezra Cornell's dream to establish "an institution where any person can find instruction in any study" is still honored at Cornell. The university's 13,300 undergraduates and 6,200 graduate and professional students come from all fifty states and more than a hundred countries. Graduate study is available in approximately 100 academic and professional fields, including law, management, medicine, and veterinary medicine.

Interdisciplinary study and research are Cornell hallmarks; the university's 2,300 faculty members are active teachers as well as researchers-Nobel laureates often teach introductory courses-and the lines of traditional disciplines are easily crossed. This approach also fosters a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary centers and programs such as Cornell's Center for the Environment. Through its facilities and programs, Cornell offers an array of opportunities and resources to the general public and to visitors from other academic and research institutions. For example, the Laboratory of Ornithology, with its 60,000 recordings of bird and other animal sounds, is the only center of its kind in the country. Visitors can observe wildlife in the 180-acre Sapsucker Woods sanctuary adjoining the laboratory. The numerous gardens of Cornell Plantations feature peonies, rhododendrons, wildflowers, herbs, and even poisonous plants