When Cornell University shut down on March 13, 2020, and began the pivot to a remote teaching and work environment, the Cornell community was left feeling distressed, uncertain, and disconnected. Three days later, more than 350 Cornellians signed onto Zoom for the first of many Cornell History Happy Hours in order to connect with each other, take their minds off the global crisis, learn some fun history, and feel a sense of community. When classes resumed three weeks later, these weekly virtual gatherings merged into an existing student course, continuing through the spring semester and growing to more than 1,000 attendees each week. The series was then adapted into a monthly alumni program for the fall semester. The result was nearly 5,000 unique attendees from around the globe, and of all ages and constituencies, including alumni, parents, students, faculty, and staff. The series directly led to several adjacent and related events, engaging more than 8,400 unique attendees (with 45% attending more than one session and more than 15% attending five or more).
From the Judges
The fast turnaround on this programming was impressive. Also the template-style of the event design led to creation of a series, event adaptation, and a large amount of internal community adoption.
