Jay and Eileen Walker to lead library campaign

Alumni Jay and Eileen Walker will co-chair Cornell University Library's Campaign for Collections, which aims to raise $15 million by the end of 2015 to support the library's print and digital collections. The library campaign, part of the universitywide "Cornell Now" campaign, has already raised $7.4 million.

"The quality of an institution's library speaks volumes about the values of the institution," said Eileen Walker ’76, MBA ’78, a Cornell trustee. "This campaign is not solely about buying more books, though books may be part of the story. This is about having the tools, paper or electronic, that a 21st-century research university should have available to scholars."

Said Anne Kenney, the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian: "The library is the heart of our university, and schools all across Cornell support our campaign and the development of our collections. The Walkers are passionate about libraries and their irreplaceable role in fostering imagination and innovation in society. We’re thrilled about their support, which will help the library remain responsive to the needs of faculty and students."

In June 2012, the library staged a major exhibition from Jay Walker's library, including original Sputnik and Vanguard satellites, an Enigma machine and an original copy of Robert Hook's "Micrographia." Jay Walker is chairman of TEDMED, a multidisciplinary conference on the future of health and medicine. One of America's best-known business inventors and entrepreneurs, he has founded successful startup companies including Priceline.com. He is also chairman of Walker Digital.

"Libraries are our vehicle for preserving our collective knowledge," Eileen Walker said. "They have been part of civilized society for so long that we forget what it takes to create and maintain them. If we don't maintain them we lose our stories, our history and our collective knowledge."

Eileen Walker was elected to the Cornell Board of Trustees in 2009, and she serves on several committees and task forces. She is a member of the Cornell University Council and the President's Council of Cornell Women, and she is president of the Class of 1976. She held senior management positions during her 18-year career with IBM and has worked with nonprofit health and education organizations.

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