06/10/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/10/2025 08:05
From lively concerts on the Ag Quad to thought-provoking talks, the 2025 Summer Events Series at Cornell promises a vibrant blend of free entertainment and learning, open to all. Hosted by the Cornell University School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions (Cornell SCE), events begin at 7 p.m. on select Wednesdays and Fridays, July 9 to Aug. 1.
Cornell SCE has been offering free summer events since the early 1900s, when speakers included former president Andrew Dickson White and concerts were performed in Sage Chapel. Over the years, outdoor concerts have been held on the Arts Quad, attracting hundreds of people from the Cornell and Ithaca communities and beyond. This year, due to construction, all concerts will be held outdoors on the Ag Quad.
In addition to music, the Summer Events Series offers Wednesday lectures - with a format similar to a TED Talk followed by a Q&A session - at Warren Hall, B25, on the Ag Quad.
"We're proud to have continued this tradition more than 125 years," said Mary Loeffelholz, dean of Cornell SCE. "Cornell is such an expansive university in terms of our intellectual breadth and depth, global reach and community impact. Cornell SCE's summer events bring some of this expansiveness back home to Ithaca, for everyone who wants to keep learning and have fun while doing it."
Friday concerts are family-friendly; concertgoers can bring picnics, blankets and lawn chairs. Cornell Dairy will sell ice cream, vegan mango sorbet and bottled water during performances.
"It's a pleasure to invite the Cornell community and area residents and visitors to our beautiful summer campus to enjoy outdoor concerts and lectures by today's important thinkers," Loeffelholz said.
Concerts
Lectures
For details, visit the Cornell SCE events page.
Shelley Preston is communications specialist and events producer at Cornell University School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions.