Sonnenstuhl Fund to Support Student Research

Indomitable faith and hope in the ability of people to change culture for the common good. That, says Dustin Liu ’19, is the catalytic legacy of Professor Emeritus William J. Sonnenstuhl. “Generations of students have been impacted by Professor Sonnenstuhl’s leadership and mentorship. His course Culture, Leadership and Change became a meeting ground for students who came to see themselves as culture changers,” Liu said.

Sonnenstuhl retired in 2020 but continues to advise Cayuga’s Watchers and Greek organizations. He also leads Cornell Collegiate Recovery, Inc., which supports Cornell students in their sobriety and recovery, and cultivates understanding about substance abuse and addiction recovery.

“I always saw my role as facilitating the best in our students to help improve the world,” Sonnenstuhl said, and the fund will support “things we cherish as Cornellians. Being inclusive is baked into the DNA of what it means to be a Cornellian – doing our best to make the world better. It’s what unites us.”

Liu has established the William J. Sonnenstuhl ILR WIDE Research Fellows Fund in honor of the organizational behavior scholar credited with inspiring students to influence not only Cornell campus life, but also the culture of all organizations they might find themselves in. Liu’s gift creates a fund that will compensate students as they work with ILR faculty on research related to communicating across differences in the workplace.

WIDE is ILR’s Workplace Inclusion and Diversity Education initiative, which collaborates with the Cornell Center for Dialogue & Pluralism. To be eligible for research funding, a student must have completed the center’s Intergroup Dialogue course or ILR’s Foundations of Diversity Dynamics course.

“What I appreciate most about WIDE is its rigorous approach to the critical work of developing a culture where everyone can flourish. I firmly believe that the workplace is a central part of supporting communities and societies to do that work,” Liu said. 

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Lisa Nishii, director of WIDE and a human resource studies professor at ILR, said, “I am so grateful to Dustin for this gift. On the one hand, it’s somewhat surprising to receive a generous and thoughtful gift like this from a young alum; at the same time, what Dustin chose to support does not surprise me given his intense dedication to – and skill in – leveraging dialogue to connect with people.

“In both my research and experience as a leader, I continue to be struck by the simple fact that to be successful, you have to be adept at listening to understand and communicating to be understood so you can make better decisions, motivate people and facilitate collaboration. This is why the connection between ILR WIDE and the Center for Dialogue & Pluralism is so important. In ILR, students learn about organizational strategy, culture and leadership. To put their knowledge to maximum effect, they also need to be able to dialogue constructively across difference, and CDP’s intergroup dialogue course is perfect for teaching them how to do that. Dialogue takes practice. It’s also addictive – our students love it. Dustin’s gift will enable students to continue pursuing their interest in dialogue while working closely with faculty to develop critical research skills.”

Liu served as the undergraduate student-elected trustee on Cornell’s Board of Trustees, a facilitator for Cornell’s Center for Dialogue & Pluralism and as Sonnenstuhl’s lead teaching assistant. He reflected on ILR’s role in his leadership development and his decision to establish this gift. “This fund felt important to meet this moment of polarization. I recognize how transformative faculty mentorship and research experiences can be to support students in being changemakers in whatever workplace they enter.”

Liu is the senior associate director of the New York University Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing. He has also held teaching and administrative positions at Harvard, Stanford, MIT and the University of Chicago, bringing ideas about how change happens that have been influenced by his time with Sonnenstuhl.

“Dustin just connects with everybody,” Sonnenstuhl said. “Out of a class of 200, you couldn’t miss Dustin. He’s always looking for positive things to do and that’s going to be what he does in life. I just think he’s an incredible person.”

As Sonnenstuhl’s head teaching assistant, Liu coordinated the work of nine other teaching assistants. After graduation, Liu and Sonnenstuhl stayed in touch as he progressed through a graduate program and professional academic roles. “Dustin’s accomplishments are a testament to his commitment to enacting the Cornell Tradition and making the world a better place. I have taken great joy in seeing him accomplish so much and cherish his friendship,” Sonnenstuhl said.

Sonnenstuhl is credited with creating a stronger campus culture, but his scholarship and leadership extend past Cornell’s campus, Liu said. “One of my favorite projects I worked on with him was hosting a national conference on drinking culture. To this day, that interuniversity working group continues to shape student-led initiatives on various college campuses.”

Liu is one of many students impacted by Sonnenstuhl.

Columbia Business School MBA candidate Drew Lord ’18 is a former president of Cayuga’s Watchers. Lord now serves on the organization’s board with Sonnenstuhl, who has mentored the group since it began. “Bill is the most thoughtful, dedicated mentor I’ve ever had. His tireless work to promote student safety and empower bystander intervention uniquely bridges the student life and academic experience. I’m incredibly grateful to have learned from his leadership – first as a student, now as a fellow nonprofit board member.”

A number of the professor’s teaching assistants have stayed in touch with him and each other as alumni and share an appreciation for Sonnenstuhl’s legacy. For many, culture building is part of their professional mandate, and they credit Sonnenstuhl with helping them make sense of disparate experiences, ideas and domains.

As the son of factory workers, Sonnenstuhl grew up on a Connecticut farm and had no intention of becoming a college professor. When the family drove past Yale, his mother would say, “You’re going to college.”

He did – studying sociology and psychology at Southern Connecticut State College with thoughts of entering the ministry or practicing law. Through a series of serendipitous turns, he taught “social problems” at the University of Connecticut and was inspired by the work of Harrison Trice, an ILR professor who integrated workplace studies with drug and alcohol studies.

Sonnenstuhl’s work as a trainer at the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University led to him establishing employee assistance programs for the state of Connecticut and companies across Connecticut, then to a position at International Paper, where he developed its employee assistance program, and then to a Ph.D. at New York University.

Sonnenstuhl embraced diversity, equity and inclusion decades before the terminology became mainstream. As a teen, he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement through his church and joined the March on Washington led by Martin Luther King Jr. In college, he was involved with the anti-Vietnam War and women’s movements. He attended the Stonewall demonstrations.

“I have always taken diversity and inclusion for granted and fought to ensure it. My academic work at Cornell, teaching and working with students, was simply an extension of that experience.”

Beginning this fall, a new generation of students will extend Sonnenstuhl’s legacy through the fund named in his honor.