The relationship between Cornell University and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was publicly acclaimed yesterday when His Royal Highness, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, addressed a gathered audience at Statler Auditorium.

Prince Turki’s speech, “What We Expect from America: a Saudi Perspective,” the latest in the Foreign Policy Distinguished Speaker Series held by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, focused largely on how the United States should handle issues throughout the Middle East.

In starting the talk, Wasif Syed, chairman of the Prince Turki Al-Faisal Welcome Committee, noted Prince Turki’s authority in Middle East foreign relations.

To the Editor:

Re: “Open Letter to the Trustees — An Immoral Alliance at Hand,” Opinion, Feb. 16

I write this letter in response to Neal Sher’s ’68 Guest Room in yesterday’s paper. I am a member of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University and I am Jewish. I have visited Saudi Arabia as an American Jew. And I have met with then Crown Prince (now King) Abdullah and many members of the royal family in that capacity. I, among many of my fellow trustees voted to approve acceptance of a $25 million research grant for a joint study in nano-technology between Cornell and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). I should also note that one of the principal architects of this gift was my friend and fellow Trustee Lubna Olayan — a Saudi WOMAN.

As I suspect is true for countless other alumni, Cornell had a profound — indeed, lifelong — impact upon me. Those of my tumultuous era (Class of ’68) could not avoid the influence of great thinkers (Walter Berns and Allan Bloom quickly come to mind) who instilled a belief that the university represented (or should represent) the highest level of intellectual honesty; advancing the public good, we were reminded, was among the most noble of personal and professional pursuits.

Indeed, in his 2008 commencement address, President Skorton reaffirmed that those virtues remain at the core of the University’s soul, urging graduates to honor the social responsibilities which hopefully were nurtured at Cornell.