I was also puzzled over the lack of involvement by Cornell.  The one 
website had this quote:

   "They asked Dr. Dan Mennill to join the search and conduct sound 
monitoring in the area. Dan had just completed a postdoc in Geoff’s 
ornithology lab and was starting as an assistant professor at the 
University of Windsor in Ontario.  Dan devised a means to remotely record 
sounds, and he constructed seven listening stations that were deployed in 
the area of the ivorybill sightings."

Cornell is probably the world leader in recording bird and animal sounds 
plus they had devised equipment for the search in Arkansas.  It seems 
almost bizarre to go to someone else, although Dr. Mennill was probably 
aware of what and how Cornell had done their ivory bill recording.

We can speculate forever but the politics of competitive ornithology may 
be beyond the understanding of mere mortals such as us.

Jim Wilson
Queenstown