Cornell University

On June 29, 2023, Cornell's President issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's Ruling on race conscious admissions which reads in part as follows: "Cornell is disappointed by the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision today in which it found that both Harvard’s and the University of North Carolina’s admission processes violate the Fourteenth Amendment...As always, Cornell will follow the law, but within its scope we will remain a welcoming community, with strong core values and an unwavering adherence to our historic founding principle: to be a university where 'any person can find instruction in any study'.”

The University considers applicants, "with and without DACA," domestic students for the purposes of admissions. All accepted U.S. undergraduate students, including those "lacking U.S. citizenship, residency, or visa status, are eligible for a Cornell financial aid offer" that fully meets the demonstrated financial need. 

The University announced a "reinstatement" of its standardized test policy for 2026 applicants, requiring students to submit scores for the first time since 2020. According to the Cornell Daily Sun, "the decision to reintroduce test requirements [intends] to increase diversity in the student body."

The Presidential Task Force on Undergraduate Admissions released their final report in Fall 2023. The task force made several recommendations for reaching the University's diversity goals which include proposed "changes to the application form." The task force recommended a new essay prompt, an excerpt reads, "'We remain committed to the importance of diversity in our educational mission. Explain how your life experiences, particularly with a community that is important to you, will enrich our '... any person ...' ethos."

Staff will be required to undergo a series of training focused on "Equity" and "cultural competency". The six-part certificate course is called "Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Cornell".

The Faculty Senate will be considering a required educational program for faculty, which will be used for accreditation purposes.

The Division of Human Resources (HR) is launching an assessment of its "hiring and professional development processes and systems" to retain a "broadly diverse workforce".

After a dispute between two faculty members, Cornell Tech promised to "require anti-racism training for all faculty and students," according to media reports.

Human Resources Department of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity is developing "training on concrete skills, practices, and behaviors that increase effectiveness and inclusion and/or incorporate this information into existing diversity and inclusion training for specific audiences."

The Department of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity aims to "provide supervisors/managers with tools to be inclusive, to engage across difference and leverage diversity on their teams and in their work" through the "Inclusive Excellence Academy" and the "New Supervisor Orientation Certificate Program," which includes a diversity and inclusion module.

The Nolan School's anti-racism action plan states there is an initiative to "create diversity and inclusion training for student club leaders and teaching assistants."

A for-credit educational requirement covering “systemic racism, colonialism, bias and inequity” will be developed with some input of DoBetterCornell student group.

All faculty will be expected to participate in programming on race, racism, and colonialism in the United States, as well as subsequent discussions within their departments. There will also be an institution-wide themed semester on racism.

The Faculty Senate will be considering the proposal for an educational requirement for students which will consist of multiple video modules and discussions.

The Faculty Senate voted for three separate resolutions, all of which support a student educational requirement. However, each supported a different type of training. One proposal called for the training to be "developed under the auspices of the antiracism center and different colleges." Another said that it will be developed and delivered by "Africana Studies, American Studies, American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Asian American Studies, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Latinx Studies." The last one "calls for the program to remain in the individual colleges, while giving students an option to take one existing course on race, indigeneity, ethnicity, and bias."

On August 5, 2023, Cornell Review published an article titled "Colleges to implement required anti-racism classes by 2024-25," which discusses how Cornell's faculty "approved a college-based menu of required diversity classes." Deputy Provost Avery August gave a "progress report on each college’s efforts to meet the 2024-25 implementation deadline," which includes the following schools/colleges within Cornell University: The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; Brooks School of Public Policy, the Hotel School, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts College, College of Human Ecology, College of Engineering, and the Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

Beginning in 2020, the College of Arts and Sciences enacted a new curriculum requiring students to fulfill the Social Differences distribution category, which includes "class, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, nationality, language, religion, gender, sexuality, and ability as objects of study." 

The College of Business states it "builds anti-racism into the fabric of the curriculum."

The University has a "bias incident" reporting system. The University defines a bias incident as an "action taken that one could reasonably and prudently conclude is motivated, in whole or in part, by the alleged offender’s bias against an actual or perceived aspect of diversity, including, but not limited to, age, ancestry or ethnicity, color, creed, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, height, immigration or citizenship status, marital status, national origin, race, religion, religious practice, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or weight."

The six-module, “Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Cornell” mandatory course will be launched for staff. Faculty will be required to go through a “required educational program”.

Faculty Senate ended up passing two separate proposals on faculty training. One proposal called for mandatory faculty training. The other called for voluntary faculty training.

The university's Office of Faculty Development and Diversity has a "Rubric Assessing Candidate on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion." On the criterion of "Plans to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion at Cornell," a "strong" candidate "references ongoing efforts at Cornell and ways to improve and modify them to advance diversity, equity and inclusion."

All faculty and staff at the Nolan School of Business are "required to complete unconscious bias training." The school's anti-racism action plan states it will "offer various formal opportunities to learn strategies to address racism, celebrate diversity, and promote inclusion and belonging."

The Global Cornell team released a statement titled "Silence is Racism," which stated people think "Some people... act in explicitly racist ways toward racial minorities." We tell ourselves, "Those are the 'real' racists... but racism is not merely a function of individual attitudes, and it can't be eradicated by changing hearts and minds." The statement continues, "Racism is the social, legal, political, and economic distinctions that mark and maintain unequal access and entry points to privacy, property, protection, prosperity, and personhood." It concludes, "To be an antiracist, you have to dismantle structural inequality."

A “center that will promote research and teaching in matters that relate to systemic racism, colonialism, bias and inequity” will be developed by the Faculty Senate.

The Faculty Senate will be considering the creation of a new Antiracism Center, which will be a center for both academic research and activism on campus.

The American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) has been conducting research into Cornell's land grant history, as the university received appropriated land from the federal government

"...three innovative and collaborative projects were funded that align with institutional objectives of fostering a sense of belonging, promoting fair treatment and supporting the environment of Cornell as a great place to study and work."

The final report for Working Group C (Anti-Racism Center) envisioned the center as a hub for scholarship and activism that “creates greater justice and equity on campus and beyond” and as a “programmatic space” which will sponsor “an annual focal theme, a pipeline to-the-academy program, and selected grant-making programs.” Researchers with the center will focus on "the many interlocking forms of racism and bias that are directed at Black American, Indigenous, LatinX, Asian American, and other marginalized and targeted peoples.”

The Belonging at Cornell Grant Program is funded by the Presidential Advisors on Diversity & Equity (PADE), which provides grants that support the Belonging at Cornell (BaC) framework. The BaC Faculty and Staff Grant Program allots two grants each up to the amount of $15,000 and the BaC Graduate/Professional Student Grant Program allots up to ten mini grants up to the amount of $1,000.

The Migrations Initiative funds "research and engagement that centers the connections between racism, dispossession, and migration."

The Einaudi Center for International Studies focuses research on understanding intersectional inequalities, "including cleavages in society like race, religion, gender and sexuality, class, caste, language, and ethnicity." The center also focuses on advocacy for equity and justice on a global scale.

The Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) will now directly report to upper-level University administration. PSAC will “make recommendations to improve campus security policies and procedures”.

The Division of Student and Campus Life has created a "Community Response Team" to respond to "issues of wellness, crisis or distress within campus living environments and will collaborate with the broader campus system of care that attends to the needs of community members".

The Faculty Senate, by an overwhelming margin, voted to urge the "Cornell University Police Department will cease to use racial descriptors in CRIME ALERT emails."

The 2023 Annual Security Report from Cornell's Police Department stated, "Officers train in areas of de-escalation, diversity, cultural competency, CPR, first aid, as well as many other areas that allow them to provide vital services to the local community." Specialized training for officers in 2023 included "diversity and inclusion initiatives, unconscious bias, ethics, [and] cultural awareness" among others. The report stated that in the final months of the fiscal year, "members received extensive training on diversity in the workplace [and] cultural acceptance."

The ILR School is offering a new course, entitled, "Diversity and Inclusion: Emerging Trends - Recalibrating Diversity and Inclusion".

The Office of Engagement Initiatives is supporting "ONEComposer" and putting on performances of musician whose "contributions have been historically erased". Cornell Orchestras is putting on its "BLM Speaker Series".

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research is starting its "Diversity Entrepreneurship Program" in June 2021.

The “BIPOC Rock Climbing" class was originally for “people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or other people of color," before the course description was changed to state that the class is “designed to enable Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or other people of color underrepresented in the sport of rock climbing to learn the sport and to feel included and supported."

Cornell offers ASTRO 2034 - Black Holes: Race and the Cosmos. The course description reads, "Surely there can be no connection between the cosmos and the idea of racial blackness. Can there? Contemporary Black Studies theorists, artists, fiction writers implicitly and explicitly posit just such a connection. Theorists use astronomy concepts like 'black holes' and 'event horizons' to interpret the history of race in creative ways, while artists and musicians conjure blackness through cosmological themes and images."

Cornell Tech also promised to "bring on a new 'director to focus on cultural issues, especially diversity, equality, and inclusion,'" according to media reports.

The university hosted an event titled, "Decolonizing Anti-Racism." The event's presenters suggested "that people of color are complicit in colonization and that anti-racism movements exclude Aboriginal people and perspectives."

Global Cornell led and organized "campus conversations, public engagement, and advocacy about racism around the world and the structures that sustain it. We host teach-ins to identify racism and opportunities for change, highlight the diversity of experiences at Cornell, and speak across differences. We build connections by working with a range of campus partners, researchers, and student organizations."

During the “How Can WE achieve Racial Justice" event at Reunion 2021, panelists "discussed ways to steer conversation toward meaningful action." According to the webpage, "Meaningful action at the university or in communities beyond must address root causes of inequality, he said: 'It should address what scholars of race and racism have identified as structural inequality and the legacies of historical injustice.'"

Cornell's Department of Inclusion and Belonging has a monthly podcast series called Inclusive Excellence Podcast where hosts Erin Sember-Chase and Toral Patel "unpack various topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at work."

Cornell College of Arts & Sciences faculty partnered with the American Studies Program to create a webinar series called Racism in America, which explores "research-based discoveries and potential solutions for combating systemic racism and improving equity". The faculty will also examine how "racism is embedded in education, criminal justice, health care and economic systems, as well as within U.S. government policy."

Global Cornell leads and organizes campus conversations, public engagement, and advocacy about "racism around the world and the structures that sustain it." The organization also "[hosts] teach-ins to identify racism and opportunities for change, highlight the diversity of experiences at Cornell, and speak across differences."

Cornell has a Department of Inclusion and Belonging, which "provides institutional leadership by promoting a learning, living, and working environment in which [the department encourages] full participation of all members of the Cornell community."

Cornell's Presidential Advisors on Diversity and Equity (PADE) consists of three leaders tapped to represent faculty, staff, and students. The leadership team is chaired by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and provides advice to the President's senior staff, the Provost's council, and the Dean's council.

Cornell has an Inclusive Excellence Network (IEN), a collection of programs designed to engage Cornell staff in "action-oriented discussions, self-reflection, and productive discourse around topics that impact the workplace." IEN strives to continue building Cornell's "culture of belonging" by providing space for participants to have meaningful dialogue.

Cornell College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) has a Staff Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Committee. Its mission is to "honor CAS' commitment to upholding the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility through ongoing action."

Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy students are encouraged to attend the 2023 APPAM Equity and Inclusion Undergraduate Fellowship, which will be hosted from November 9-11, 2023. According to the application, applicants must be "underrepresented or from marginalized communities and/or individuals whose background or life circumstances indicate they have overcome substantial obstacles (e.g., disabled individuals, racial or ethnic minorities, LGBTQI individuals, etc)."

Global Cornell offers the "Global Women of Color Mentorship Initiative" which is designed to prepare women of color "for career advancement and leadership" and "supports women's issues and advances Cornell's founding commitment to inclusion, focusing on gender equality in various academic and professional fields." While the program is "designed with women of color in mind... there may be those on staff who work with or provide support or supervision to women of color who may find value in the program."

Chapter four of the Guidebook for Student Organizations is the "Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit." The purpose of the chapter is to "strengthen [student] organizations' commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)," "recognize implicit bias and identify microaggressions," and "reflect on how to modify our actions so as not to perpetuate stereotypic assumptions."

The Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures, which connects and amplifies "the university’s research and scholarship around issues of racial injustice and inequality, and its work to develop more just and equitable public policy," hired a new director.

Anti-Racist initiatives (including research and teaching) will be carried via the model of “shared-governance.”

“English Faculty Vote to Change Name to ‘Department of Literatures in English’”

The College of Human Ecology announced the launch of its "faculty cohort hire in social justice".

Impact Week at Cornell (I-Week) is a new college-wide tradition coming Fall 2023 that "encourages each campus entity to demonstrate and celebrate the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging through a series of activities that reflects their respective field or study."

Cornell Engineering states it "envisions a future in which its student body and faculty reflect the gender, socioeconomic, and racial diversity of society." In its 2030 strategic plan, Cornell Engineering set the following objectives, "recruit, support, and graduate a highly diverse undergraduate student body," "create bridge programs to increase diversity among domestic graduate students," "hire strategically to double the number of underrepresented minority faculty over the next decade and to increase the gender diversity of our faculty to match the diversity of graduate students in COE fields," and "actively promote inclusion and belonging as core values throughout the college community."

Cornell has a Land Acknowledgement recognizing that it is "located on the traditional homelands of the Cayuga Nation." The statement continues, "We acknowledge the painful history of Cayuga Nation dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Cayuga people, past and present, to these lands and waters."