Cornell University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

Since its founding, Cornell has aspired to be a diverse, equitable and inclusive university. The founding principle, “any person, any study,” continues to inspire and guide the university. Additionally, Cornell's statement, "Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds,” which was endorsed by all six of the governance bodies, further emphasizes the institutional commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Accordingly, responsibility for ensuring and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion is a responsibility of individuals at every level of Cornell. The leadership structure to support DEI at the institutional level consists of three leaders to represent faculty, staff, and students, respectively, and are known as the Presidential Advisors on Diversity and Equity. The new leadership team is chaired by Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Avery August who will represent faculty. He is joined by Associate Vice President for Inclusion and Workforce Diversity Angela Winfield representing staff, and Dean of Students Vijay Pendakur representing undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The Presidential Advisors on Diversity and Equity are charged with: • Providing strategic direction, guidance, and recommendations to the President's senior staff, the Provost's council and the Dean's council, through attending regularly scheduled meetings (at least one meeting per semester with both the cabinet and the council), and additional meetings as deemed necessary by the cabinet, council and the presidential advisors. • Advising the President and her cabinet on institutional university-wide goals and activities and metrics. • Evaluating, assessing and modifying current Towards New Destinations framework, including determining whether re-branding is necessary and whether/how to incorporate a top-down element with the bottom-up approach and oversee same. • Driving diversity communications on the diversity website, and partnering across the university in diversity outreach on other outlets as well as on crises and incident response communications. • Convening and creating a sense of community across various university-wide groups. • Creating a linkage across the college and unit diversity leads Implementation of initiatives and programs continues to be done at the local level by colleges and units. Each of Cornell's colleges and many organizational units have embedded diversity offices and professionals who regularly inform and collaborate with central diversity leadership. Most colleges and units have their own local diversity committees which are responsible for carrying out initiatives. At the individual level, each staff member is expected to demonstrate the Leadership Skills for Success (managers) or the Skills for Success (individual contributors), both of which expressly contain expectations concerning diversity and inclusion. These skill sets are at the cornerstone of Cornell's performance management process as well as integrated into the design of programs available to all Cornell employees.

Cornell offers extensive opportunities for faculty, students and staff to increase understanding of the impact we have on those around us and how to apply skills that form a culture of respect. For example: One of the drivers of cultural competence for students is the Intergroup Dialogue Project, IDP. IDP works to engage the entire Cornell community, collaborating with many departments, programs, and student organizations to develop and deliver offerings ranging from three-hour introductory experiences to intensive semester-long courses. These intimate, peer-facilitated sessions address topics of identity and communication while providing participants with the skills to engage in productive conflict and create new shared meanings. In Fall 2018, Cornell embedded intergroup dialogue sessions into freshman orientation. The sessions are interactive and peer-led and provide opportunities for small groups of students to learn more about themselves and each other. All new freshmen had three hours to practice skills and tools for communicating across difference both inside and outside the classroom. IDP also offers a course, EDUC 2610, which is open to all Cornell undergraduate students. To maximize learning and the opportunity for meaningful intergroup dialogue, sections are created to ensure a mixed and balanced representation of views, experiences, and identities. IDP continues to work with student staff and organizations across campus in their workshops. The Dean of Students also works with students on creating a culture of respect and building cultural competence. In continuing to develop new initiatives, the Dean of Students is offering a 3D (Develop, Dine, and Dialogue) program which seeks to develop new and current leaders through a cohort-based, identity-conscious model that utilizes dialogue, peer to peer connection, and critical reflection. Many events are hosted by over 600 student organizations in addition to living-learning residential programs such as Ujamaa, Akwe:kon, the Latino Living Center, and the Multicultural Living Learning Unit. Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble (CITE) is a group of professional actors and facilitators who use theatre to explore diversity and Inclusion. Their programs create safety around highly charged workplace issues, facilitating honest dialogue, self-awareness and organizational learning on four levels: personal, interpersonal, group and institutional/community. CITE has the unique ability to take concepts of diversity and inclusion and make them real and personal for participant groups. Interactive theatre and facilitated dialogue from multiple points of view create a climate for participants that builds inclusion, fosters collaboration and gives participants knowledge and tools to take back to their own work environments. As a part of the university's commitment to inclusion, CITE created and provides programs specifically designed to address unconscious bias in hiring as well as classroom climate. As part of a university-wide initiative, faculty in all academic departments will participate in the CITE classroom climate program. In addition, for faculty, the Center for Teaching Innovation offers an online course, Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom, as well as an in-person institute, the Faculty Institute for Diversity. Both of these offerings diversity and identity. The Department of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity offers the Inclusive Excellence Network of programs, which consists of the Inclusive Excellence Academy, the Inclusive Excellence podcast and the Inclusive Excellence Summit. The network of programs focus on the development of multicultural fluency through providing training in the areas of self-awareness, understanding others and transformative action. The aim of the programs is not only to increase awareness and knowledge, but to equip participants with actionable strategies and behaviors that will advance inclusion in the workplace. Each year, specific workshops or courses are offered to support university initiatives and programs. The Supervisory Training Program for Academic Staff has a module dedicated specifically to inclusion and intercultural understanding. Cornell offers the New Supervisor Orientation Program. Although designed for supervisors and managers, the program is free and available to all staff. This series of programs prepares managers to be effective and includes a dedicated module on diversity and inclusion and how to ensure supervisory practices are equitable and inclusive.

https://diversity.cornell.edu/our-commitments/inclusive-excellence-network/inclusive-excellence-academy https://teaching.cornell.edu/programs/faculty-instructors/institutes/faculty-institute-diversity https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-learning-diverse-classroom-online-course http://www.idp.cornell.edu/