Cornell University
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The non-discrimination statement, including the website URL where the policy is publicly accessible: https://hr.cornell.edu/our-culture-diversity/diversity-inclusion/equal-opportunity-and-affirmative-action/equal-education Cornell University has an enduring commitment to support equality of education and employment opportunity by affirming the value of diversity and by promoting an environment free from discrimination. Association with Cornell, either as a student, faculty, or staff member, involves participation in a free community where all people are recognized and rewarded on the basis of individual performance rather than personal convictions, appearance, preferences (including sexual or affectional orientation), or happenstance of birth. Cornell University's history of diversity and inclusion encourages all students, faculty and staff to support a diverse and inclusive university in which to work, study, teach, research and serve. No person shall be denied admission to any educational program or activity or be denied employment on the basis of any legally prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, marital status, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status. Cornell University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Concerns and complaints related to equal opportunity in education and in employment based on aspects of diversity protected under federal, state, and local law should be directed to Angela Winfield, Director of Inclusion & Workforce Diversity; 150 Day Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; 607-255-3976. Questions or complaints arising under Title IX should be directed to Chantelle Cleary; 150 Day Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; 607-255-2242; titleix@cornell.edu. Inquiries may also be directed to: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights; 32 Old Slip 26th Floor, New York, NY 10005-2500; 646-428-3800; OCR.NewYork@ed.gov. Cornell University is committed to assisting those persons with disabilities who have special needs related to their educational pursuit or employment. Information on services provided to prospective and current Cornell students with disabilities can be obtained by contacting: Student Disability Services, Cornell Health, Level 5, Ithaca, New York 14853-6601; 607-254-4545. Prospective employees in need of a workplace accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act or New York state law should contact: Workforce Policy and Labor Relations, 391 Pine Tree Road, Ithaca, NY 14850; 607-254-7232; equalopportunity@cornell.edu. Current employees in need of a workplace accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act or New York state law should contact: Medical Leaves Administration, Suite 102, 395 Pine Tree Road, Ithaca, NY 14850; 607-255-1177; benefits@cornell.edu.

Cornell University is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning, living, and working environment for its students, faculty, and staff members. To this end, through this policy, the university provides means to address bias, discrimination, harassment, and sexual and related misconduct. Since 2000, Cornell University has had a program to track bias that is occurring on all campuses in an effort to be proactive in creating an inclusive climate for all. The Department of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity is responsible for collecting and tracking all reported bias activity that occurs at Cornell University that could potentially impact our commitment to diversity and inclusion, including all reports made by faculty, staff, students, and visitors to the Ithaca, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Cornell Tech campuses. The Bias Incident Form is here: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?CornellUniv&layout_id=6 A flow chart outlining the steps that are taken after a report is submitted is here: The FY19 Bias System Annual Report is here: https://diversity.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/uploaded-files/Annual%20Report%20FY%202019.pdf Support for students who submit reports is provided. For all reports containing contact information but the reporter wishes to remain anonymous to other parties involved, a member of the Bias Assessment Response Team (BART) will contact the reporter to confirm the report was received and offer the opportunity to schedule a meeting if the reporter desires to discuss the incident further or would like additional support or referrals to resources. Additionally, depending on the information provided in the report, the report may be referred to an appropriate office. For reports containing contact information in which the reporter does NOT wish to remain anonymous to other parties involved a member of the BART will contact the reporter to confirm the report was received and discuss the appropriate forum and available options to address the issues raised in your report. Options may include conflict coaching, mediation or a restorative justice process. The other parties involved in your report may or may not be contacted depending on the nature and extent of information provided in the report. Actions will generally be educational in nature. If you choose to remain anonymous, the incident will be documented and used to consider future community education and programming. The accused may be contacted depending on the nature and extent of information provided in the report. All reported incidents are included in the Annual Report on bias activity. The reports will be presented as aggregated de-identified data. BART membership consists of a number of staff members from across the university including: Senior Associate Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Students, Assistant. Director of Residence Life, Cornell University Police, Associate Dean for Student Empowerment and Director of First-Generation and Low-Income Student Support, Associate Director, Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives, Associate Director, Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Women’s Resource Center, Associate Judicial Administrator, Associate Dean and Director of the LGBT Resource Center, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Asian and Asian American Center, Assistant Director of Athletics for Student Services, and Counseling & Psychological Services, Cornell Health

A brief description of the institution’s programs to recruit students, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups: Undergraduate Admissions has specifically assigned staff members to multicultural recruiting with the colleges as well as the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives. The Graduate School has specifically designated staff for diversity recruitment and support. There are diversity recruiters for staff in HR. There are diversity review committees in every college to work with search committees on the process and pools for faculty members. In 2018, Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff’s task force completed its work and submitted a report and recommendations on new approaches to enhance and accelerate the diversity of the Cornell faculty. (Report can be found here: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cornell.edu/dist/e/5276/files/2018/07/Report-of-the-Provosts-Task-Force-to-Enhance-Faculty-Diversity-23xnr9l.pdf).

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS There are several programs throughout the university designed to support underrepresented groups within the student body. The Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI) provides support and guidance to students from underrepresented racial groups, low-income, and first-generation college students. Students can receive assistance and counseling for a variety of issues and the office acts as a resource and network for students, helping to connect them across the campus. This office works closely with the Dean of Students office in Student and Campus Life, which is charged with strengthening the sense of community among the student body and providing student programs. Programs and opportunities for students in OADI include: • The Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), which are New York State-funded programs that facilitate college access students whose financial and academic environments have not allowed their full potential to come to fruition before college. • Scholarship programs that support students enrolled at Cornell through the opportunity scholarship programs including Gates Scholars, Jack Kent Cooke Scholars, and the Say Yes to Education Scholars. • McNair Scholars Program prepares eligible students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. Students are from disadvantaged backgrounds (first-generation, low income and underrepresented) demonstrating strong academic potential. • OADI Research Scholars Program (ORSP) provides underrepresented, first year and sophomore students the opportunity for research-oriented academic preparation in the interpretive social sciences, arts and humanities through coursework, mentoring, and educational events. • Pre Professional Programs (P3) provides professional support for students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and Professional fields. Students are selected from underrepresented, economically disadvantaged, and/or first-generation backgrounds. They have the opportunity to explore their fields of study through hands-on experience and mentorship. Assistance with writing is available through the Knight Writing Institute. Knight offers a number of Writing Workshops across campus; students can attend drop-in hours and have someone work on a paper and review it for them to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement. On a more micro level, each college and school has an office/staff member dedicated to its diverse student population. Through this office/person, counseling and advising services are offered to its students, as well as mentoring in some programs and peer support and guidance in others. The College of Engineering, for example, has Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE). Through this office, the students have regular appointments with the staff and advisors. The staff advises several student-lead organizations including the Society for Women Engineers (SWE), the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), and the National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE). Each college has an office that acts in a similar way providing services to students. The College of Arts and Sciences supports the POSSE Program at Cornell; a college access and youth leadership program that matches promising high school students with top-tier colleges and universities across the United States. The Posse Program helps colleges and universities diversify their student body and create an inclusive, welcoming campus. Also, the university has well-established ethnic studies programs that offer academic support and mentoring and advising to students. These include the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program, the Africana Studies and Research Center, Latino Studies Program, the Asian American Studies Program. There are also services provided at a macro level through the Dean of Students Office for students. This includes resource centers and programs for students including the Asian/Asian American Center, the LGBT Resource Center, Undocumented/DACA student support, and the Women’s Resource Center. The Asian & Asian American Center (A3C), brings together the rich diversity of Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander and Desi student experiences to support a strong and inclusive campus community. The center nurtures positive student-to-student and group-to-group interaction to contribute to the multicultural education of all students and to the social/cultural development of leaders able to navigate a diverse and complex global society. The A3C is also the home of over 80 undergraduate and graduate student organizations and serves as a community center and gathering space for students, staff, and faculty. Specific support through the Dean of Students Office includes: • The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center coordinates efforts to ensure the inclusion of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQQIA) individuals. The LGBT Resource Center affirms LGBTQQIA+ identities and lives and provides education, outreach, advocacy, and support. The LGBT Resource Center is also the home of over 20 undergraduate and graduate student organizations and serves as a community center and gathering space for LGBTQQIA+ students, staff, and faculty. Allies are always welcome! • The mission of the Women's Resource Center (WRC) is to foster a more vibrant campus community by supporting the full and active participation of women-identified students in both their personal and educational pursuits at Cornell. The WRC values people of all genders coming together to end sexism and all forms of oppression along with maintaining an environment where all are free to affirm and celebrate their differences and commonalities. • The Office of Spirituality and Meaning Making is the administrative home to Cornell United Religious Work (CURW) an umbrella organization comprised of two dozen affiliated chaplaincies (including Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Buddhist, Mormon, Quaker, and Unitarian-Universalist) that programs of worship, study, and social life, as well as opportunities for students to engage in interfaith dialogue. Each weekend within Anabel Taylor Hall, Catholic masses, Protestant worship services, Jewish services (Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox) and Muslim prayers are held. Additionally, the various chaplains work closely with religiously affiliated student organizations, partnering in programming as well as serving as mentors and advisors. • Student Development Diversity Initiatives (SDDI) advises identity-based organizations that primarily focus on the needs and issues of first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color. The SDDI staff provides leadership development opportunities and campus connections with other identity-based student communities on campus. There is also the Student Disability Services Office (part of Cornell Health) which is responsible for:  Establishing and disseminating criteria for disability services  Meeting with students to discuss access needs  Receiving and storing confidential disability documentation to support a student’s eligibility for disability services and accommodations  Collaborating with faculty and staff regarding the essential course and/or program requirements and appropriate reasonable accommodations  Being a leader of diversity efforts on campus that promote disability equity and inclusion https://sds.cornell.edu/ Students can utilize support for large introductory-level courses from the Learning Strategies Center. The Learning Strategies Center (LSC) is Cornell’s central academic support unit, providing students with supplemental instruction in foundational courses, tutoring assistance, and study skills courses, consultations and workshops designed to help students succeed at Cornell. The LSC is committed to providing services to all Cornell undergraduates, placing a particular emphasis on meeting the needs of underserved students. GRADUATE STUDENTS The Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement (OISE) in the Graduate School supports an inclusive and welcoming environment for all graduate and postdoctoral scholars and is committed to supporting excellence among graduate and professional students and fostering an environment that engenders the full participation of all members of our graduate and professional student community. OISE promotes a climate of diversity, inclusion, engagement, and achievement, which are integral components of graduate and postdoctoral education. OISE provides specific mentoring, professional, and academic development programs to help students achieve success at Cornell and in their future. A few programs offered include: • Graduate School Dean’s Scholars, which develops a community of diverse scholars through which connections are established and maintained across all graduate fields. • Summer Success Symposium, which is a one-day event for new and continuing M.S./Ph.D. and Ph.D. students from across all graduate fields who have received fellowships in support of diversity, and/or identify as first-generation college (FGC) students and/or students of color. Through this symposium, participants have the opportunity to form connections and participate in sessions in support of their transition to and progression through graduate school. • Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Welcome Reception, which provides participants with the opportunity to learn about student organizations represented on the OISE Leadership Council. • Dean’s Scholars Pinning Ceremony, which publicly recognizes and celebrates the Dean’s Scholars for their academic achievements, commitment to excellence, and potential for making meaningful contributions to their respective disciplines. • Colman Leadership Program (partnering with Diversity Programs in Engineering), which enrolls up to 30 Ph.D. students in an intensive multi-day program focused on providing participants with skills and knowledge that will support their development as leaders in graduate school and beyond. • NextGen Professors Program, a career-development program focused on preparing Cornell graduate students and postdocs for faculty careers across institutional types. The primary audience for this program is doctoral students (in year three or beyond) and postdocs from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the professoriate, and/or those with a demonstrated commitment to advancing diversity, inclusion, access, and equity in academia. • Future Professors Institute: Advancing Diversity in the Academy, which is a one-day event featuring workshops and guest speakers from multiple institutions discussing the topic of preparing for successful faculty careers. OISE also supports faculty engagement in discussions and workshops on holistic admissions practices, diversity recruitment practices, establishing more inclusive research and learning environments, and developing a greater understanding of the experiences and identities represented in the graduate population. A few of the programs offered include: • My Voice, My Story: Understanding the Untold Lived Experiences of Graduate & Professional Students, which are workshops that pair video monologues constructed from real experiences of graduate students with facilitated discussions. The primary objectives of these sessions are to utilize the power of narratives to achieve a greater understanding of the lived experiences of graduate and professional students and to develop and share strategies on how to create more inclusive and supportive research and learning environments. • Exploring Diversity Strategies for Graduate Recruitment & Selection, facilitated panel discussions on diversity recruitment strategies, reviewing graduate applications with diversity in mind, holistic review practices, and being aware of unconscious biases in the review of applications. • Gaining Insights – The Perspectives of Graduate Students From Marginalized Communities, facilitated panel discussions with graduate students focused on providing faculty with candid insights on the perspectives and experiences of graduate students from marginalized communities and how they are navigating some of the challenges confronting them at Cornell. Cornell is home to a number of graduate and professional student organizations that promote diversity and inclusion. The following student organizations represented on the Graduate & Professional Student Diversity Council (GPS DC), work collaboratively with the Graduate School and other campus partners on initiatives to advance a sense of community, professional excellence, and a climate of inclusion for all graduate and professional students, but especially for those from marginalized communities and backgrounds historically underrepresented in the academy. Graduate student organizations include: • Black Graduate and Professional Student Association (BGPSA) • Cornell Latin American Student Society (CLASS) • First Generation & Low Income Graduate Student Organization (FiGLI) • Graduate Women in Science (GWiS) • GPSA Diversity & International Student Committee (DISC) • Graduate & Professional Students International (GSPI) • Indigenous Graduate Student Association (IGSA) • Latinx Graduate Student Coalition (LGSC) • LGBTQ+ Graduate Student Association (QGrads) • Multicultural Academic Council (MAC) • Society for Asian American Graduate Affairs (SAAGA) Collaborative initiatives of OISE and the council include an annual Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Welcome Reception, Spring Recognition Banquet, Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Awards for students, faculty, and staff, the Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Summer Writing Group, and the Building Allyship Series. Collaborations also include the MAC and the GPSI peer mentoring initiatives. In addition, the Graduate School Diversity Advisory Council (GS-DAC) is responsible for providing the leadership of the Graduate School with feedback and guidance on diversity and inclusion plans and initiatives focused on graduate and professional students, postdoctoral scholars, and other key constituency groups. The council also provides advice and input regarding the Graduate School’s Belonging at Cornell diversity and inclusion initiatives. STAFF In terms of mentoring, Cornell offers Colleague Connections, a Staff Mentoring Program that supports career development and fosters collaborative relationships between staff at all levels. It creates the opportunity for staff to learn from each other by sharing knowledge, expertise, and skills while building diverse networks across campus. Meanwhile, within divisions and departments, area-specific mentoring programs also exist. For instance, The Division of Financial Affairs (DFA) Finance Mentor Program helps employees across the campus connect with each other to develop relationships that empower participants to have a greater impact on their organizations by advancing skills and enhancing self-esteem. The program is available to Cornell employees in every organization who wish to develop expertise in finance fields. DFA has been facilitating the program for more than ten years (with the current version of the program running for the past 7 years) with positive results and feedback. Additionally, recognizing that many individuals can benefit from a mentor outside their organization, Cornell recently signed on as a founding partner of a new workplace diversity and inclusion association called INvolve. INvolve focuses on providing support, development opportunities and networking for high-performing diverse talent as well as senior leaders. The membership is comprised of global and national companies including Fortune 100 companies, law firms, not-for-profits and institutions of higher education. One of INvolve’s signature programs in which Cornell participates is its global remote mentoring program. This program brings together diverse mentees with senior leaders. The program is cross-industry, intersectional and specifically designed to support diverse talent. Cornell provides mentors as well as mentees for the program. Further, Cornell sponsors five Colleague Network Groups (CNGs) as a way for traditionally underrepresented minorities and their allies to find support at Cornell. The five CNGs are the disability CNG, the LGBTQ CNG, the men of color CNG, the women of color CNG and the veterans CNG. The purpose of the CNG program is to: 1. Build a social space and sense of community among Cornell faculty and/or staff who identify as/with the specific identity of the CNG; 2. Provide CNG members with professional development and career support, information and resources to foster career growth and connection to the university; and 3. Tap into and utilize the knowledge, ideas, perspectives, and experiences of CNG members so they are an institutional resource and partner for identifying needs and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at and across the university The CNGs enhance our community culture by providing engaging programs for Cornell faculty and staff. The CNGs raise awareness, provide educational resources and support, offer peer mentorship and leadership development opportunities for members. In terms of support and counseling, Cornell's Faculty & Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) is a free, confidential resource to help Cornell employees resolve concerns that may impact their personal and/or professional lives. Through counseling, consultation, and referral services, our professional counselors provide specialized care to meet the unique needs of Cornell's faculty and staff members. The FSAP team recognize and celebrate the rich diversity of the Cornell community, and strive to be culturally competent and inclusive of the many cultures, experiences, practices, and values represented among clients. FACULTY The Office of Faculty Development and Diversity (OFDD) offers a number of mentoring, professional development and program to support faculty and academic staff. The office supports monthly mentoring lunches for faculty from underrepresented groups revolving around issues pertaining to teaching, research, and service. OFDD also supports a peer mentoring program where faculty in related fields meet on a set schedule, to discuss most often, research-related issues and progress; OFDD supports meals for their meetings and offers a senior mentor a stipend for their time. In addition, OFDD also supports a professional development grant which connects faculty with a senior colleague outside Cornel who can provide mentoring specific to their discipline. The program covers travel and accommodations to travel to the senior colleague or to bring that individual to the Cornell campus. Cornell also has an institutional subscription to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) and OFDD covers tuition for NCFDD’s 12 weeks faculty success program for untenured colleagues. In addition to the programs geared specifically towards faculty from groups who are underrepresented, OFDD offers a variety of mentoring and professional development programs to all faculty. Teaming with offices such as the Office of Sponsored Programs, Cornell Press, Community Relations, etc., OFDD offers programs on grant making, publishing, writing for the public and many more. The office sponsors dozens of programs a year. OFDD is also charged with the New Faculty Orientation in August of every year, which kick starts the professional development path of new faculty coming to Cornell, offering them a day of programs around teaching in a diverse classroom, teaching more broadly, doing research (specific to their discipline), and managing increased demands on their time that may stem from service requests. The office also provides rank-specific programs for assistant, associate, and full professors, addressing their rank-specific career needs (e.g. tenure and promotion session for assistant professors and an associate professor orientation for newly tenured faculty). Faculty, like Staff, also have access to Cornell's Faculty & Staff Assistance Program (FSAP), a free, confidential resource to help Cornell employees resolve concerns that may impact their personal and/or professional lives. More on this in the staff section. The Center for Teaching Innovation supports faculty teaching needs, with programs for new faculty, faculty interested in delving more deeply in teaching in a diverse campus, such as Cornell, and many other topics (teaching.cornell.edu).

Cornell has several programs that help build a diverse faculty for higher education. Cornell is a member of the national 21-institution CIRTL Network (Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning), whose mission is to develop future faculty particularly in the STEM disciplines, with a specific focus on learning through diversity. The Cornell CIRTL program is housed in the Graduate School. http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/cu-cirtl Cornell was awarded a Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program grant for 2012-2017 and renewed for 2017-2022 to nurture McNair scholars. The McNair Scholars Program prepares qualified undergraduates for entrance to a PhD program in all fields of study. The goals of the program are to increase the number of first-generation, low-income, and/or underrepresented students in PhD programs, and ultimately, to diversify the faculty in colleges and universities across the country. The Graduate School and the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives run the Graduate Students Mentoring Undergraduates Program, which provides opportunities for underrepresented graduate students to mentor underrepresented undergraduate students. https://www.oadi.cornell.edu/preprofessional/mentoring.cfm Our Undergraduate Research office aims to facilitate, coordinate, and support undergraduate research experiences for students. Having students work side-by-side with faculty and graduate students in labs and other research settings may stimulate interest in and capacity for progressing into graduate school and the professoriate. http://undergraduateresearch.cornell.edu/ The Mellon Mays program in the College of Arts and Sciences supports the Ph.D. aspirations of under-represented students in the humanities. The Mellon Post-Doctoral program prepares under-represented scholars for careers at major research universities including successful recruitment to Cornell. Through the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (as mentioned above), Cornell offers the pre-professional programs Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, and Cornell Professional Opportunities Program. Both of these provide opportunities, encouragement, and programming to build the capacity of undergraduate students to pursue advanced education in the sciences, technical fields, and the professions. https://www.oadi.cornell.edu/preprofessional/index.cfm Through the Center for Teaching Innovation, we offer future faculty teaching preparation programs, graduate level courses on teaching in higher education, master teaching assistant certificate programs, and a variety of individual consultations, workshops, institutes and other support structures such as teaching fellowships, to encourage graduate students to be excellent teachers as well as researchers, preparing them for the professoriate. https://teaching.cornell.edu Through the Graduate School, we offer diversity fellowships for students from groups historically underrepresented in graduate education. The Associate Dean for Inclusion and Student Engagement leads programs for diverse graduate students on transferable skills and professional and career development. http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/diversity

Data source(s) and notes about the submission Reporting Bias System: https://www.hr.cornell.edu/diversity/reporting/bias_response.html The reporting form is here: https://publicdocs.maxient.com/reportingform.php?CornellUniv&layout_id=6\ https://scl.cornell.edu/residential-life/housing/residential-programs/gender-inclusive-housing https://hr.cornell.edu/our-culture-diversity https://teaching.cornell.edu http://lsc.cornell.edu/ https://hr.cornell.edu/our-culture-diversity/get-involved/colleague-network-groups https://www.oadi.cornell.edu/programs/student-success-programs/mcnair.html http://facultydevelopment.cornell.edu/ http://dos.cornell.edu/student-development-diversity-initiatives