Chad Coates is 14th employee-elected trustee

Chad Coates, assistant dean of admissions and advising in the College of Arts and Sciences, was voted Cornell’s 14th employee-elected trustee in an election held April 11-13. More than 1,300 staff members participated in the election.

Succeeding Alan Mittman, Coates will begin his four-year term July 1.

As assistant dean, Coates chairs admissions committees for undergraduate international applicants from the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, and serves as academic adviser to a cohort of first- and second-year students. He is also administrative coordinator of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Program and leads the Prefreshman Summer Program and other diversity initiatives within the College of Arts and Sciences.

“I think the top three priorities for the board of trustees are: the appointment of a new president who advances Cornell’s core values of respect, dignity and fairness for all employees; facilitation and creation of the new strategic plan for the institution that reflects Cornell’s core values; and improvement of communication between the board and the Cornell community,” said Coates. “I am very grateful and humbled to be elected as the employee trustee. I am excited for the opportunity to represent Cornell employees, and will strive to use my position as a trustee to improve Cornell by ensuring the board is informed and sensitized to the needs, experiences and perspectives of Cornell employees.”

Pilar Thompson, vice chair for finance, Employee Assembly, extended her congratulations to Coates, saying, “His desire to inform the board of trustees regarding employee needs, experiences and perspectives falls in line with the work we do in the Employee Assembly. I look forward to working with him in bringing a voice to Cornell’s employees.”

As noted in his campaign statement, Coates engages with a wide cross-section of staff, faculty and community partners, both in his daily job responsibilities and in the various boards on which he sits, including as a member of the Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) Board of Trustees. He is also a crisis manager for students, a house fellow at Carl Becker House and a volunteer for Into the Streets and active member of the CaribIthacans network.

B.J. Siasoco, Employee Assembly chair, said, “I’m excited for Chad and his election as employee-elected trustee. Cornell is a unique institution in its having an employee serve as a full voting member of its board of trustees. I am proud to be a part of that institution, and Chad's experience in higher education will bring a great perspective to the board. I look forward to working with him.” 

Coates brings an international perspective to his trustee role as well, having represented Cornell in Brazil and South Africa. He is interested in Cornell’s international partnerships and the ways in which the university is successfully positioned as a global brand, recognized for excellence in innovation and research, he noted in his campaign statement.

 “Chad’s experiences in Arts and Sciences, shared governance and as a trustee at TC3 – among other fine attributes – make him well-suited to assume the employee-elected trustee position,” said Mittman. “I look forward to helping prepare him, as my successor, for this role, which I am confident he will fulfill exceptionally well.”

This article originally appeared in Pawprint.