Close-up of a plaque engraved with the Cornell University motto.
A Commitment to Equity

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

The College of Arts & Sciences embodies Cornell University’s founding principle:

I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.

- Ezra Cornell, 1868

But a diverse student body and a breadth of academic pathways is not enough – all students also need to feel valued, respected, heard, intellectually challenged and encouraged to grow once they arrive at Cornell. This requires a commitment to an equitable and just institution that encompasses our entire community of students, faculty and staff. Here are some of the ways we express our commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity and justice.

University initiatives

We embrace Cornell University’s core values and we are committed to the institutional initiatives put forth by the university’s Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate and the Provost’s Task Force to Enhance Faculty Diversity. The eight main tenets of this plan feature changes in culture, policies and priorities; a commitment to increasing the diversity of the university’s faculty and staff; and a promise to enhance the student experience to support social belonging and wellness.

The College of Arts & Sciences is also actively involved in Belonging at Cornell, an institutional framework designed to track measurable progress toward making Cornell a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. Metrics included in this framework are based on a sense of belongingfairness, a net promotor scoreturnover rates and proportionate hiring rates.

Programming with impact

Related News and Research

Learn more and take action

Public engagement programming

In Spring and Fall 2024, The College of Arts & Sciences partnered with the Office of the Provost to host a series of talks, Antisemitism and Islamophobia Examined

The College also oversees the Distinguished Visiting Journalist program and Arts Unplugged series which often addresses issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

Additional diversity, equity and inclusion resources 

For Faculty 

For Staff 

For Students 

For Alumni, Parents and Friends

Resources to address racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia

Visit this page to report an incident of bias.

The Office of Faculty Development and Diversity has shared a list of Resources to Engage in Conversations About Race and Anti-Racism and the Cornell Library has created an online guide about anti-racism.

Land Acknowledgment for the Ithaca Campus

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

 

Learn more about this land acknowledgment through the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program.