Our Mission is to honor our College's commitment to Cornell University’s core values by cultivating a welcoming, caring, and equitable community. Our goal is to ensure that all staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation.
We work together with College and University leadership and other stakeholders, through open and civil dialogue, to promote community and engagement. Our committee has a specific focus on staff, but collaborates wherever possible with other initiatives to amplify impact.
We strive to embody and strengthen a community of belonging across boundaries, through the lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, with the goal of parity for all College employees.
Why is it important?
- Improve engagement where people are involved, developed, and empowered.
- Foster an inclusive environment where individuals feel they belong.
- Celebrate a diverse environment with the opportunity to learn from and about each other and embrace differences.
- Encourage employee retention through strengthening staff community
- Improve institutional reputation.
- Enrich the professional experience of staff.
- Increase opportunities for creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.
Initiatives
- A&S Staff Welcome Back and Resource Fair – Wednesday, September 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall
- A&S Staff Speaker Series featuring guest speakers from Cornell's staff leading informal discussions about their work and life experiences
- Identify relevant and effective DEIA-related trainings for A&S managers and staff
- Community building events for staff; recent examples are our "Cocoa and Book Swap" and a “Guiding Eyes at Cornell” information session
Resources
Trainings
- Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Cornell
- A series of programs designed to advance an inclusive educational environment and workplace: Inclusive Excellence Academy
- An annual event for staff and faculty to learn and develop practical skills for cultivating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace and fostering a culture of belonging: Inclusive Excellence Summit.
Colleague Network Groups
The Colleague Network Groups (CNGs) are organized identity-based groups that help their constituents build community, share strategies for navigating the university and serve as support networks. The university sponsors Colleague Network Groups as a way for traditionally underrepresented minorities and their allies to find support, both at Cornell and beyond.
Online Resources and Support
- Report A Bias Incident
- Request a Disability Accommodation
- Request a Religious Accommodation
- LGBTQ+ Resource Guide for Faculty and Staff
- Cornell Office of Civil Rights
- Officer of the University Ombuds
- Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell
- Cornell Institutional Initiatives
- Resources on Antisemitism and Islamophobia
Contact the committee
Your feedback matters! We want to hear from you!
For questions, contact our DEIA Staff Committee directly at: as-deia@cornell.edu