In a Thursday afternoon email to Cornell students, faculty, and staff, Cornell University President Martha Pollack announced measures that the Faculty Senate and other university entities would take in the coming semester to “embed anti-racism” across the campus’s activities.
The first set of measures pertained to academics. Under the new measures, students would need to take a “for-credit, educational requirement on racism, bias, and equity.” As of now, it is not clear which courses would satisfy this requirement. Additionally, university resources will be devoted to creating an “Anti-Racism Center” to analyze the effects of “systems and structures that perpetuate racism and inequality.” As per the president’s email, the goal would be to make this center a “national leader” in this area. Lastly, programs will be developed to focus on the history of “race, racism, and colonialism” in the United States.
The second set of measures were focused on creating an institution-wide, themed semester, to discuss the issues of racism in the U.S. using readings and discussions. The University has not yet announced when this semester would take place.
Another significant set of University policies pertained to reforms in policing. First, the Public Safety Advisory Board will now report directly to senior University administration. Second, a new “community response team” will be created to respond to “noncriminal and nonviolent incidents” in residential buildings.
Lastly, President Pollack announced new measures to support university staff. Some reforms included making Juneteenth a permanent university holiday, instituting new “cultural competency” requirements, and providing new mentorship programs.
The email went on to detail several other college-specific initiatives being taken this coming year.
To read the full statement, please click here.
This article was written by Samuel Kim, Managing Editor.
