In the wake of protests which followed the death of George Floyd, Cornell University president Martha Pollack released a series of university-level anti-racism initiatives. Pollack charged the Faculty Senate with the task of creating a “for-credit, educational requirement on racism, bias and equity for all Cornell students”, establishing “an Anti-Racism Center that further strengthens our research and education on systems and structures that perpetuate racism and inequality,” and faculty education on “the history of race, racism and colonialism in the United States.”
The Faculty Senate established three working groups to outline specific proposals for each of these initiatives. All three working groups have submitted draft reports of their proposals to the Faculty Senate.
Working Group C, tasked with the creation of the “The Center for Antiracist, Just, and Equitable Futures”, described the center as hub for scholarship and activism that “creates greater justice and equity on campus and beyond” and as a “programmatic space” which will sponsor “an annual focal theme, a pipeline to-the-academy program, and selected grant-making programs.” Working Group S, tasked with the creation of an “Educational Requirement for Students”, put forward a proposal that deals with the “historical and structural basis of race, ethnicity and indigeneity” including a discipline-specific component where students would relate antiracism ideas to their field of study. Working Group F, tasked with the creation of a “Required Educational Program for Faculty”, discussed the use of this antiracism program as a means of “accreditation” for faculty to serve in positions of leadership and as a factor in annual evaluations.
The Antiracism Initiative’s website states, “The Senate will debate and possibly modify the recommendations before registering formal support through a vote or multiple votes. The recommendations will be made to the President and Provost, who then, in consultation with the deans, will consider academic implications and financial resources.”
The Review reached out to the Dean of Faculty to ask when the Faculty Senate will vote on these initiatives. Dean of Faculty, Charles Van Loan, responded to The Review’s request for comment, writing in an email to The Review, “The Faculty Senate meets Wednesday (3/17) 3:30-5:00pm and a proposal for a Center for Antiracist, Just, and Equitable Futures is on the agenda.” Dean Van Loan also said that a vote on the proposal for the antiracism center will take place around March 31st. Van Loan also expected the presentation of the proposals for the student and faculty education requirements will take place around that time as well. Each recommendation will be immediately sent to the President and Provost following the vote.
