This Monday, the university president Martha Pollack delivered the annual President’s Address to staff at the auditorium in the Biotechnology Building.
At the start of the meeting, Pollack presented the Employee Assembly Appreciation Award to the Cornell Animal Hospital and Neurodiversity at Cornell for their efforts to promote positive influence in the Cornell community.
“Many clients have language and or physical barriers and this team manages their care and makes every client they interact with feel heard and taken care of,” said Pollack in the recognition of the Cornell Animal Hospital. And the newly founded Neurodiversity at Cornell was rewarded for creating an “inclusive and supportive environment” for students, staff, and faculty.
Pollack also announced a bonus payment to many staff this month to help them cope with higher expenses in Ithaca. Non-bargaining regular staff, who have not negotiated their contracts separately, can receive payments ranging from $500 to $1000 dollars. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause following this announcement.
“People who are earning under $50,000 a year will receive a lump sum of $1,000, and those who are earning more, up to the $100,000 cap, will receive less on a sliding scale with a minimum bonus of $500.”
However, not as much attention was given to Pollack’s words before the bonus announcement. Pollack warned that, although there will be a pay adjustment for this year, she’s, “not sure we’re going to be able to get raises that are comparable with the actual amount of inflation.”
This is concerning, but the end-year bonus payment served as a sweetener for the message. Employees could face trouble covering their living expenses with salaries lagging behind inflation.
Afterwards, President Pollack listed Cornell’s accomplishments in the past year, including the naming of three schools – Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, and Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration – “thanks to the incredible generosity of our alumni and friends.”
This raised an ironic contrast: While raising billions of dollars from alumni and friends, Cornell claims that it might not be able to pay its employees at a rate on par with inflation.
During the Q&A session, one staff member raised a question on the difficulty of staff parking and the unpredictability of TCAT buses. In response, a police officer provided updates on the school’s more flexible permit system as well as TCAT’s new contract with employees.
Pollack also fielded a question about academic freedom in relation to legislation from Florida. Florida has recently made headlines for several laws dictating what can and cannot be taught in schools. Pollack called these efforts “dangerous,” and stated that “if faculty are restricted in what they can teach them, students are restricted in what they can learn.” Pollack also said she believed free speech to be a relevant issue, and not limited to one side or another.
Another staff member worried about student usage of AI assistance technology such as ChatGPT. Pollack dismissed the concern, stating optimistically that generative AI technology, “like calculators,” can assist learning in revolutionary new ways.
In closing, Pollack thanked the university staff again for their hard work and contributions. “Thank you. I mean it seriously,” she said, “thank you for all you do for the university.”
Correction: an earlier version of this article referred to the Employee Assembly as the Employee Senate.
