Cornell University
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Toward New Destinations provides a broad institutional framework for diversity, asserting the centrality of diversity and inclusion to the university’s values and excellence. Cornell’s diversity plan is based on the recognition that education, research, knowledge production, and operational and academic pursuits are enhanced through full and reciprocal engagement among diverse perspectives, life experiences, and modes of knowledge creation and interpretation. Toward New Destinations is thus designed to promote the pursuit of excellence through support for the core values provided in Cornell’s institutional commitment of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds.” Toward New Destinations presents a comprehensive list of diversity goals structured according to four core principles: composition, engagement, inclusion, and achievement. These principles serve to display the scope of this new approach to planning, which includes the demographic make-up of the institution; Cornell’s ability to inspire personal, social, and professional commitment to its goals and activities on the part of all members of its community; the climate and nature of professional and interpersonal relations at the university; and the levels of attainment of underrepresented individuals or groups. Initiatives in the engagement and inclusion principles specifically focus on campus diversity culture, thus regularly reported progress and accomplishments on these initiatives provide unit-level culture information. Cornell regularly measures the overall organizational climate, including measures which specifically address diversity and inclusion, for students, faculty and staff. The student survey, called the Pulse, is conducted on a bi-annual cycle. The faculty survey is conducted every five years and the staff survey was conducted in fall, 2011.

Cornell Institutional Research and Planning has partnered with academic leadership to develop dashboards to continuously assess and track student diversity and equity by school and by degree objective program, graduation and retention rates for diverse groups, and perceptual measures by diverse group on an annual basis. This can be found on the diversity dashboards at http://irp.dpb.cornell.edu/university-factbook/diversity. This information has been used to develop student-focused annual initiatives for Cornell's Diversity and Inclusion framework Toward New Destinations. Some examples include: • Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP)– increase recruitment and enrollment of multicultural students, in conjunction with AAP’s Admissions Office • Arts and Sciences (A&S) initiate Posse Program, using the program to enhance college recruitment and advising/achievement for underrepresented students • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) – increase the percentage of underrepresented students by further developing relationships with targeted high schools and higher education institutions • Computing and Information Science (CIS)—increase the number of women/underrepresented students expressing interest in computer science entering freshman • College of Engineering (ENG) – maintain and expand pipelines to targeted local, regional, national, and international communities, and nations • College of Human Ecology (HE) – Access and improve the peer-mentoring program directed to minority students and supporting personal growth and academic success by facilitation relationships and the sharing of information among new students, upper-class students, and faculty • School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)—consider how we can feasibly increase the number of freshman and transfer applicants from low-income families, especially among underrepresented groups. • Graduate School—The Director of Recruitment works with the Associate Dean for Inclusion and Professional Development to support graduate fields to develop relationships with strategic partners, foster exchange of information, and support implementation and management of new Graduate School Recruitment Grants to increase enrollment of URMs

As a federal contractor, Cornell bi-annually assesses employee diversity and employment equity in hiring, promotion and retention practices. Information on employee diversity can be found on the diversity dashboard at http://irp.dpb.cornell.edu/university-factbook/diversity.

Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell has been a central part of Cornell's mission since the university was founded. Specifically, our mission is as follows: Cornell is a learning community that seeks to serve society by educating the leaders of tomorrow and extending the frontiers of knowledge. In keeping with the founding vision of Ezra Cornell, our community fosters personal discovery and growth, nurtures scholarship and creativity across a broad range of common knowledge, and engages men and women from every segment of society in this quest. We pursue understanding beyond the limitations of existing knowledge, ideology, and disciplinary structure. We affirm the value to individuals and society of the cultivation of the human mind and spirit. Our faculty, students, alumni, and staff strive toward these objectives in a context of freedom with responsibility. We foster initiative, integrity, and excellence in an environment of collegiality, civility, and responsible stewardship. As the land grant university for the State of New York, we apply the results of our endeavors in service to our alumni, the community, the state, the nation, and the world. Cornell's Diversity and Inclusion framework, Toward New Destinations, actively engages the entire Cornell community, including faculty, staff, undergraduate students, graduate/professional students, post-docs, parents, alumni, and community partners. Last year, as part of this initiative, the Department of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity (DIWD) partnered with the student assembly to design and conduct a survey to assess diverse group's representation in student shared governance. DIWD also assesses leadership composition for both faculty and staff on a bi-annual basis, tracking progress and sharing concerns with leadership. On an annual basis, the Board of Trustees receives an "Inclusion Report" and accompanying presentation sharing the university's progress over the last decade.