Office of the Assemblies

Dear Ekarina,

Thank you for submitting GPSA Resolution 7, “On the need for an institutional commitment to deconstructing systems of oppression and inequity”. I share the GPSA’s desire to address structural and systemic issues to make ours a more welcoming, inclusive and equal community. I also recognize and welcome the GPSA’s explicit role and voice as we work together in a university-wide effort to accomplish this goal.

While my charge to the Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate and Resolution 7’s language differ with respect to “addressing structural and systemic oppression,” our goals are shared and the charge is clear: we need to work together to “implement meaningful institutional change that leads to a campus climate that is more diverse and inclusive, and that expresses greater respect and understanding,” and must “fully engage the community in transparent efforts to effect institutional change”.

Confronting and addressing racism and institutional oppression in our university is the focus of the Task Force, and, as a leader in higher education, Cornell seeks to set an example of inclusivity that other educational institutions can emulate. However, it is unrealistic to commit Cornell to eliminating systems of oppression and inequity more broadly in our society, however worthy the goal. Cornell is a powerful societal force and should lead by example, but we cannot expect to change the hearts and minds of each and every individual.  

With respect to the recommendations of the OISE Leadership Council, I am glad to see Cornell’s student groups working in cooperation to address issues of diversity, inclusion and equity and to advance their concerns through our established processes of shared governance. I encourage the OISE LC to continue working in partnership with and through the GPSA as the shared governance body representing graduate and professional students. Responding directly to demands from every individual constituent group is not workable from a university governance standpoint. Issues that are raised through established shared governance processes signal priorities that are endorsed by the GPSA as the standing representative group of graduate and professional students.  

As I indicated in my response to GPSA Resolution 4, the Presidential Task Force will respond to and address the OISE LC’s recommendations that pertain to diversity and inclusion. Those items in the OISE LC document that are oriented more broadly toward the academic and research aspects of graduate education (such as the requests for increased conference grant funding and for a research methods collective) are outside of the Task Force charge. I suggest the OISE LC work through the GPSA regarding these matters to further articulate the needs and potential solutions.

With respect to recommendations for accountability of the Task Force, the statement of the OISE LC was taken into account as the Task Force charge was written. Moreover, the Scheinman Institute has the OISE LC recommendations, and presumably the endorsed nominees from the November 13 GPSA meeting will be nominated for Task Force membership via the online form. As a world leader in dispute resolution in the private and public sectors, the Scheinman Institute has my full confidence that they will use input from across campus to make recommendations that represent a broad spectrum of voices in our community.

The Task Force is charged with carrying out their work with full transparency and responsiveness, attributes that are imperative if our campus is going to heal and succeed in making meaningful institutional change. Cornell’s graduate and professional students are crucial partners in making the university a better place to study, work and live, and the administration and Task Force will make every effort to keep the GPSA’s constituents apprised of developments going forward. We are currently devising the communications systems for these efforts, and the need to clearly communicate with our campus stakeholders is a top priority.

Thank you again for submitting this resolution. I look forward to working with the GPSA as we move toward a more inclusive and accepting Cornell community.

Sincerely,

Martha Pollack