Cornell University using DEI policy to reject faculty candidates for not ‘conforming,’ group claims
Cornell University is “corrupting” its science, math and engineering programs by using its “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” policy to reject a huge portion of candidates for faculty jobs because their views are deemed counter to the school’s left-leaning “ideological orthodoxy,” a merit-based campus advocacy group alleged after reviewing bombshell leaked documents.
A report by the Cornell Free Speech Alliance cities “smoking gun” evidence that the “DEI Statements” of prospective professors were used to reject 21% of applicants in a recent faculty search in a hard science field.
The Upstate New York Ivy no longer requires candidates to submit explanations of how they would advance Cornell’s commitment to the principle of DEI — but such forms were used against the job hopefuls anyway, the Free Speech Alliance said.
The rejections came without fairly considering the candidates’ academic credentials, research, or teaching abilities, the group alleged.
The analysis was based on whistleblower documents and internal reports provided to the alliance by Cornell staffers, according to the Free Speech Alliance
The DEI policy is discriminatory and should be scrapped, said the Free Speech Alliance said.
“Cornell has an opportunity to reverse course and demonstrate principled leadership by loudly and publicly abolishing these pernicious DEI policies,” said Free Speech Alliance board member and Cornell alum Carl Neuss.
“Without major reforms, Cornell faces increasing risk of legal jeopardy, reputational damage, and loss of academic legitimacy. We urge the university to act before it’s too late,” added Neuss.
The internal documents show that the school also used demographic factors such as race and age to favor some candidates and disadvantage others.
“DEI is NOT `leveling the playing field’ to fully include underrepresented groups – but, instead, is `heavily tilting’ the playing field in favor of faculty candidates possessing preferred demographic characteristics and viewpoints,” the report said.
The group has recommended that Cornell stand by free speech and advance diversity of viewpoints on campus.
The Free Speech Alliance analysis called the DEI hiring practice the “corruption” of academic fields that have little to do with political ideology, including the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“By placing such socio-political loyalty pledges before academic excellence in assessing applicant qualifications, the faculty hiring process has become badly distorted and educational quality has been seriously degraded at Cornell,” the group’s study said.
The group alleged this hiring practice, which is aimed at enforcing “viewpoint conformity,” is “widespread across academic fields.”
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently announced it will no longer require prospective professors to write a statement explaining how they would promote DEI as part of their employment .
Cornell president Martha Pollack, a champion of the DEI policy, recently announced she is retiring — effective June 30 — after six years at the helm.
Like other New York campuses, Cornell in leafy Ithaca has been embroiled in months of turmoil following the terror group Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza — resulting in anti-Israel demonstrations, antisemitism and death threats to Jewish students.
Prominent alumni have called for Pollack’s resignation over DEI and campus unrest.
The policy has come under greater scrutiny after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action in admissions of college students, saying any racial or ethnic preferences is unconstitutional.
A Cornell rep declined to comment.
