DEI Council and Charge

Cornell AgriTech DEI Council Mission Statement:

• To foster the on-going development of an inclusive and equitable work environment where diverse student, staff, and faculty feel secure and supported at Cornell AgriTech. 

• To support the expansion of Cornell AgriTech’s stakeholder base by identifying relevant underserved communities, assessing their extension needs, and aiding Cornell AgriTech community members in extending content that is inclusive and equally accessible to all stakeholders.  

Our DEI council is committed to answering the following questions to improve DEI at Cornell AgriTech:

  1. What is the current climate of belonging and the state of knowledge of  DEI at AgriTech?
     
  2. How can the AgriTech community enhance our competency in recognizing the importance of Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles and practices? Are current mechanisms for implementing DEI practices readily accessible and understood?
     
  3. How can we most effectively increase the diversity of our students, employees and stakeholders through recruitment and retention? Are there things we can do that are particularly suited to our community and its juxtaposition to the communities around us?
     
  4. How can we broaden our communication and outreach to reach clientele who are unfamiliar with our programs and impact? How can we make new clientele feel comfortable when they do interact with us?
     
  5. Do we enable diverse individuals in our community bring their authentic selves to work? Are the mechanisms for reporting bias widely known and adequate, particularly at Cornell AgriTech?
     
  6. How can we work within the broader Geneva and Finger Lakes community to address systemic bias and racism?

To help support AgriTech community members living in Geneva, NY, we have put together a list of relevant DEI resources. Geneva is a caring community and one that continues to add resources. As such, we will continue to build the list as more resources become available.