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DEI Affairs Committee

CVM building in distance with autumn leaves in foreground

Charge

As agreed by college leadership and faculty the committee’s “Charge” is to:

  • Work together with the university diversity council and university diversity officers to promote Cornell's diversity initiatives and goals within the veterinary college
  • Annually review gender and ethnicity data related to recruitment, admissions and retention for faculty and staff in the college and students in professional D.V.M. and graduate programs. These efforts are coordinated with the Offices of Human Resources, Student and Academic Services and Research and Graduate Education
  • Provide advice and training for college faculty and staff members serving on search committees in order to highlight Cornell's diversity goals and ensure inclusive, fair and thorough searches 
  • Work with college and university administrators and committees to promote a climate of inclusion, develop workshops, and provide opportunities for interaction with special attention to the advancement of underrepresented minorities and women

Programsgraphic of cornell clocktower with multicolored speech bubbles surrounding it

Community Building & Communication

  • Many Voices, One College: A monthly diversity and inclusion dialogue series providing an open forum for honest discussion in a smaller group forum (60-80 people) where the college community can cultivate understanding. Past topics have included:cultural appropriation, racial injustice, and calling in vs calling out.
  • Diversity Speaker Series: Semi-annual presentations and discussions led by distinguished thought leaders to present diverse ideas and perspectives on a variety of topics in a college-wide/large audience setting. Past speakers have included: Dr. Avery August, Dr. Vijay Pendakur and Dr. Peter Houser.
  • Town Halls: DEI is a frequent topic at regularly-scheduled town halls led by Dean Warnick

Education

  • Community book reads: Leading the college-wide participation in the university-wide reading of and discussions about Ibram X. Kendi’s book “How to be an Antiracist” in the winter 2021.  Additional book reads are planned for spring 2021
  • Facilitator training: Sponsor training to lead book reads and other diversity dialogues
  • Educational event planning: Developing a series of workshops and events in 2021 to engage people who may have very different levels of understand and comfort levels discussing issues related to race.

Faculty

  • Recruitment: Re-examining the current search process and determining meaningful ways to recruit and retain diverse faculty

Organization

  • DEI Affairs Committee: Dr. Melanie Ragin, Chair
  • Working Groups
    • Alumni (Dr. Melanie Ragin, Co-Chair; Dr. Jai Sweet, Co-Chair): Enhances URM DVM pipeline and alumni engagement.
    • Faculty (Dr. Susie Fubini, Co-Chair; Tessa Brown, Co-Chair): Collaborates with the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity on approaches to enhance faculty diversity.
    • Students (Dr. Jai Sweet, Co-Chair; Dr. Antonia Jameson Jordan, Co-Chair): Leads student outreach and engagement strategies.
    • Staff (Dr. Melanie Ragin, Chair)
    • Education/Many Voices, One College (MVOC):Helps to assess the needs and priorities of the CVM community for educational programming around diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism, and to organize relevant trainings, speaker events, dialogues, discussions and workshops in response. The working group also aims to build more conversation across CVM units, as well as between staff, faculty, and students at the college.
    • Marketing & Communications (Len Johnson, Chair; Audrey Baker, Michelle Moyal): Raises awareness of CVM DEI's mission, action plans and initiatives. Manages the DEI website and promotes engagement.

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