Cornell Faculty-Student Group Demands Racial Quotas, Criticizes ‘Colorblind’ Practices

Dozens of Cornell University faculty, staff, students, and alumni signed onto a letter attacking “colorblind” practices, insisting that the university institute racial quotas and recruit “clusters” of non-White individuals.

The letter, published Monday, launches into a long list of immediate and long-term demands after accusing the Ivy League university of “symbolic” efforts in response to racism.

“As an institution Cornell aspires to the highest principles of civic duty,” the letter reads. “Yet every ‘colorblind’ event, mechanism, and process at the university — from new faculty orientations to selection of endowed positions — perpetuates racial disparities and reinforces an unjust status quo.”

To remedy that, the letter proposes setting benchmarks for the proportion of trustees and faculty of color.

“Increase representation of Black faculty to 7 percent in 2025 and to 10 percent in 2030,” the demand reads.

“Increase representation of other faculty of color to 20 percent in 2025 and 25 percent in 2030, in line with the percentage of new PhDs conferred in the US. Create benchmarks for increasing BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] faculty in those departments and disciplines with the most severe underrepresentation.”

In the short-term, that entails recruiting “clusters” of faculty and students who are Black, indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

The demands explicitly call for an end to “colorblind recruitment polices and practices in partner/spousal hiring,” as well as “partner/spousal hires to all BIPOC faculty, including assistant professors.”

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Cornell’s curriculum must also undergo “systematic changes,” the letter argues. {snip}

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Monday’s letter came as the Trump administration denounced “critical race theory” as “anti-American propaganda.” The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo Friday banning trainings that involved, for example, White employees acknowledging they benefited from racism.

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