News from the Office of Faculty Development
and Diversity
2019-20 Year in Review
Dear Colleagues,

As the academic year draws to a close, we are sharing highlights from the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity (OFDD) in 2019-20, including signature events, awards, programs, and plans for next year.

Once Cornell changed to virtual instruction to prevent the spread of the Novel Coronavirus disease, OFDD moved its programming on-line. We're now recording most sessions and posting them on our website . Links to our spring programs are provided here with details below.

We continue to implement the recommendations of the Provost's Task Force to Enhance Faculty Diversity . For example, the inaugural competition for the annual Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching, and Service Through Diversity was held in the fall. Award recipients Maria Cristina Garcia, the Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies, and Anthony Burrow, associate professor of human development, each received a $15,000 prize. Nominations for the 2020 award to be given to two tenure-track or tenured faculty members will be requested in the Spring 2021.

Other highlights of the year include bringing Anthony Abraham Jack, assistant professor of education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, to Cornell to speak to a standing-room-only audience about his book, The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing Poor
Students.

We welcome your recommendations for programs and training sessions to hold in 2020-2021. Send your suggestions to [email protected].

Enjoy the summer and stay safe!

Best,
Avery August
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs


Yael Levitte
Associate Vice Provost for Faculty
Development and Diversity
Moving OFDD's Programs On-Line
Responding to COVID-19
The Office of Faculty and Development and Diversity moved its programs to the Zoom platform this Spring, once instruction transitioned to on-line learning.

"We re-tooled our programs and services to address the uncertainty surrounding teaching, conducting research and working in a remote environment," says Yael Levitte, associate vice provost for faculty development and diversity.

Links to session recordings are provided below and relevant materials are available on OFDD's website . Additionally, the Center for Teaching Innovation offers resources to assist faculty with teaching.
Improving Diversity

Supported by the Provost's commitment, Cornell continues to make progress in its efforts to increase faculty diversity.

In Fall 2019, women faculty members comprised 47 percent of new incoming faculty, reaching 34.1 percent (575) of all ranked professors compared to 26.7 percent (421) in Fall 2010, according to the Composition Dashboard compiled by Institutional Research and Planning.

Similarly, in Fall 2019, minority faculty members comprised 27.3 percent of new incoming faculty, with the total number of minority faculty members increasing from 232 or 14.7 percent in the Fall 2010 to 344 or 20.5 percent in the Fall 2019. Also, 16.7 percent of those new incoming faculty joining Cornell were u nderrepresented (Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Pacific Islander/Hawaiian) and contributed to an increase from 99 or 6.3 percent in the Fall 2010 to 144 or 8.6 percent in the Fall 2019.

More details can be found on the  Composition Dashboard .
Faculty Diversity Award
Maria Cristina Garcia, the Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies, and Anthony Burrow, associate professor of human development, are the recipients of the 2020 Faculty Diversity Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching, and Service Through Diversity.

Garcia’s research centers on immigration and refugees. Burrow focuses on racial identity, discrimination and how having purpose in life impacts personal growth. Aside from their scholarship, they were recognized as student advocates. For more information on their contributions, see the Cornell Chronicle story

Students, faculty and staff nominated tenured and tenure-track faculty for the award established last year following the recommendations of the  Provost’s Task Force to Enhance Faculty Diversity . Nominations for the 2021 award will be solicited in the Spring 2021.
Grants Supporting Research in the Life Sciences
Ronald and Joan Schwartz, Cornell Class of '65
Angela Poole,
Nutritional Science
Gerlinde Van de Walle, Microbiology and Immunology
Angela Poole, assistant professor in the Division of Nutritional Science, and Gerlinde Van de Walle, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, received the annual Schwartz Research Fund for Women and Other Underrepresented Faculty in the Life Sciences.

Endowed by Ronald H. Schwartz '65 and Joan Poyner Schwartz '65, t he annual grants support female and other underrepresented scientists engaged in innovative and creative research.

Details about Poole's and Van de Walle's research are discussed in the Cornell Chronicle . Taryn Bauerle, associate professor of horticulture, also received an award for conference travel.

“We are grateful to Ron and Joan Schwartz for their continued commitment to faculty conducting innovative research” said Yael Levitte, associate vice provost for faculty development and diversity.

Applications for the 2021 awards will be available this fall.
Special Events and Programs
Anthony Abraham Jack, assistant professor of education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, discussed his book, The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing Poor Students , on Oct. 3.

OFDD and Cornell University Press partnered in a 4-part series on Academic Book Publishing. The final session, What's Next in Academic Publishing , was recorded. A handout, First Book Advice for Submissions , is on OFDD's website.
OFDD sponsors programs to enrich faculty's experience at Cornell. Listed on our website under Upcoming Faculty Events , OFDD programs include unconscious bias training for faculty search committees, mentoring opportunities for junior faculty, grant writing, media training, and other topics. If there's a program or training session you would like us to hold, please email [email protected].