‘DEI GROUPTHINK’: New report accuses Cornell of saying ‘No’ to faculty applicants for opposing DEI brainwashing

The Cornell Free Speech Alliance (CFSA) released a report on May 22 claiming to provide evidence to show that Cornell University rejected a large number of applicants for faculty positions based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles. 

The report refers to “DEI-driven faculty hiring abuses” perpetrated by Cornell, which allegedly violate both “US and NY State Anti-Discrimination and Employment Law.”

Citing “internal Cornell documents” obtained via “whistleblowers” involved in research and instruction in one of the university’s STEM departments CFSA asserts that “Cornell continues to practice blatant discrimination in the hiring of faculty.”

The report hinges on a case study of the hiring process for one particular job opening. The report asserts that the search committee for the position initially established a 5-element rubric for assessing applicants that included assessments of DEI statements, previous research, instructional capability, professional and volunteer work, and “student advisory potential.”

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But CFSA says this rubric was ultimately “set aside” so that a DEI “litmus test” could first be conducted on each candidate, before any other evaluation– effectively making DEI commitment the “first priority” in evaluating candidates. 

”Several designated subgroups of the Search Committee were established which had this singular purpose: To review only the DEI Statement of each candidate as the first credential to be assessed,” according to the report.

This alone reportedly eliminated 13% of candidates. Another 8% were reportedly eliminated at a later step that involved evaluating the “demographic profile” of each application with “equity” concerns in mind.

“It has long been evidenced that Cornell has a penchant for hiring faculty and staff (especially in the humanities and social sciences) who hold extreme and one-sided political views,” CFSA reported. 

The report continues to detail how this ideological discrimination has been extended recently to STEM subjects as well.

“However, recent confidential disclosures provided to CFSA make clear how the Cornell Administration uses DEI Statements to reject candidates for STEM faculty positions who hold personal views that do not adequately conform to the ‘DEI GroupThink’ dogma now dominating campus life,” the report reveals.

“Due to the non-political nature of the study of pure science, many have felt that the STEM fields…would escape the oppressive monoculture that has come to dominate other academic disciplines at Cornell,” the report explains. “However, under [Former Cornell President Martha] Pollack policies, DEI mandates now require all prospective Cornell faculty members to pledge special treatment and advantages to faculty and students belonging to certain favored identity groups.”

The report additionally states that the majority of Cornell’s faculty hiring guidelines are dedicated to DEI-related goals.

“A detailed analysis of Cornell’s Best Practices guidelines shows that the great majority of the text included in these guidelines (i.e. 72% -- or 2025 out of 2802 total words) is devoted exclusively to promoting such ‘diversity hires’ in filling new faculty positions,” CFSA’s report asserts. “This clearly indicates that instituting intense DEI-driven (rather than merit-based) hiring bias is the primary purpose of these guidelines.”

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A CFSA board member, Carl Neuus, said that Cornell can reverse course from DEI-driven hiring practices, but that “major reforms” are necessary.

“Cornell has an opportunity to reverse course and demonstrate principled leadership by loudly and publicly abolishing these pernicious DEI policies,” Neuss said. “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.”

Campus Reform has contacted Cornell University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.