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Cornell University

The Annual Fund Insider

Volunteer Giving Initiatives (VGI) Resources

Complex Campus Topics: Resources

Many campus topics related to antisemitism, freedom of expression, student safety and conduct, and the Israel-Hamas war are deeply complex. While volunteers are discouraged from engaging in debates with alums over such issues, we want to provide you with up-to-date information so that you’re informed and connected to the university. If you feel that an alum that you’re working with would benefit from receiving more information about any of these topics, please let your AAD staff liaison know and we will follow up.

University Statements

2024

2023

Student Safety and Support

Student safety is the biggest priority at all times, and that is especially true in times of tension or threats.

  • Cornell has a robust protocol to ensure that protest activities remain safe for everyone on campus.
  • In October, Cornell increased patrols and arranged additional security for Jewish students and organizations on and off campus. This included additional security at 104 West.
  • The university maintains constant communication with Jewish students and student groups.
  • Our spiritual life leadership has offered and will continue to offer vigils and healing spaces.
  • University administrators, including the Vice President for Student and Campus Life, are continually meeting with, and listening to, students and student groups.
  • President Pollack has met numerous times with our Jewish students since Oct. 7.
  • Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi and Dean of Students Marla Love met dozens of times with Jewish, Muslim, and Palestinian students since October. They, along with Cornell United Religious Work, have engaged in multiple sessions to offer support to our students of various faiths.
  • Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) has offered numerous “Let’s Talk” sessions in Anabel Taylor Hall that are open to all students needing to process current events.
  • Campus mental health resources are available to all Cornell students. Those needing professional mental health support can call Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 607-255-5155 or connect through 24/7 hotlines and test lines.

Reporting antisemitic and/or threatening incidents:

Anyone with information about threats made against members of our community is asked to come forward. Anonymous reports can be made through the Silent Witness Program. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to contact the Public Safety Communications Center if they are being harassed or threatened, or to report suspicious activity.

Investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights

  • Cornell received a notice of an investigation from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. This notice followed a complaint the agency received regarding the university’s response to incidents of harassment of Jewish students in October*.
  • Cornell is one of 19 colleges and universities where investigations have been opened since Oct. 7.
  • The university is preparing a response to the Office of Civil Rights that will reflect Cornell’s ongoing commitment to maintaining an academic community free of unlawful discrimination and unlawful harassment.

*Important Note: The Office for Civil Rights is obligated to open an investigation when it receives complaints, and an investigation does not mean there have been violations. 

Status of Professor Russell Rickford

The university does not issue updates on individual personnel matters. What we know is the following:

  • On October 15, Russell Rickford, associate professor of history, spoke at an off-campus rally, where he described the Hamas terrorist attacks as “exhilarating.”
  • President Martha Pollack and Kraig Kayser, Board of Trustees chair, issued a statement in which they said Rickford’s comment was reprehensible and demonstrates a complete disregard for humanity.
  • Rickford is on leave from the university. Consistent with long-established due process procedures for tenured faculty members, his case is under review.

Cornell’s Relationship with Qatar

  • Cornell receives funding—totaling over $1.3 billion since 2012—to operate a medical school in Qatar.
  • Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar is the first American medical school outside the United States to award medical degrees from its home institution.
  • It has graduated over 500 doctors from the Middle East, Asia, and many other countries, including the U.S., who are now aiding the ongoing transformation of patient care, biomedical research, and overall quality of life in the region and around the world.
  • Cornell University is proud of the sound and mutually beneficial collaborations with institutions in the U.S. and around the world that extend our land-grant mission to innovate and share knowledge for the public good.
  • Through its international activities, Weill Cornell Medicine seeks to provide opportunities for our students, trainees, and faculty to improve health, education, and research in the world, and to extend and enhance our positive impact.
  • Cornell has always been transparent regarding the sources of its Qatar funding. The funding has appeared in published financial documents.

Facilitating donor intentions

If a donor wishes to support Cornell’s Jewish students or programming, they can designate gifts to:

  • Cornell Hillel
  • Various funds supporting the Jewish Studies program
  • Various funds supporting the Near Eastern Studies program

Please contact your staff liaison to learn more about these or other designations.

If someone wishes to pause their giving for now or stop supporting the university entirely, Cornell fully respects these decisions regarding philanthropy and engagement, while remaining deeply grateful for their past support. You can contact your staff liaison and they will follow up directly.

Stories and programs illustrating positive work taking place at Cornell

Students debate free speech in the workplace
This is the first of three debates being held by the Cornell Speech and Debate Program supporting Cornell’s Freedom of Expression theme year.
Cornell Chronicle, Feb 2 

Spring 2024 four-part speaker series: “Antisemitism and Islamophobia Examined”
Each of the following lectures will take place at 5 p.m. and will be livestreamed. Click on the link above for speaker details and livestream registration links.

  • February 12: “Antisemitism, the Israel-Hamas War, and Distorting the Law of Genocide: A Perfect Storm.”
    Menachem Rosensaft, General Counsel Emeritus, World Jewish Conference, & Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell University
  • March 18: “Out of Time: On the Rise and Resilience of Anti-Muslim Bigotry Today.”
    Moustafa Bayoumi, noted author and journalist. Moustafa is also a Professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York
  • March 28: “Racializing Religion: Islamophobia, Antisemitism and Palestine.
    Sahar Aziz, Distinguished Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar, Rutgers University
  • April 8: “Beyond Sympathy and Antisemitism: The International Community and the Creation of the State of Israel, 1947-1949.”
    Derek Penslar, William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Harvard University

Interfaith dinner serves empathy and understanding
A community dinner brought together Jewish and Muslim students to bond over the common experiences of their faith, their passions, and daily life at Cornell.
Cornell Chronicle, Dec 10, 2023 

Celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at Cornell
President Martha Pollack and Joel Malina, vice president for University Relations, celebrated the first night of Hanukkah with Cornell’s Jewish students.
@cornellpresident on Instagram, Dec 8, 2023 

Chabad Cornell Menorah Lighting
The Chabad Cornell menorah lighting brought together students, faculty, and staff for singing and dancing on the first night of Hanukkah.
Roitman Chabad Center at Cornell, December 7, 2023 – on YouTube 

An Everyday Miracle at Cornell
Jane-Marie Law, associate professor of Asian Studies, writs about how she and her students have treated one another amid the outbreak of the war and the campus protests.
Article by Professor Jane-Marie Law, October 2023 

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