I applied to countless tenure-track positions across the country in 2019 and 2020. One of those applications went to Cornell, for a position in their Neurobiology and Behavior department. Unknown to me, a few months later Cornell initiated a separate search for a faculty member in evolutionary biology—my exact field—but kept it confidential. Internal emails now show this was no accident.
Last month, the America First Policy Institute released internal Cornell emails showing the university conducted an effort to recruit what the search committee referred to as a “diversity hire.” One committee member described the process bluntly: “What we should be doing is inviting one person whom we have identified as being somebody that we would like to join our department and not have that person in competition with others.” That “somebody,” who is black, was selected not because of research excellence, but because of race. I was denied the chance to compete—so were other academics who might have been qualified.
This discriminatory practice, conducted in coordination with Cornell’s Office of the Provost—led at the time by current Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff—violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race. That’s why, with representation from the America First Policy Institute, I’m taking legal action against Cornell.
What makes this worse is the university’s continued dishonesty. This year, Mr. Kotlikoff wrote: “We do not exclude anyone at Cornell for reasons irrelevant to merit, neither do we admit or evaluate students, hire or promote employees, award chairs or tenure, or make any other merit-driven decisions at Cornell based on race, ethnicity, or other attributes not relevant to merit.” The leaked documents show otherwise.
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I applied to countless tenure-track positions across the country in 2019 and 2020. One of those applications went to Cornell, for a position in their Neurobiology and Behavior department. Unknown to me, a few months later Cornell initiated a separate search for a faculty member in evolutionary biology—my exact field—but kept it confidential. Internal emails now show this was no accident.
Last month, the America First Policy Institute released internal Cornell emails showing the university conducted an effort to recruit what the search committee referred to as a “diversity hire.” One committee member described the process bluntly: “What we should be doing is inviting one person whom we have identified as being somebody that we would like to join our department and not have that person in competition with others.” That “somebody,” who is black, was selected not because of research excellence, but because of race. I was denied the chance to compete—so were other academics who might have been qualified.
This discriminatory practice, conducted in coordination with Cornell’s Office of the Provost—led at the time by current Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff—violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race. That’s why, with representation from the America First Policy Institute, I’m taking legal action against Cornell.
What makes this worse is the university’s continued dishonesty. This year, Mr. Kotlikoff wrote: “We do not exclude anyone at Cornell for reasons irrelevant to merit, neither do we admit or evaluate students, hire or promote employees, award chairs or tenure, or make any other merit-driven decisions at Cornell based on race, ethnicity, or other attributes not relevant to merit.” The leaked documents show otherwise.
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