Presidential Task Force on Institutional Voice

Ezra Cornell’s statement on the founding of Cornell, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study,” has been this institution’s guiding principle from the beginning. The diversity of voices and viewpoints from this “any person … any study” ethos results in robust educational experiences and opportunity for critical engagement around a wide range of topics and issues.

As a university that seeks to support this robust engagement, the existence of some guiding principles would provide the campus community with the tools for supporting and promoting the expression of diverse viewpoints. As an institution that includes among its five core values "free and open inquiry and expression,” it would also be helpful to develop guidance for how, when and under what situations the institution itself expresses its voice.

The charge of this task force is to examine the issues and questions below:

  1. Examine how the mission of the university as an academic enterprise does or not influence whether and when the institution exercises its voice.
  2. Discuss the implications of the university speaking institutionally regarding a range of matters — and how that institutional voice impacts the individual voices of Cornell’s community members.
  3. Make recommendations regarding the principles and best practices that should guide university decisions about when to speak publicly, and regarding what matters.
  4. Make recommendations regarding procedures or best practices for who and how such statements should be made at the leadership level.
  5. Discuss the process for exercising institutional voice at levels below university leadership, e.g. at the level of colleges, departments, centers, academic sub-units, and other faculty, staff, or student groups. Make recommendations regarding how members of our community should guide these collective decisions.

Questions about the individual voices of the university community will not be considered as part of the charge of the task force.

Share questions and feedback with the task force at tfiv@cornell.edu.

University Statement Cornell Chronicle coverage

Task Force Members

  • Avery August (co-chair), deputy provost and professor of immunology in the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Jens Ohlin (co-chair), the Allan R. Tessler Dean of Cornell Law School
  • Milton Curry, professor of architecture and senior associate dean for strategic initiatives and engagement, Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
  • Kate Griffith, the Jean McKelvey-Alice Grant Professor of Labor-Management Relations and senior associate dean for academic affairs, diversity, and faculty development, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations
  • Lee Humphreys, professor and chair, Department of Communication, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
  • Lori Khatchadourian, associate professor, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences
  • Sarah Kreps, the John L. Wetherill Professor in the Department of Government, adjunct professor of law, and Director of the Cornell Brooks School Tech Policy Institute
  • Taha Merghoub, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor of Oncology Research and Deputy Director of the Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine
  • Mert Sabuncu, professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell Engineering, and professor, Cornell Tech

Reference Documents

The following reports and statements provide examples of approaches and positions on institutional voice developed by other institutions and organizations.