We value the sense of community in our college. An important aspect of our community is its diversity, represented by all the myriad ways in which we differ – our intellectual frames, our ethnicities, our genders, our sexual orientations, our ages, our faiths, our cultural and social contexts, our learning styles, our talents and our challenges. The richness of our community is, indeed, enhanced by our diversity.
We can anticipate that we will increasingly become a more diverse community than we are presently. Demographics in New York State and the United States reveal that the globalization of our economy and society will continue to increase the diversity in our state and nation. Workplaces and communities outside of Cornell will also grow more diverse. As well as enhancing community, fostering our diversity will pragmatically enable our students to be more competitive and successful in the job market. Already employers seek in our graduates an understanding of diversity and its value as well as the ability to work as a member of a diverse team. Our communities also seek to understand, value and promote their diversity and to address issues stemming from disparities among their diverse members. We need to be ready to facilitate our communities in their efforts through our research, outreach and extension, and education of our students who will, indeed, become part of these communities.
Diversity and diversity education benefits _all_ students, irrespective of ethnicity. Measures of citizenship participation increased among students of majority and non-majority groups who participated in the diversity living-learning programs.
