The professional staff of Human Ecology’s Office of Admissions, Student and Career Development includes a director of multicultural programs who provides focus on efforts to recruit, enroll, retain and graduate students of color, through such programs as:

  • The Arthur O. Eve  Educational Opportunity Program or EOP assists New York State residents who are educationally and/or economically disadvantaged. All admitted EOP students are required to attend a six-week, university-wide pre-freshman summer program that introduces students to the Cornell campus, the academic rigors of college life and the surrounding Ithaca community.
  • The Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives or OADI provides university support to students of color and first generation students at Cornell.
  • The Association for Students of Color unites Human Ecology’s multicultural students and provides a supportive foundation for their enrollment, retention, graduation and career placement. Office of Admissions, Student, and Career Development, 125 Academic Surge A | 607-255-2532
  • The Human Ecology Peer Partnership Program provides mentorship through a network of faculty and upper-class students to incoming students of color, specifically during their first semester.

The college also offers academic, personal and career counseling for all students. For more information or to make an appointment, contact the office at 607-255-2532 or stop by 125 Academic Surge A.

The Human Ecology Peer Partnership Program addresses the needs of incoming students as they make their transition to Cornell by providing a supportive community of peers, upper-class students and faculty members. With family and friends far away, students may miss the safety of a community where they are completely free to be themselves.

The Peer Partnership program supports students' personal growth and academic success by facilitating relationships and the sharing of information among new students, upper-class students and faculty. Participants in the program meet weekly in small groups for planned academic and social activities. In the process, they make informal contacts, discuss questions and concerns, receive tips on resources available at Cornell and in the Ithaca community and get to know their peers.

Past activities include attendance at athletic events, guest lectures and performing arts programs; shared meals on campus and at local restaurants; and trips to destinations on and off campus including Cornell's Lab of Ornithology, the Harriet Tubman house and the Ithaca Farmer's Market.

With the motto "Yesterday’s vision, today’s reality, and tomorrow’s hope," the Association for Students of Color (ASC) was created to bring together Human Ecology students of color to provide a supportive foundation for enrollment, retention and graduation for students of color by:

  • participating in admissions hosting programs and conducting high school visitations;
  • sponsoring presentations on career and graduate school outcomes of a Human Ecology education;
  • providing volunteer services to the Cornell and Ithaca communities; and
  • attending regular meetings and hosting an annual fall alumni-student forums.

The ASC's student committees are:

  • recruitment and retention,
  • student relations and publicity,
  • and career development.

Program Mission

The College of Human Ecology believes that a diverse community enriches the educational process for all members of the college community. Consequently, the college focuses particular efforts on a broad range of services for students of color. This includes not only recruitment, but also retention services for current students. Additionally, the college partners with several university offices, including the Learning Strategies Center and the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives, as well as New York State opportunity program offices, to assure that Human Ecology students have access to the vast array of services available on campus.