WANT TO WRITE A LETTER OF SUPPORT BUT DON'T HAVE THE TIME?
USE OUR FORM LETTER
All you have to do is copy the text below, add your name and affiliation (i.e. student alumni, parent, concerned citizen from...) and email it to the President, the Provost, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Please, remember to send us a copy as well to saveasrc@gmail.com
President Skorton - president@cornell.edu
Provost Kent Fuchs - provost@cornell.edu
Chairman Peter Meinig - pcm64@cornell.edu
Robert Harrison (Incoming Chair) - c/o Jennifer Cottrell: jlf27@cornell.edu
Dear President Skorton:
My name is (enter your name) and I am (title and/or affiliation). I am writing to urge you to rescind the recently announced decision to move the Africana Studies and Research Center (ASRC) from under the auspices of the Provost to the College of Arts & Sciences. Not only has Cornell University failed to outline a detailed plan of action, it is also evident that the decision was made without open consultation and discussion with the faculty of the ASRC.
The Office of the President has partially justified its unilateral decision to restructure the ASRC by suggesting that the Center will enjoy status shared by other Black Studies programs at Ivy League universities around the country. While it is true that typically many Africana/African American/Black Studies programs are units within the College, the decision to place ASRC under the office of the Provost at its inception was not haphazard or without purpose. In a 1969 letter to Founding Director James Turner, W. Keith Kennedy, former Provost and Dean, refers to the Center as an “intercollegiate unit.” He clarifies:
“The advantages of a Center over an academic department are (a) a Center cuts across college lines, (b) the courses offered by the Center will be more accessible to students throughout the University, and (c) the Director will have direct access to the administration of the University rather than through the dean of an existing college…the Director of the Center will have the authority to recommend professorial and other academic appointments in the Center for Afro-American Studies without the stipulation that they also be appointed as members of an academic department.”
It is clear that Cornell’s institutional arrangement for Africana Studies was designed with care, and this arrangement is consistent with the stated and intended purpose and function of the Africana Center. The decision to diminish the autonomy enjoyed by the ASRC reflects an unbelievable disconnect with the founding and continuing mission of the Center and lays bare the university’s desire to dismantle ARSC and other multicultural programs under the guise of restructuring the university. Given the College’s past hostility toward the ARSC and its autonomy, it is difficult to see your decision as anything other than a continual assault on the Africana Center.
The past and present racial climate at Cornell is snowballing into despair. The unjust removal of Ken Glover as Director of Ujamaa Residential Hall; the racist and sexist comments made by Professor Grant Farred; the uncertain status of the Office of Minority Educational Affairs; the elimination of Diversity Hosting Weekend; the extraordinary concern about students’ emotional and mental health and suicide rates—all of these actions provide a disturbing context. It appears the unilateral decision to reduce the Africana Center is part and parcel of a larger institutional disregard and outright aggression against spaces and programs that have been central to Cornell’s status as one of the nation’s premier universities.
With more than two thousand signatures of support for the Africana Center, including renowned intellectuals such as Kimberlé Crenshaw, Cornell West, Charles Ogletree and many others, I implore you to reverse the decision. If the provost is concerned about limited resources within his office, let him invite the Africana faculty to openly discuss how all parties may move forward to strengthen the arrangement.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
Valentine's Day Call to Action!Feb 15. 2011 | Comments (0)
Dear President Skorton and Provost Fuchs:
“Cornell stands for civil discourse, reasoned thought, sustained discussion and constructive engagement without degrading, abusing, harassing or silencing others. Cornell is committed to act responsibly and forthrightly to maintain an environment that opens doors, opens hearts, and opens minds.” -- Cornell's Statement on Diversity
Open Letter from Cornell Black Women's Professional ForumJan 23. 2011 | Comments (1)
December 14, 2010
Provost Kent Fuchs
300 Day Hall
Ithaca, New York 14853
Dear Provost Fuchs:
Faculty members of the Cornell University Black Professional Women's Forum (CUBPWF) are writing to encourage due process and cooperation between the Administration, faculty, students and staff of the Africana Studies and Research Center in reaching decisions regarding Africana's future. The manner in which you reached your decision is inconsistent with the idea and practice of "shared governance" as recommended by the Cornell ad hoc Committee on Faculty Governance in March 2007.
In his reflection on the 2005 incident in which a black student was stabbed, President Skorton wrote in The
Cornell Daily Sun:
.. we must respect and honor all opinions and perspectives in our marketplace of ideas that is a university. The main currency of a university is...
Statement from Africana Faculty, January 2011Jan 23. 2011 | Comments (0)
The following is an outline of critical issues related to Provost Fuchs’ widely distributed letter concerning his intention to relocate the Africana Studies and Research Center, administratively inside the College of Arts and Science. There are important concerns about the method and substance of his announcement. The way he conducted himself, in purposely avoiding normal protocol of direct, prior consultation with faculty and students violated prudent ethical principles. The way he went about setting his strategy was in a shroud secrecy, the sole purpose of which was to circumvent the faculty and students at the Africana Studies and Research Center thereby keeping us unaware and uninformed of his intentions so that we would be at a decided advantage in responding to this move against the Africana Center. The calculated disregard for transparency and collegial discussion revealed much about both his objectives and attitude towards us.
What Fuchs is proposing to do is no...
SAVE AFRICANA YOUTUBE CHANNEL - check it out while it's up thereDec 13. 2010 | Comments (0)
Black Agenda Report Morning Recaps Attack on Africana's AutonomyDec 8. 2010 | Comments (0)
AFRICANA AT CORNELL UNDER ATTACK: COMMUNITY RESPONSEDec 6. 2010 | Comments (0)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AFRICANA AT CORNELL UNDER ATTACK: COMMUNITY RESPONSE
Provost Kent Fuchs of Cornell University announced on December 1, 2010 his plan to relocate the Africana Studies and Research Center within the Arts and Sciences unit and thereby undermine its effectiveness and autonomy in the larger institutional structure.
· There was no consultation with the faculty prior to this decision.
NEWS COVERAGEDec 6. 2010 | Comments (0)
http://cornellsun.com/section/
http://cornellsun.com/section/
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2010/12/02/day-hall-merges-africana-center-arts-college-director-resigns-protes
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2010/12/04/africana-director-rescinds-resignation
Statement from Donelle Boose at ASRC Press ConferenceDec 6. 2010 | Comments (0)
Statement from Africana Studies and Research Center FacultyDec 4. 2010 | Comments (0)
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 1, 2010
STATEMENT OF AFRICANA FACULTY IN RESPONSE TO THE PROVOST’S UNILATERAL DECISION TO REORGANIZE THE AFRICANA STUDIES AND RESEARCH CENTER
The faculty of the Africana Studies and Research Center (ASRC) at Cornell University is surprised and appalled by Provost Kent Fuchs’ unilateral decision announced today, December 1, 2010, to dramatically...
Dear President Skorton and Provost Fuchs,
As an alumna of Cornell University and the Africana Studies and Research Center, I am writing to express my shock and outrage over the Provost's recent announcement that the Africana Studies and Research Center will no longer exist as a Center, but rather as a "unit" within the College of Arts and Sciences. It is particularly disturbing to receive this news, considering that there was no consultation with the Africana Studies faculty nor was there the sort of extensive internal or external review that would normally accompany a change of this magnitude. There is simply no justification for such an undemocratic, unilateral, and dictatorial decision; this action reflects a deep disrespect and contempt for the Africana Center and its faculty, students, and staff. The fact that Africana faculty have demonstrated their opposition, and the fact that the Center's Director, Professor Robert L. Harris, Jr., a...
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Response from Africana Students, Alyssa Clutterbuck and Tia HicksDec 4. 2010 | Comments (0)
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF AFRICANA’S AUTONOMY
41 years after the Africana Studies and Research Center was founded, the department’s autonomy has been taken away. On Wednesday, December 1, we were met with shock, horror, sadness, and profound disappointment at what appears to be an institutional lynching of our program, center, history, and political ideals. Without notice or consideration for the stressful time in the semester, students in Africana Studies were called to a meeting with just 2 days’ notice, and informed that Africana will no longer report to the Provost’s office and will be subsumed under the College of Arts and Sciences.
We were also informed that these plans have been in the works for months but were sprung on the students at the very end of the semester. This decision was made entirely by the Provost. It is unilateral, patronizing, and autocratic. It was done with absolutely no discussion with...
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