About the College of Architecture, Art and Planning
The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University (Cornell AAP) is home to nearly 1000 students, 120 faculty, and 65 staff members who come together from around the world to take up some of today’s most urgent challenges and advance research, inquiry, and approaches to designing, making, and doing that build a more just and sustainable future.
A vital college at one of the nation’s foremost research universities, Cornell AAP bridges fields and faculty with five departments, 20 degree programs, 18 faculty-led labs, and the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities, a platform for building partnerships that make change in our cities and communities nationally and internationally.
Cornell AAP’s departments include Architecture, Art, and Planning, as well as the new multicollege Paul Rubacha Department of Real Estate, jointly led by the S.C. Johnson College of Business; and the multicollege Department of Design Tech, administered by Cornell AAP in partnership with Cornell Bowers CIS; Cornell Engineering; the College of Human Ecology; and Cornell Tech. The college is housed across three locations — Ithaca, NY; New York City; and Rome, Italy — each with world-class facilities and cutting-edge technologies.
Cornell AAP is about acts of transformation. We are committed to building a caring, inclusive, and rigorous community around our shared priorities — Creative + Critical Practices; Sustainability + Social Impact; Design + Emerging Technologies; and the Future of Cities + Development — that enable us to reimagine and reshape the world in radically new ways, every day.
The Opportunity
The College has a multifaceted diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) framework to steer, implement, and continually evaluate AAP’s D&I initiatives. The Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) focuses on the recruitment, retention, and success of a diverse undergraduate and graduate student body.
Reporting to the Associate Dean for Diversity and Equity and the Senior Director of Student Experience, and partnering with the Senior Director of Enrollment, the Director of DEIB plays an integral leadership and partnership role advancing the college’s diversity and inclusion objectives with a focus on student access and success. The Director represents the college on university and college committees. Through these roles, the Director leads, manages, and/or implements strategic diversity efforts that align with the college’s and university’s mission and goals and works to raise awareness for the entire college about multicultural and social justice issues.
As a member of the Student Experience team and working in partnership with the Enrollment team, the Director supports the recruitment, retention, success and wellbeing of AAP students with a focus on undergraduate and graduate students of color, first generation students, international students, and students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. They will provide support and advocate for students through programming, services, and advising. They will serve as liaison and a referral resource between AAP students, programs, and offices within AAP and across the university related to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, success and wellbeing. Additionally, the Director assists with general student concerns and advising.
The Director will evaluate, assess, and benchmark existing programs and approaches, research and propose new diversity pathway, retention, and student success initiatives, and build effective collaborations and relationships with college, university, and community partners. For example, they will partner with AAP Enrollment and academic departments on pathway, recruitment, and yield programing; AAP Student Experience to effectively support students from historically underrepresented backgrounds and serve as advisor to diversity-related student groups; AAP Career Development on career preparation and support for students attending national diversity conferences; Alumni Affairs and Development to improve engagement with alumni and support fundraising for DEIB initiatives; and AAP Communications to promote AAP’s DEIB efforts to internal and external audiences. The position will also be responsible for the management and oversight of the Pre-Collegiate Summer Scholars Program (PSSP) which supports approximately 10-15 students each summer as they transition from high school to the college learning and living environment.
While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.
This is a student-facing position; therefore, the work location is primarily on the Ithaca campus. Some hybrid remote flexibility will be considered.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree and three to five years of experience in higher education in the areas of program development, recruitment, advising or student services (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
- Direct experience working with historically underrepresented students on issues related to recruitment, retention, and empowerment.
- Demonstrated experience developing and delivering diversity and inclusion programming and support services related to student success and well-being, and experience measuring program success.
- Strong leadership skills, team orientation, and ability to work collaboratively and effectively with students, faculty, and staff.
- Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to handle sensitive information and communicate with tact and diplomacy to a wide range of internal and external constituents.
- Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.
- Experience incorporating the perspectives of multiple communities, including communities of color.
- Ability to serve as an advocate for individuals of all ethnicities, genders, ages, and backgrounds.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree.
Rewards and Benefits:
- Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, sustainability, and diversity initiatives.
- Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: https://hr.cornell.edu/understand-your-benefits.
- Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell: https://hr.cornell.edu/jobs/your-total-rewards.
- Our leave provisions include three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1.
- Cornell’s impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children’s Tuition Assistance Program.
