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Cornell University

Office of the Dean of Faculty

Connecting & Empowering Faculty

Resolution 179: Implementing Consultation with the Faculty Senate with Respect to Global Hubs

Passed: December 1, 2021

Posted: November 5, 2021

Sponsors: Faculty Senator Sponsors:

  • Richard Bensel
  • Risa Lieberwitz
  • Michael Nussbaum
  • Vilma Santiago-Irizarry
  • Kora E. von Wittelsbach

    Other faculty: David Bateman, Eric Cheyfitz, Darlene Evans, and Mildred Warner

 

Background

Cornell already has a significant footprint in international educational programs involving collaboration between Cornell faculty and students and its partners abroad: Programs such as the medical school in Qatar and Cornell Tech’s partnership with Technion in Israel are examples of such programs, which were never vetted before the faculty  senate as is mandated in Article XIII, Section 2 of the Bylaws of Cornell University. In both these cases, there were serious ethical issues, which remain, that were bypassed in the agreements negotiated (see, for example, “Cornell in Qartar: Who Really Benefits?”), issues that had these relationships come before the faculty senate would have at least received a public airing.

With Global Hubs, now significantly underway without any review so far by  the faculty senate, the  university plans to enlarge its footprint globally with, to begin,  specifically targeted  sites: “Partnerships with institutions in Australia, China, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom, and Zambia are in process and additional partnerships in Denmark, Morocco, and Turkey are being investigated.” Further, under “What are the criteria for selecting a partner?” in Cornell Global Hubs: Frequently Asked Questions, there is no mention of any AAUP standards regarding academic freedom, freedom of speech, and tenure.

As it stands, Cornell has developed two sets of institutional standards: one for its U.S campuses where AAUP standards are in force and one for its foreign partners, where, apparently, these standards are contingent and subordinate to economic issues.

At best under Article XIII, Section 2, the faculty has advisory responsibility in these matters and the administration is free to take or disregard this advice. But if the faculty abdicates this responsibility, then it abdicates its responsibility to  influence educational policy and, more importantly, it leaves no public record of its views on what should be at the heart of a Cornell  education.

For information on the Global Hub initiative please see: (1) Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management which was distributed to faculty over the summer; (2) Cornell Global Hubs: Frequently Asked Questions | Global Cornell which describes the Global Hubs that are planned or have already been created in very general terms; and (3) About Global Cornell | Global Cornell. For information on the process for considering changes in education policy that was recently adopted by the Faculty Senate, see Resolution 174: Specifying the Rights and Responsibilities of the Faculty Senate with Respect to Collaborative Agreements with Other Academic Institutions and Corporations | Dean of Faculty (cornell.edu).

Resolution

Whereas the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs has launched a new program, Cornell Global Hubs, which has already created one or more Global Hubs in other nations;

Whereas several of these Global Hubs are or will be located in countries in which academic freedom and human rights are seriously compromised;

Whereas the Global Hub that has already been created in China evidences further expansion of Cornell University’s collaboration in that nation even as violations of academic freedom and human rights continue to escalate;

Whereas all of these programs anticipate “long-term teaching…collaborations” with foreign institutions, including “how a partner’s curriculum fits into specific Cornell degree programs” with respect to “how and when study abroad can work in a student’s undergraduate major” and a “preapproved course equivalency database” within a “strategic partnership” with foreign institutions, https://global.cornell.edu/cornell-global-hubs-faq ;

Whereas such collaborations are firmly within the ambit of Faculty Senate responsibilities with respect to education policy under

Cornell University Bylaws, Article XIII, Section 2;

Whereas the Committee on Academic Programs and Policies (CAPP) has not yet reported to the Faculty Senate on whether or not the Global Hubs initiative should be approved;

Resolved that the central administration should not continue to expand the network of Global Hubs until the Committee on Academic Programs and Policies has reported to the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate has had an opportunity to discuss the report, including any and all resolutions that might be offered at that time.

Vote results: 

67 Yes, 22 No, and 9 Abstain; 33 DNV

Vote comments