Cornell University Overview

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Cornell University is not only a great place for learning, it’s an exceptional place to work. Our open and inclusive culture attracts a talented community of scholars, students, and staff from all over the globe. Being a Cornellian is about having a passion for innovation, challenging yourself, and contributing in ways that will shape the future. We feel good about the work we do—and we’ve found ways to do it without sacrificing our commitments to our families and friends.

At Cornell, our workplace culture includes these defining aspects:

• Open, inclusive environment that encourages participation
The people of Cornell form an exceptional community. We represent experiences and cultures from all around the world. We value a global outlook, respect for other cultures, openness to new ideas, adaptability, grounding in ethics, and the ability to reason and think critically in any context.

• Passion for learning, expectation for excellence
 A shared passion for exploration and discovery call us together. Brilliant minds, rich and rigorous teaching and learning, revolutionary ideas—these inspire our daily lives.

• Working together across disciplines and across campuses
With more than 100 interdisciplinary research organizations, Cornell is uniquely positioned among the world’s leading institutions of higher education to foster complex, collaborative, multidisciplinary conversations about contemporary issues and challenges. Such conversations—and the partnerships they inspire—happen here every day.

• Opportunity to contribute to the greater good
What sets us apart is our deep commitment to apply knowledge in service to the world. We accomplish this by partnering with local and international communities to solve the challenges of contemporary life. This call to action, unique among the Ivy League, defines who we are and what we believe.

• Integration of career and life
Faculty and staff at Cornell enjoy flexible work options, a variety of sociocultural resources for themselves and their families, the natural beauty of the Finger Lakes Region, family-friendly communities, generous benefits, and numerous programs for personal and professional development.

Cornell faculty and staff are supported at home and at work. We offer generous benefits from health insurance and flexible spending accounts to retirement plans—plus perks like a wellness program, child care support, adoption assistance, eldercare, flexible work arrangements and more.

Health Plans

At Cornell we believe health care should provide access to comprehensive medical treatment when needed and encourage healthy living. Our health care plansfor part-time or full-time faculty and staff, are designed to provide quality care at the lowest possible cost.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Medical, dental, and vision expenses can sometimes put a strain on your monthly finances, even if you have insurance coverage. The same is true for dependent care expenses if you need childcare or car for elderly parents. We offer voluntary medical care and dependent care reimbursements accounts through Select Benefits, Cornell’s flexible spending accounts.

Retirement

Our financial and investment planning services, robust retirement benefits, and a wide array of investment funds help Cornell faculty and staff realize their financial security goals.

Wellness

The wellbeing of our faculty and staff at Cornell is a top priority. We recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance and encourage all members of the campus community to engage in activities that promote mental and physical health. The wellness programoffers access to fitness centers across campus, group exercise, nutrition counseling, life coaching, personal training and more.

Family Support

Life extends beyond your career. We offer resources to help employees care for the most important aspects of their lives. Our dependent care consultant helps employee locate adult/elder care resources. Family-related support includes the Cornell Child Care Center, on-campus diaper changing stations and lactation rooms as well as adoption assistance and grants with money to help pay for child care.

Flexible Work

Flexible work arrangements help Cornell employees archive a work-life balance. We offer flex time, flex place, compressed work weeks and job shares for many of our positions. Job shadowing also helps employees discover new career paths and develop new skills.

Educational Benefits

To assist employees and their families in their continued growth, Cornell offers several educational assistance programs. Our Cornell Children’s Scholarship helps employees’ children reach their higher education goals by offering tuition reimbursement. The Employee Degree Program pays for the pursuit of both graduate and undergraduate career-related degrees for qualified employees. Other educational opportunities include access to webinars, on-campus lectures and a variety of leadership workshops.

Our Defining Force

A diverse community includes everyone and is the foundation for the meaningful exploration and exchange of ideas. Since its founding, Cornell University has encouraged a culture that provides for the full participation of all members of our campus community—this keeps us at the leading edge of education and in our fields and practices. Cornell University is a place where intercultural skill are developed and enacted among diverse campus constituencies, with community partners, and within the classroom and workplace.

At Cornell we don’t simply want you to fit in with what we are already doing—we want you to expand our horizons, blaze new trails, pursue new knowledge, and share all of what you have to offer with all of us.

Finding Your Community

Cornell University has numerous opportunities on and off campus for individuals from diverse backgrounds to connect with others with the same background or with totally different backgrounds. Faculty, staff, students, and community members engage in and host social events, networking groups, and organizations during the course of the academic year. The university and the local community also host events, such as the Finger Lakes International Dragon Boat Festival, the Annual Sister-Friends Luncheon, or the annual Ithaca Juneteenth Celebration.

Colleague Network Groups

Cornell’s Colleague Network Groups are university-sponsored employee resource groups for traditionally underrepresented minorities and allies of those groups. The groups enhance the Cornell culture by providing feedback and programs to develop an environment that fully engages all our faculty and staff. Each group advocates for a specific demographic within the Cornell faculty and staff community—to improve the university climate as a whole.

Our Historic Commitment

At a time when the American Equal Rights Association was being formed as a coalition between women’s rights and anti-slavery organizations (1866)—and prior to the adoption of the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1898)—university co-founders Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White were committed to creating a university that was open to all individuals, regardless of race or gender.

Two statements from the co-founders confirmed Cornell University’s commitment to diversity. In a letter dated February 17, 1867, Ezra Cornell stated that he wanted to have girls educated in the university as well as boys, so that they could have the same opportunities. And in 1874, Andrew Dickson White stated that the university would accept student of color even if the 500 enrolled students “asked for dismissal on this account.” Since that time, Cornell University has been a “first” many times in terms of diversity.

• May 2012: Top 10 Best Employer for Working Women by the Business Research Guide
• May 2012: Top 10 University to Work for by the Business Research Guide
• November 2011: Cornell awarded The Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility
• September 2011: Cornell named to AARP's 2011 Best Employers for Workers over 50 list
• September 2011: Cornell named to the Top Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
• September 2011: Cornell named to the 100 Best Employers for Working Mothers list, Working Mother magazine
• June 2011: Cornell Vice President for Human Resources and Safety Services Mary George Opperman and Associate Vice President for Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Lynette Chappell-Williams received the Chris C. Kjeldsen Work Life Legacy Awardfrom the Families and Work Institute
• September 2010: Cornell named to the Top Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption