University Creates Chief Diversity Officer Position

Starting in July, the Vice Provost of Diversity and Faculty Development position will become Chief Diversity Officer. Current Vice Provost Robert Harris will retire and return to his faculty position in the Africana Center, and a search is being conducted to find someone to fill the new position.

Whereas the Vice Provost of Diversity dealt mainly with faculty, the new CDO will also work with staff and students in an attempt to “link together” the three main Cornell populations, according to David Harris, vice provost for social sciences.

The position is being changed, according to Harris, because the current “response [to diversity issues] is not as good as it can be.”