Addressing Bigotry and Intolerance

Associate Professor Lisa Nishii will co-chair the Presidential Task Force that will examine and address persistent problems of bigotry and intolerance at Cornell, President Martha E. Pollack announced Wednesday.

Pollack has asked ILR’s Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution “to engage with campus stakeholders and to recommend to me an appropriate and balanced task force composition, one that ensures that the voices and perspectives of our diverse campus constituencies are represented. With that composition road map as a guide, I will then appoint individuals to serve as task force members.”

The task force charge, Pollack said, has been developed with the input of faculty, staff and students.

Co-chairs of the task force are:

Lisa Nishii, associate professor of human resource studies and director of ILR International Programs

Professor Nishii’s research focuses on diversity and inclusion in organizations, specifically related to how organizational practices, leadership behaviors and climate shape inclusion outcomes for individuals and groups. Diversity and inclusion have also been the focus of much of her service and professional work, including numerous ILR and university councils related to diversity, advisory roles for the U.S. Army as well as multinational firms, and as a former executive officer and chair for the Gender and Diversity in Organizations Division of the Academy of Management.

Madelyn Wessel, university counsel and secretary of the corporation

Madelyn Wessel is the university’s chief legal officer and has worked in higher education law since 2001. She has many years of experience in the areas of civil rights and constitutional law, including First Amendment law, affirmative action and equal protection theory.

David Wooten, professor of marketing in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and associate dean and chief diversity officer of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Professor Wooten has led multiple efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion in higher education. These efforts include school-level committees, university-wide task forces and national organizations. In addition, he has received several awards for advancing institutional diversity goals and mentoring students of color.

Related Destination

Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate to be inclusive, transparent