From: Date: February 8, 2023 Subject: February Newsletter
Diversity + Inclusion Newsletter
February 09, 2023
AAP Diversity, Equity + Inclusion Awards
The Office of Diversity + Inclusion is proud to announce a series of annual awards to celebrate and highlight the individuals in our community who are making strides in building a more equitable world and leading college efforts to create, sustain, and continue expanding our diverse and inclusive community.
Full descriptions of awards are listed in the nomination form. You are invited to nominate others or apply for yourself.
*Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to submit a nomination
Save the date: DEI Town Hall | Friday, April 28 | 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Office of Diversity + Equity Launches AAP DEI Reading Cart
In spring of 2023 the Office of Diversity + Inclusion will be launching a reading cart highlighting a selection of books curated around issues of social justice related to the departments in AAP. When not circulating for events and listening sessions across AAP, the cart will be located in the Mui Ho Fine Arts Library along with a larger collection of related books available on permanent reserve.
Listening/Reading session dates and times to be announced later this spring.
*All are welcome
AAP Grad Social
AAP Monthly Grad Social - Chat. Eat. Socialize. Get to know grad students across all three departments at AAP.
Appertizers will be served and beverages will be available for sale.
AAP
First Generation College Student
Pinning Ceremony
March 22, 2023 | 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM | Location TBD
The First Gen Pinning Ceremony is to celebrate and recognize our december and may graduates who are first generation college students. There will be opportunity to hear from first gen faculty about their academic journey along with and a special tribute to our first-gen graduates.
Faculty Panel Discussion w/ Sasa Zivkovic (Architecture), Julianne Hunter (Art), and Mark Apker (Planning)
A Kente ceremony, also known as the Sankofa Ceremony, is an opportunity to acknowledge the rite of passage for learners and scholars transitioning from higher learning institutions to the next chapter of their lives. The kente cloth holds a deep institutional history for students throughout the African diaspora. The kente cloth is a traditional African cloth – the colors and design hold a specific meaning. It is the most popular and best known of all African textiles. Originally, royalty exclusively wore kente, but since Ghana's independence from Britain in 1957, kente has become a symbol of national pride. The kente cloth has also become an important symbol for communities within the African diaspora.
The Office of Diversity + Inclusion at AAP ask that you select your kente stole by Tuesday, February 28 by noon. You can see your options here.
Please email the Office of Diversity + Inclusion, diversityaap@cornell.edu with your selection and any questions you may have.
Stoles will be given to graduates during academic department celebrations before commencement.
Diploma Information
How can I have my chosen name appear on my diploma?
For more information, visit Cornell's University Registrar website
Student Support Fund
The AAP Student Support Fund supports AAP students with unmet financial need in pursuit of their academic goals, providing assistance for students when finances are hindering their path to academic success or the opportunity to participate in transformative experiences in their education.
From the generous contributions of the AAP alumni community, the AAP Student Support Fund has been established to assist students in their academic journey, helping students with unexpected educational expenses or unique transformational opportunities that might cause financial hardship and are not covered by financial aid.
These funds are available to cover eligible expenses for enrolled full-time undergraduate and graduate AAP students. Undergraduate students can apply up to $500 and grad students can apply up to $1,000 per semester. Learn more about the student support fund here: Student Support Fund
Staff Coffee Hour
Tuesday, 2/14 | 9:00 AM - 10:00AM | Sibley Dome
Wednesday, 3/8 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | B1 (Student Services Suite
Thursday, 4/13 | 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Sibley Dome
Friday, 5/12 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM | Sibley Dome
Thursday: Join us for Soup & Hope
Feb 9 and Bi-Weekly, Thursdays at Noon, Sage Chapel
Come for delicious free soup from Cornell Catering and inspring stories from members of the Cornell community. Sage Chapel is next to the Cornell Store. All are welcome.
*Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend
MLK Jr. Commerative Lecture: Richard Ford Monday, February 13 | 7:00 PM | Sage Chapel
Richard Thompson Ford is the George E. Osborne Professor of Law at Stanford University. A leading expert on civil rights and antidiscrimination law, Ford studies and writes about racial justice and the ways law affects culture, the economy, and the political system. His work has focused on the social and legal conflicts surrounding claims of discrimination, on the causes and effects of racial segregation, and the unnoticed consequences of law and how it shapes our day-to-day lives. He has written for the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Slate, and Vox. Recent books include Rights Gone Wrong: How Law Corrupts the Struggle for Equality and Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History. Ford’s TED talk “A Tailored History of who wears what – and why” has over 1.6 million views.
*Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend
Student Volunteers Needed!
Friday, February 17 | 12:20p-1:20pm
In a couple of weeks, we will be hosting around 50 Indigenous high school students, their parents, and teachers/counselors to show them what Cornell and AIISP has to offer! Promising Futures will be all day on Friday, February 17, and the morning of Saturday, February 18th. Most students will be arriving on Thursday evening/night. To ensure that this event goes smoothly, and to allow prospective students the opportunity to talk to current students about their experiences, please sign up to volunteer. I especially need students to sign up for the Student Panel on Friday, February 17, from 12:20pm-1:20pm.
The 2022 - 2023 Rabinor Lecture in American Studies
Decolonizing Visual Culture
Tuesday, February 21| 5:00pm | The HEC Auditorium 132 Goldwin Smith Hall
Abstract:Is change possible? Can art, material and visual culture influence change? What might instigate a shift in attitude hemispherically concerning the movement and reception of peoples in the Americas? What does structural change look like? Join Cornell University Art History Professors Ananda Cohen-Aponte and Jolene Rickard in exploring the entanglements of race, coloniality, and place-based knowledge in the visual culture of the Americas. Click this linkfor more info.
*Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend
Come celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Akwe:kon Residential Program House; "a home away from home for Indigenous students for 30 years!"
We will hold the event on Akwe:kon's front lawn (weather dependent). The event will feature various speakers talking about the past, present, and future of the program house.
We will celebrate Akwekon’s 30th Anniversary in conjunction with the Annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony.
Cook a dish that best represents your cultural background in hopes of sharing with the Cornell Graduate Community, a taste of what it was like growing up (or whatever you'd like to share from your culture).
Find support for your spiritual wellbeing by joining one of our Care Groups. These groups are staff or chaplain-facilitated community groups where any student can learn, practice, and explore. Some groups are religious, and some welcome nonreligious spirituality.
Learn more about each group and sign up here by March 3.
Contribution Project ($400 for Undergrad students)
Due Friday, Feb 17th
As long as the student’s idea is feasible and is not harmful, any applicant has as good of a chance as another. Selection is not based off who has the “best” application or idea. Read about prior projects here.
International Planning Student Organization (IPSO)
Madhumitha Vasu - President
Arpita Nirvan - Vice President
Katie Qi Meng Zheng - Secretary
Olivia Jiang - Treasurer
Queer Students of Architecture, Art, and Planning (QSAAP)
Bradley Verhelle (BFA)
Gabriella Alexandra Melton (B.Arch)
Frances Beahm Gregor (B.Arch)
Nadiya Farrington (B.Arch)
National Organization of Minority Architects - Students (NOMAS)
Jaylin "Jay" John and Jeff Li - Co-Presidents
Rhoda Ayele and Isabella Galitto - Co-Treasurers
Ashley Ngoma - Secretary
Rebeca Aro, Jingwen, and Joel Aidoo - Public Relations Reps.
Keiron de Obriga and Maritza Vasquez - Grad Reps.
Important Dates
2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration| Monday, February 13 | Sage Hall | Hybrid
Inclusive Excellence Summit – Faculty + Staff Only
Virtual | April 18 | 10am – 4:30 pm
Statler | April 19 | 10am – 4:30 pm
2023 DEI Town Hall and Award Ceremony | Friday, April 28 | 9:30 AM – 11: 00 AM
