Cornell University is under increasing pressure to halt diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and resign as president following an impassioned letter from a top donor to the school's Board of Trustees This was revealed by information from Fox News Digital.
John A. Linseth, Cornell's major donor and trustee emeritus, wrote in a letter Tuesday that “replacing the president and provost” is a top priority for Cornell's Board of Trustees.
“Eliminate DEI staffing and programs. Return to open inquiry, academic freedom, freedom of expression, and diversity of viewpoints on campus,” Linseth wrote as the second item the board needs to address.
Fox News Digital has learned that the letter was mailed to each trustee as of Thursday, and it will be fresh in each trustee's mind as they prepare for Friday's emergency board meeting, a person familiar with the situation told Fox News. told Digital. According to the Trustees' calendar, a meeting is scheduled for Friday in New York City.
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John A. Linseth, a Cornell University alumnus and major donor, wrote a scathing letter against the school's president and its DEI efforts. (Matt Burkhart/Getty Images)
Linseth is asking the board to include a request for the resignation of Cornell University President Martha Pollack as part of the agenda for Friday's meeting.
The letter was also sent directly to Trustee Chair Craig Kaiser, who reportedly has been discussing the matter, but has not responded to Linseth.
“I have been a strong supporter of President Pollack for nearly seven years, and that support remains strong,” Kaiser said in a statement provided to FOX News Digital on Thursday. “The Board of Trustees works effectively with the administration to respond to the various challenges facing higher education and the opportunities to advance the university’s mission.”
The lengthy letter includes how Linseth, who has been one of the university's largest donors for decades, is “alarmed” by the university's embrace of DEI initiatives across all academic disciplines. ' is described in detail. He cited reports that the school “hires faculty based on race rather than academic merit” and that it “failed to support faculty who choose to exercise their freedom of expression and academic freedom.” was quoted.
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“While I am proud to be part of several generations of the Linseth family of Cornell University alumni and donors, I am deeply grateful to my alma mater for its disastrous engagement with DEI policies that permeate every field. “I am concerned about the recent decline in the quality of education provided by the University,” he wrote.
A woman walks in front of the Cornell University sign on the Ivy League campus on January 14, 2022 in Ithaca, New York. (AP Photo/Ted Shafley, File)
“Today, the guidance offered by Cornell University is based on DEI groupthink applied to all fields of study. The result is moral decadence, which some call 'corruption.' It is consistent with prevailing ideology and dishonors fundamental principles of justice and freedom of speech,” Lindseth added.
Linseth suspended donations to the school “until the university redefines its approach to education by replacing groupthink with DEI.”
The source told FOX News Digital that Mr. Linseth has received an outpouring of support since the letter was sent and subsequently covered by numerous media outlets. Students, professors and parents thanked him for alerting the board to DEI efforts, adding that they didn't feel their concerns were being heard until he considered them.
Linseth disputed that several initiatives the university has rolled out in recent years have led to a “toxic” school environment.
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“The new campus 'bias reporting system' fosters a hostile Orwellian environment where neighbors, classmates, and co-workers report on each other. With the elimination of grades and the SAT, we are focusing on results rather than proven benefits.” A system was created in which equality was the objective of research universities founded on academic achievement and aimed at educating and training our nation's leading scientists, architects, and engineers. That is tragic,” he wrote.
Students are seen outside Goldwin Smith Hall on the Cornell University campus on April 11, 2023 in Ithaca, New York. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Linseth also criticized Pollack's leadership after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, comparing it to her response to the October attack on Israel that subsequently led to a war between Israel and Hamas.
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“President Pollack's recent shameful response to overt acts of terrorism and anti-Semitism, compared to her swift and strong response to the George Floyd tragedy, makes it clear that Cornell University is no longer interested in discovering and disseminating knowledge.” ”, he wrote, “and instead shows an insistence on DEI groupthink politics and racialization.”
Joel M. Marina, vice president for university relations, confirmed in comments to Fox News Digital that the school had received the letter and provided it to the board.
“We received the letter and it was forwarded to the chair of the Cornell University Board of Trustees, who this week as part of a series of regularly scheduled meetings to discuss university issues. We meet in New York. Board meetings have been scheduled for many dates 'years ago,'” Marina said of Friday's board meeting.
Linseth's letter to the board this week was supported by the Cornell Free Speech Alliance, a group of alumni, professors and students who promote the First Amendment on campus, according to Wall Street. The Journal reported.
Cornell University President Martha Pollack (left). Daniel Huttenlocker, Dean, Cornell Polytechnic Institute; Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former New York City Mayor attend the opening ceremony for Cornell Tech's new campus on Roosevelt Island, New York City, September 13, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The letter asks two other Ivy League presidents, Claudine Gay of Harvard University and Liz McGill of the University of Pennsylvania, to question whether calls for the genocide of Jews violate the school's code of conduct. It was submitted after he resigned in recent weeks after making controversial statements in parliament about
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Both then-presidents were asked in December by New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik to answer whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated their respective schools' codes of conduct, saying such a decision was a threat. The answer was that it would be done depending on the situation.
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Linseth's letter was first made public by the Ivy Excellence Initiative, a new initiative launched by the nonprofit education network Common Sense Society. The Ivy Excellence Initiative was launched just last week, according to a press release, and is an initiative that “unites alumni groups, dissident faculty, and disgruntled donors with a commitment to pursuing true academic excellence and open inquiry.” The aim of the organization's activities is to impose the following on universities.
The Ivy Excellence Initiative also added a section to its website Thursday afternoon, allowing people to send notes of encouragement to the Linces amidst the feud. End DEI curriculum and initiatives at Cornell University.
Nikolas Lanum of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
