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Diversity Includes Disability

 Hear from Cornell people leaders and colleagues with disabilities about the importance of creating a welcoming workplace.

About the Disability Self-Identification Campaign

Christine Lovely

Video Transcript

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By making sure that we're 
including everyone and not  

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singling anyone out, everyone has the 
opportunity to perform at their very best.

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I'm Christine Lovely, Vice President and 
Chief Human Resources Officer here at

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Cornell. Working in Human Resources it's important that we represent the values that we counsel  

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others about. Making sure that our employees with disabilities have the necessary accommodations  

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that they need helps them to perform at their very best. When we hire you we're confident that  

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you can perform your duties but we need you to have the necessary tools in order to be successful.

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Inclusion is good for business 
because it promotes engagement. Engagement  

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means that employees are fully present and bringing their best effort to work. By not  

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singling anyone out, all of our employees are comfortable at work which means that we can  

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retain them and they are loyal to the university. All of our employees are valuable and all of our  

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employees are unique. By participating in the survey, you're sharing what you need as  

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an employee in order to be successful.
I encourage you to participate.

Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Why a disability-inclusive workforce is vital to Cornell.

Darren Jackson

Video Transcript

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My name is Darren Jackson, I am the Affirmative Action Program Consultant with the Office of  

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Institutional Equity and Title 9. Cornell 
University is required by the federal  

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government to administer the disability 
voluntary self-identification form. This  

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form tracks Cornell's efforts to meet goals in the recruitment and retention of employees with  

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disabilities. Beyond the federal government requirement, Cornell sees this form as an  

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opportunity to gain a better understanding of how many of our Cornell employees identify as  

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having a disability, so that we can ensure appropriate resources go toward making our  

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workplace more accessible and inclusive. The following videos feature some of our employees  

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and people leaders sharing their thoughts around how we can create an accessible and inclusive  

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workplace that shows employees with disabilities are welcomed and necessary to enhancing our  

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diverse workforce. We encourage you to complete the voluntary disability self-identification form.

Affirmative Action Consultant, Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX

Why the disability self-identification form is important to our workplace.

Staff Perspectives

Nicole Andre

Video Transcript

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We try to have a very open communicative environment where, you know, if there is an  

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issue with Person A versus person B, you know, we try to talk it out. So having the ability to  

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unmask and everyone being aware of my disability has brought a lot of anxiety down uh, with those communications.

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Nicole Andre um, a Technician in the 
Simmons Laboratory at the College of Veterinary  

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Medicine. Inclusion to me means creating an environment where every individual, regardless of  

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their differences feels valued, respected and able to contribute their unique perspectives. It's about  

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fostering a sense of belonging and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate and

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succeed. The Neurodiversity Employee Community allows faculty and staff to engage with each  

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other with similar interests and also 
helps them overcome some hardships, as  

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far as disabilities, and to speak about those in a very um... in a group setting. Before be... becoming  

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a member of this community um, I didn't 
feel like I truly belonged at Cornell. Um...  

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I felt that... you know I fit in into other 
different colleague networking groups but  

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it wasn't until I found the Neurodiversity 
Employee group that I actually truly felt I belonged.

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So in my current position as a Technician in the Simmons Laboratory, I  

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disclosed my disability ahead of time um and during the interview process. And that was the  

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first time um, at Cornell University that 
I was so open about my disability. Having  

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the conversation ahead of time with my 
potential supervisor made things a little  

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bit more relaxed when I first started, and I was able to actually be myself without the  

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mask. By having colleagues or peers who take the time to actually truly understand my strengths  

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and weaknesses and provide necessary support to help me truly succeed. It's those moments  

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when I've been given accommodations that level the playing field and allow me to showcase my  

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skills without being hindered by my disabilities. These experiences of genuine understanding and  

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support have helped me feel valued and a part of the community despite my differences.

Research Technician, College of Veterinary Medicine

"Inclusion to me means creating an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and able to contribute."

Jeff Dahlander

Video Transcript

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When you have a staff that trusts you and is able to share things about their lives  

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that they maybe wouldn't um, share otherwise, by being inclusive you foster that safety  

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that allows people to share that experience with you.

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Jeff Dahlander, Assistant Director of Housing Contracts and Operations for 
Housing and Residential Life, Student and Campus Life.

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It's important for me uh, because a lot 
of the students that we work with are looking  

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for uh, somebody um... that they can identify with or that can understand their experience when they're  

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navigating either the housing assignment process or trying to figure out how to get  

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assistance on campus. And having someone on my staff is open about having their disability, it  

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creates a more inclusive environment where students and staff feel more comfortable uh... 

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coming to us and allowing us to assist them. And accessing um... services on campus and by  

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you know creating an environment where people feel safe and they feel like they can share  

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who they are and bring their entire self um into the work experience it's an invaluable perspective.  

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It takes a lot of work on a supervisory level. It takes a willingness  

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to have conversations that are difficult um, at times... but it's about treating your, your  

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employees, your supervisees, as human beings and looking at them as a complete and whole person.

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So, if I know that somebody in my office um, has difficulty hearing, when we're having a large  

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group event um, always having a microphone and encouraging everyone to use that microphone uh,  

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not only helps that individual but all the other individuals that may have difficulty hearing that  

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don't feel like... or, don't feel comfortable yet to uh, self-disclose. It helps everyone hear  

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and understand better. For my own team, my small team um, you know, what we're doing day in and day  

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out is housing assignments, room changes but it also requires a lot of accuracy and we're using  

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multiple systems and student information and one of the things that I noticed uh, was that one of  

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my team members was making a lot of errors. And in talking to them, they explained that they were just  

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trying to to go as fast as the other staff member and it was because of her disability. So having  

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that conversation with her and saying you know what's more important about getting this task done  

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is that it's accurate not necessarily important that it's quick. But it also has me thinking what  

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is it, what more can I provide. Are there ways that we could have some kind of adaptive keyboard or is  

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there something that we could modify as far as how to make assignments within the system that  

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would not only work better for her but maybe will improve the processes overall for all  

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people having to work within that system. When you've got employees that feel seen and they  

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feel valued they're more likely to speak highly about their experience working at 
Cornell.

Assistant Director, Housing Contracts & Operations, Student and Campus Life

"Having someone on my staff who's open about their disability creates a more inclusive environment."

Nianne Vanfleet

Video Transcript

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Encouragement is something that the 
university offered to me and I offer  

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it back to as many folks as I can. 

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Hi, I'm Nianne Vanfleet, Assistant Director for Administrative Services at Student and Campus Life, Facility Management

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Office. After I'd been here for just 
a handful of years, I developed um... an  

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illness that took several years to define. Of course I was worried about losing my job and  

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losing um... the benefits that I had that my family really needed. And I voiced that to  

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the administrator. He was so sincere and, you know, took my hand and said 'we will  

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find something you can do, if you're in a 
wheelchair it doesn't make any difference'.

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And that really put my fears to rest. I could focus on getting better, getting back to work.

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What he gave to me that day was a sense of sincerity that Cornell did care about me as a person.

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So I have met a lot of people in my 42 
years here at Cornell who've had disabilities, 

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some of them more outward than others. If those people didn't have jobs here, Cornell would not  

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be as rich. It adds to the breadth and depth of what Cornell offers. If you can't hire faculty  

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and staff who have disabilities, how can you think that you can support and interest students who  

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have um disabilities. And if we want to attract a rich and diverse working population, as well  

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as students, we need to show that we care about these people, that we will hire them and they  

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will add to the strengths of the university. Because you have a disability does not mean  

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that you cannot give a high quality performance at your job. There are just so many times and  

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opportunities at Cornell where there's allies around every corner. Having to talk to people  

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about what it was and how I was feeling actually helped them to understand what my needs were.

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You know, if I hadn't told people what I needed, I wouldn't have gotten the support.

Assistant Director, Administrative Services, Student and Campus Life Facilities Management Office

"Encouragement is something the university offered me, and I offer it back to as many folks as I can."

Emma Cruz

Emma Cruz

Housing Operations Coordinator, Student and Campus Life

"Accessibility and inclusion go hand in hand... I am much more likely to support and volunteer for a group that values me as a person, than a group that I am going to be the only one in. Specifically for my work, when students have questions about housing accommodations, they feel comfortable coming to me, a disabled individual, because they know I understand."

Jessica E. Withers

Jessica Withers

Director of the Office of the Assemblies

"Maintaining shared files and an office email account allows my unit to be flexible when disability workplace accommodations are needed. Even when I’m suddenly out of the office, day-to-day work can continue because information is readily available."

Susan O'Neil

Susan Oneil

Director of Administration, ILR School

"Workplace accommodations contribute to creating a more inclusive and productive workplace and encourages a variety of perspectives on our work teams. Additionally, this allows us to attract a broader pool of talent to our unit."

Lori Radcliff-Woods

Lori Radcliff-Woods

Administrative Assistant, School of Integrated Plant Science

"The first time I felt truly included as an individual with a disability was when I interviewed for my current position in 2006. ... On the first day my office space was rearranged, an ergonomic chair and keyboard were ordered to suit my needs. I’ve never felt so welcome by any employer as I have for my present group of supervisors and coworkers. "


Resources 


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