More than 750,000 young immigrants who arrived in the United States as children and are protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy now face possible policy changes from a new presidential administration. Four Cornell administrators and faculty members discussed the impact of the uncertainty about immigration policy on DACA in higher education and at the local and national levels in the panel discussion on March 17, 2017. The event was presented by the University Relations Diversity Council.
The panel included: Carlos Gonzalez, executive director, Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives, who oversees key central academic support programs and grants, with a primary focus on academic success for underrepresented students of color, first generation, low-income and undocumented students; Barbara Knuth, senior vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, who oversees undergraduate enrollment through the Undergraduate Admissions Office and the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment, and serves on the University Diversity Council; Estelle McKee, clinical professor of law, who co-teaches Cornell Law School’s Asylum and Convention Against Torture Appellate Clinic, and has worked as an immigration attorney; and Vijay Pendakur, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students.
The panel discussion was moderated by Rebecca Stoltzfus, vice provost for undergraduate education and professor of nutritional sciences.
For more information, please consult the university’s recent statements on immigration policies, linked below.
A March 17 statement from Cornell Police Chief Kathy Zoner regarding the department’s policies regarding immigration and interaction with federal agencies is on the Cornell Police Facebook page.