As part of CUNY’s ongoing efforts to combat hate, the CUNY Board of Trustees on Monday voted to create the Center for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging (CIEB), which will strengthen the University’s work to foster understanding between diverse communities by harnessing systemwide resources, reviewing and implementing policies related to discrimination and harassment and overseeing training across CUNY’s 25 colleges. The Board tasked the Chancellor’s Office with submitting a plan for the launch and implementation by Oct. 1.
“The Board of Trustees of the City University of New York believes in the dignity of all human beings regardless of ethnicity, race, color, gender, national origin, religion and disabilities,” said CUNY Board of Trustees Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. “This Center for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging will centralize this work so there is consistency and accountability on all campuses to make sure students, faculty and staff are protected and respected. We intend to be a national leader in this space.”
“In the last year, there has been a growing call on higher education to create more outlets for students to engage in fruitful and productive conversations about their differences,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “These conversations are critical to ending hate and building understanding. CUNY is answering that call by creating this new Center to consolidate our efforts to fight hate and improve dialogue. As one of the most diverse institutions in the nation, the University’s core mission is to provide an environment that is free from discrimination and hate.”
Among its responsibilities, the Center will:
- Oversee policies relating to discrimination, harassment, bullying and hate crimes, providing best practices, training and dispute resolution as it relates to complaints.
- Serve as the administrative arm of the University in the oversight of processing, monitoring and responding to all complaints related to the violation of the University policies on non-discrimination and harassment including Title VI related complaints.
- Monitor annual training for new chief diversity officers as well as annual orientation programs on cultural sensitivity related issues for public safety officers.
- Review and implement a response to the University’s campus climate survey.
- Oversee the University’s comprehensive portal for the processing of complaints filed by students, faculty and staff.
- Review and implement any proposed revisions to the University’s non-discrimination policies and procedures.
The Center’s work will facilitate compliance with the actions CUNY committed to take in the voluntary resolution agreement signed this month with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights covering nine Title VI complaints. As part of the agreement, CUNY will conduct more training for individuals who investigate discrimination complaints, create a campus climate survey of students and implement additional measures.
CUNY also continues to work with Judge Jonathan Lippman as he conducts an independent third-party review of CUNY’s policies and procedures related to antisemitism and discrimination. Chairperson Thompson thanked Judge Lippman for his thoughtful advice.
The new center, which will be run out of the Central Office and led by an executive director reporting to the Chancellor, is the latest facet of CUNY’s approach to fighting hate on its campuses.
Over the past two years, CUNY has invested $1.3 million to combat hate, including a multi-year Anti-Hate Initiative, funded by $550,000 from the New York City Council to empower CUNY colleges to confront discrimination focused on particular populations within the CUNY community over the course of several years. The University has also distributed $750,000 in New York State funding for Campus Climate Support Grants to address religious, racial and ethnic bigotry system wide.
In 2022, the University announced a partnership with Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative. Seven CUNY colleges have been working with Hillel to conduct surveys, focus groups and a review of policies and practices to understand how Jewish students feel on campus. Hillel will be making policy review recommendations by September.
In 2023, the Chancellor created a new Advisory Council on Jewish Life, a University-wide body made up of prominent New York Jewish leaders who meet with the Chancellor regularly to discuss ways to lift up Jewish life in the CUNY community. This February, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the addition of four holidays to the official school calendar – Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year and Diwali.
