A former faculty candidate has filed a complaint against Cornell University, alleging racial discrimination in its hiring process. The complaint follows the release of internal university emails by the America First Policy Institute, which indicate that Cornell’s Neurobiology and Behavior department conducted a confidential search for a new faculty member in evolutionary biology.
The complainant, an evolutionary biologist with more than a decade of experience, stated: “This isn’t a political stunt or publicity grab. It’s a last resort in response to a gross injustice that destroyed the career I spent more than a decade building. It’s about holding accountable a powerful institution that violated the law, abandoned its principles, and discriminated against me because of my race.”
The scientist outlined their academic background, including earning a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara and completing postdoctoral research at Pennsylvania State University. They also noted having received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and publishing nearly 30 peer-reviewed papers.
According to the individual, after applying for tenure-track positions across the country—including one at Cornell—Cornell initiated another search specifically within evolutionary biology without public disclosure. Internal correspondence revealed by America First Policy Institute suggested this search was intended to secure what committee members called a “diversity hire.” One committee member wrote: “What we should be doing is inviting one person whom we have identified as being somebody that we would like to join our department and not have that person in competition with others.” The candidate ultimately selected was chosen based on race rather than research achievements, according to the released emails.
“I was denied the chance to compete—so were other academics who might have been qualified,” said the complainant.
The full article was originally published by The Wall Street Journal.
