The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) is committed to an inclusive and diverse community and an open learning environment that is free from bias.
We will not tolerate prejudice in any form or discrimination on any basis. We embrace creative and analytic practices that challenge preconceptions and prejudice, encourage critical engagement with the many forms of built culture, and defend the prerogative of our disciplines to ask difficult and provocative questions.
Mission
As part of the global community, AAP dedicates its efforts to opposing all forms of racism, oppression, inequality, exclusion, and marginalization. We strive to challenge our professions to create an equitable environment for all.
All members of our community contribute to our mission through their everyday actions and words. Therefore, we are committed to providing opportunities that foster personal discovery and growth and nurture scholarship and creativity within and across our disciplines.
Goals
AAP works toward creating and expanding our inclusive teaching and learning environment by setting goals and taking collective action toward meaningful change within and beyond our college.
Promote dialogue and interaction among individuals from different backgrounds through workshops, trainings, and special programming
Through activity open to all, work collaboratively with various offices to promote student success and address the needs of students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first-generation college students, international students, and other underrepresented student populations
Serve as a critical leader in fostering a campus culture in which differences are embraced and work to advance the college’s mission of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging through actively creating, supporting, and carrying out college-wide diversity initiatives
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College Organizations
AAP has a strong tradition of coming together around equity and justice that dates back to the 1960s–70s civil rights movement and extends to contemporary actions toward social justice. Our college organizations invite participation from college leadership, faculty, staff, students, and staff to continue this critical work.
![Students working in a garden]()
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Office of Diversity & Inclusion
AAP's Office of Diversity & Inclusion helps lead college efforts toward creating, sustaining, and expanding our diverse, inclusive, and equitable community. We believe in the inherent dignity and worth of every person and offer resources and opportunities for navigating college programs; getting involved with existing groups, committees, and actions; and founding new initiatives and actions at the college.
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AAP Resources and Services
We are committed to supporting our community as we face challenges to diversity and inclusion together and collectively build a culture of belonging at AAP and Cornell.
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Land Acknowledgement
Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ are members of the Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:NIH (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ people, past and present, to these lands and waters.
This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ leadership.
Cornell University’s Land Acknowledgment for the Ithaca Campus