The Cornell Board of Trustees voted unanimously in support of the school’s president after a donor called for her resignation last week, according to a statement by the board. 

The push to oust Martha Pollack follows the resignation of the presidents at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania following their comments during a congressional hearing on antisemitism on university campuses. 

Pollack was not part of that panel. 

But Jon Lindseth, a 1956 graduate of the school and former trustee, said their “headlong support for DEI policies” has come at the expense of the mission of the university, using the abbreviation for diversity, equity and inclusion.  

The American Psychological Association defines DEI as a “conceptual framework that promotes the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially populations that have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity, disability, etc.” 

But the move to adopt that framework to the detriment of academics, Lindseth said, is “an inexcusable violation of their fundamental duty to Cornell.” 

Trustees backed Pollack and said the university “has remained faithful” to the value that “any person can find instruction in any study.” 

“We believe the pursuit of knowledge is dependent on robust discourse that acknowledges differences while exploring shared values,” the trustees’ statement read. “Cornell proudly embraced diversity in its inaugural student body over 150 years ago and will continue to do so for the next 150 years.”