Intercultural Life Programs
One goal for the Office of Intercultural Life is to provide an environment of cultural awareness for the Cornell community. We do so by offering a wide range of diverse programs, activities, and workshops. Our staff looks to develop quality and effective programming that will cultivate an understanding and appreciation of all cultures and identities.
Diversity Week
As our anchor program, this week is intended to be a more robust and comprehensive opportunity to dialogue on, and celebrate, the multiplicity and intersectionality of people, identities, and experiences. Beginning with a campus teach-in, Intercultural Awareness Week offers opportunities for the campus and greater local community a time to share in, address, and explore sociocultural topics that are relevant to our local and global communities today.
Activities, workshops, lectures, and discussions throughout the week are centered around a general theme and may range from cultural dances and heritage displays to advocacy to intersection identities and experiences. Intercultural Awareness Week is typically held the first week of block 7.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) week
Beginning with the MLK Day of Service, we commemorate the life and memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout the week with a variety of speeches, discussions, and workshops. During the week, we work in collaboration with our campus and greater local community to engage in conversation about, and to encourage others to consider, the legacies and philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Cornell College in 1962. Read more about his visit.
International Education Week
International Education Week (IEW), is an initiative established by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education which gives us the opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. During this week at Cornell, we celebrate and discuss topics related to our international students on campus as well as our students who study abroad.
Kick-off cook out
Each year, the Office of Intercultural Life opens the new academic school year by hosting our Fall Kick Off Cookout where new and returning students, faculty, and staff meet and become acquainted.
Mount Vernon and Lisbon community members are also invited to join the event.
The event is free of charge.
Typically held around the second week of November, the week consists of activities, events, workshops, and discussions that give international students a space to share their heritage with the rest of the community as well as give a voice and space to students who have studied abroad or who desire to study outside of the United States.
Each One, Teach One
The mission of the Each One Teach One orientation is to provide new students of color with an informative introduction to Cornell College that meets their specific needs not covered in New Student Orientation.
Purpose
The goal of Each One Teach One is to acquaint new students of color with the resources available to them at Cornell College and connect them to other students and organizations on campus. The Office of Intercultural Life believes an opportunity for new students of color to meet other students of color and current student leaders of color is important in creating and fostering community. The purpose of Each One Teach One is to ease student transition from home to the rigors of living and adjusting to a demanding residential community. The Office of Intercultural Life will provide successful strategies to navigate highly demanding course curriculum and extracurricular activities during the Each One Teach One orientation. The desired outcome for the orientation is to assist in the academic and social development of new students of color, by exposing them to the Cornell College community and the many programs and opportunities available for them.
The foundation of this program is built on mentorship, role modeling, and authentic dialogue. It is in this vein the program took its name after the African proverb Each One Teach One… Each One Reach One.
Who's eligible
Any first year student who is classified as a student of color by the college. Identities included, but not limited to African American, Latinx, and American Indian.