To the Editor:

Re: “A Long Way Come, A Long Way to Go: Race Remains an Issue at Cornell 40 Years Later,” News, April 16.

In her thought-provoking article on diversity issues at Cornell, the author quotes me as saying that a focus on “numbers” (of minority faculty — or minority staff and students, for that matter) is not enough, and that in fact it can be misleading. I went on to add a practical proposal that the author was probably not able to include in her story.

In my 26 years on the faculty at Cornell, I have seen the numbers improve somewhat — there are more faculty of color now — but I think these numbers may be seriously misleading. There seems to be very little progress in understanding the “climate” or “culture” that faculty of color face. The best way to increase our understanding of this “culture” is to interview faculty of color, including those who have left Cornell, about their experiences here. These interviews would give Cornell administrators valuable information, information they could use to formulate policy. A few years ago there was a University-wide survey done about the culture of the workplace, and I think that a similar survey and a series of in-depth interviews with faculty- (and, later, staff- and students-) of-color would be a necessary first step if Cornell wishes to seek genuine diversity.

Prof. Satya P. Mohanty, English