Eldred Harris, a former reunion campaign officer in the Alumni Affairs and Development Office, is suing the university for $30,000 in overtime fees. Cornell officials allege in court documents that Harris said he had information about a supposed university admissions practice in which mediocre students were offered placement in return for large donations, and threatened in March 2008 to reveal it if a settlement was not reached.
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"To highlight one of many of Mr. Harris's significant concerns, I have included three disturbing e-mails with this letter," Banks quoted Peacock's letter as saying. "They illustrate quite clearly that for majority donors, there is a threshold gift level that impacts admission decisions despite all of the lofty protestations to the contrary. The first sets forth the price of admission to Cornell; the second, if the price is paid even a mediocre student will be admitted. Both students were admitted to Cornell."
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Claim: Cornell Admits Students in Exchange for Donations
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I stumbled on this last night as well-- I just don't see this as a startling revelation. I thought that this was the dirty secret...that everyone knows about... of most prestigious universities?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but if he's willing to produce copies of emails which show a direct conversation about the issue, then it becomes a big deal. I think there was a similar case a year or two back with the University of Illinois.
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