Who is Jon Lindseth? Major Cornell University donor calls for President to be fired over toxic DEI policies

On Wednesday, January 24, Cornell Board of Trustees Emeritus and major Cornell University donor Jon Lindseth published a scathing open letter to the University's entire board of Trustees and their chairman Kraig Kayser. In the letter, he expressed his displeasure and frustration with Cornell University President Martha Pollack and requested her resignation along with provost Michael I. Kotlikoff.

The letter detailed Lindseth's disgust at how DEI fuelled political activism that allegedly replaced merit-based academic achievement at his alma mater. He called for an end to DEI initiatives and stated that he would halt his university funding until it is replaced. Lindseth is also a life member of the Bibliographical Society of America.

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Jon Lindseth blasts Cornell President Martha Pollack along with the university's DEI policies

Jon Lindseth is a well-respected Cornell University alumnus and a Cornell Board of Trustees Emeritus. Having received his bachelor's degree from the School of Engineering in 1956, he is also one of the original COE Advisory Board members. The official university website states that he has run a plethora of companies from his Cleveland, Ohio home.

Jon and his wife, Virginia M. Lindseth also graciously funded the university climbing wall named the Lindseth climbing center. Along with his entrepreneurial activities, he is also a bibliographer, and book collector. He is a life member of the London Bibliographical Society and the Bibliographical Society of America.

However, Jon Lindseth's name was thrust into the spotlight on Wednesday when he expressed his scathing displeasure at the current state of the universities, with respect to DEI initiatives, published in an open letter to the University Board of Trustees and chairman Kraig Kayser.

In the opening of the letter, he proclaimed that the university should abandon its commitment to DEI initiatives, which he called "misguided". He claimed that this has only resulted in "disgrace" for the university. He wrote:

"I am alarmed by the diminished quality of education offered lately by my alma mater because of its disastrous involvement with DEI policies that have infiltrated every part of the university."

He continued by thrashing University president Martha Pollack's response to the antisemitism within the campus, which he thought was "shameful" when compared to the swift response she had during the George Floyd tragedy. He provided the president's alleged selective response as an example of the university's adherence to DEI groupthink policies and racialization.

Jon Lindseth stated that the result of applying DEI groupthink to every field of study was a "moral decay", which some preferred to call "rot" that fell in line with prevailing ideology and dishonored the principles of free speech and justice. He criticized Pollack's preference for the broad application of DEI over merit. He further stated:

"Under President Pollack’s leadership, antisemitism and general intolerance have increased on campus, Her lack of leadership in the days following the October 7th massacre is only one of the many examples of poor leadership at Cornell."

Jon Lindseth criticized the campus "bias reporting system" for fostering a hostile "Orweilian" environment and condemned the elimination of the merit-based grades and SATs for the sake of an equal outcome-based system. This, according to him was "disastrous" for a university built on academic achievement and one that aims to hone the future generation of professionals.

Lindseth called for the resignation of President Pollack and Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff and requested for the calls for resignation to be added to the agenda for the emergency board meeting on Friday, January 26.

He also detailed that the Cornell Free Speech Alliance had informed alumni through student and faculty whistleblower accounts about the prevalence of "unacceptable practices" on campus, including the alleged hiring of faculty based on race rather than merit to fulfill DEI targets. This according to him, was a violation of U.S law.

Jon Lindseth continued to criticize the university's lack of protection for non-confirming speakers and even detailed an instance where a bust of Abraham Lincoln had to be removed from the library since a student took offense to it. It was later returned. He wrote:

"With my writing of this letter, an increasing number of Cornell alumni are refusing to continue donating to their alma mater. Unfortunately, President Pollack and her administration have refused to engage with concerned alumni and their sound policy recommendations to correct Cornell's course."

Jon Lindseth proceeded to recommend 7 actions to the Board of Trustees. The very first one was to replace the president and the provost. Second on the list was the request to return to open inquiry and diversity of viewpoints on campus, along with the removal of DEI. The implementation of the CFSA open inquiry policy guidelines intended for the university was his next recommendation.

Lindseth recommended the board conform to the SCOTUS report of eliminating affirmative action in admissions and return to merit-based hiring instead of it being identity or politically based. He recommended that the university publish an official Cornell Policy Statement which had to be signed by the new president and provost.

Finally, Lindseth wanted the "bias report system" ousted and the "Cornell Center for Racial Justice" opening canceled. Jon Lindseth declared that he would no longer be able to make contributions to the university until it replaced DEI groupthink. He declared that the university needed a desperate shift back to its "bedrock principles".