Professor Watchlist

Monica Cornejo is an Assistant Professor of Interpersonal Communication at Cornell University. According to her university profile, Cornejo’s research “uses qualitative and quantitative methodologies to examine the structural barriers that lead to inequities among undocumented immigrants, how undocumented immigrants draw on communication identity management and advocacy strategies to challenge those barriers, and how those strategies relate to undocumented immigrants’ health and wellbeing.”

Cornejo was escorted out by police after she interrupted Ann Coulter’s “Immigration: The Conspiracy To End America” lecture on Cornell University’s campus in April 2024. During the question portion of the event, Cornejo — wearing a shirt that read “Keep Migrants, Deport The Racists” — stated:

“I’m an assistant professor of communication here, and one of those illegals that you mentioned. I really appreciate you coming in and talking about these issues, that way I get to know how many racist people belong to this University.” 

Afterward, Cornejo continued to interrupt Coulter’s event, shouting “Racist” and putting up middle fingers in response to many of Coulter’s comments. Coulter eventually called for Cornejo’s removal, and she was arrested on the charge of disorderly conduct.

Cornejo was featured in an April 2023 article by The Cornell Daily Sun titled, “Prof. Monica Cornejo Shares Experiences as an Undocumented Immigrant in Academia.” After describing Cornejo as “one of the first undocumented tenure-track faculty members at Cornell,” she was asked how her legal status has inspired her work as a professor.

“When we talk about academia, we have this very exclusive ivory tower, where only certain people get to be brought in and [contribute to the] broader movement to support oppressed and marginalized communities. Being part of that marginalized community has pushed me in that direction to want to make change.” 

Cornejo told the publication she believes the university could do more to help undocumented students. According to The Cornell Daily Sun, “tangible actions that the University could take include creating a center and full-time team to support undocumented students.”

In another interview with the Petaluma Argus-Courier, Cornejo remarked that she negotiated her job offer with Cornell, and her acceptance was contingent on the school petitioning on her behalf for a green card. Cornejo said the university agreed to her demands and paid to hire her a lawyer for the petition process.

 

Published – May 17, 2024