OMEA - About OMEA

A Brief History of OMEA

The Committee on Special Educational Projects, or COSEP, was established by Cornell University in 1965 with two primary goals: to increase the enrollment of African American students at Cornell and to provide support services which would facilitate both their adjustment to, and graduation from, Cornell. Later, the COSEP was expanded to include Latino, Hispanic American, Native American, and Asian American students.  

Over the past four-plus decades of service to its students and mission, the COSEP has been highly successful. Besides changing the composition of the university’s student body, COSEP and its programs have helped to sensitize the university community to the challenges, needs and accomplishments of underrepresented minority groups at Cornell. 

In 1976, COSEP was subsumed into the Office of Minority Educational Affairs (OMEA) and today, COSEP remains a committee of advisor’s, counselors, and administrators who support the special educational needs of its students.

OMEA's Mission

to effectively administer the institutional policies designed for the academic and social enhancement of minority students and others eligible for New York State Programs, through the facilitation of minority student related services and the advisement and consultation of the network of academic and non-academic individuals committed to diversity at Cornell.

OMEA's efforts to ensure that we succeed at our mission include:

• Collaborating with colleges and other campus offices to ensure that our services are always geared toward the enrichment and academic achievement of our students.

• Designing internal programs and services that meet our students’ specific needs and interests.

• Increasing retention and facilitating timely graduation of our students.

• Creating opportunities for students to build leadership skills through service learning programs, conferences, workshops, and involvement in student organizations.

• Providing counseling and advising to teach our students how to successfully cope with personal, professional and financial issues.

• Offering employment service programs including work-study, internships and career information seminars.

• Creating community through projects designed to promote intra- and cross-cultural competence and to expose students to out-of-classroom interactions with faculty, staff and alumni.