Sara is the Associate Dean for Inclusion and Student Engagement for the Graduate School at Cornell University. In this role, Hernández serves on the Dean’s core leadership team, providing vision and strategic management for Graduate School initiatives and policies related to diversity, inclusion, access, and equity. Hernández is a Co-PI for Cornell’s Sloan Foundation funded University Center for Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) Program, and is the Co-Director and Co-PI for Cornell’s NSF funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program. Through AGEP, Hernández co-leads efforts focused on preparing future faculty from backgrounds historically excluded and underrepresented in the academy, enhancing the academic climate experienced by all doctoral students and postdocs, and improving graduate admissions and mentoring practices.
