Passed: September 2, 2015

Sponsors: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Committee on Academic Programs & Policies (CAPP)

Senate Discussions: September 2, 2015

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Academic Title of Professor of the Practice

Preamble

The current range of available academic titles does not meet the needs of various Colleges at Cornell that stand to benefit considerably from the creation of a new, primarily single-function, non-tenure-track Professor title. These Colleges are currently experiencing difficulty both in recruiting and retaining faculty members who might bear such a title since, unlike many of their peer institutions, they have only the title of Lecturer or Senior Lecturer available. In addition, there are currently individuals in Lecturer positions who are, in effect, carrying out the functions of Professors of Practice.

• Whereas an inadequacy in the current range of available academic titles makes it desirable to create a new non-tenure-track Professorial Title, and
• Whereas it is clearly important to recognize the qualifications, and activities of those faculty members for whom such a title would be appropriate, and
• Whereas academic units need to improve recruitment and retention of such faculty-members, and
• Whereas, where appropriate and possible, academic units should be able to reclassify competitive candidates who are currently doing such work de facto, while employed as Lecturers or Senior Lecturers.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS LEGISLATION BE ADOPTED BY THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES.

1. Justification:

   The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences proposes the addition of the title of Professor of the Practice (which may be modified to Assistant or Associate Professor of the Practice) to be held by a limited number of individuals whose academic or professional credentials in fields and disciplines within the College will enhance the College curriculum. These titles are designed for use for those who may not have a traditional academic background or terminal degree that would meet the criteria for other academic titles but whose knowledge and experience will contribute to the educational mission of the College. The title of Professor of the Practice is well established among many of Cornell’s peer institutions. The title is relevant in order to be competitive with our peers in recruitment and retention of the best faculty. The typical holder of this title will be an experienced leader and/or practitioner in their area of expertise. These individuals will enrich the experience of our students.  This is not a mechanism to replace tenured or tenure track faculty, or as a promotion track for lecturers, senior lecturers, adjunct faculty or the like. Professors of the Practice will provide our students with a deeper understanding of the practical application of a particular field of study, and promote the integration of academic scholarship with practical experience. These persons would provide students and faculty additional opportunities to interact with and to benefit from the experiences of distinguished professionals.

2. Description of Position:

   Professor of the Practice titles would have ranks commensurate with qualifications, including Assistant, Associate, and Professor of the Practice for a limited number and defined group of long-term, non-tenure-track positions.

   The title of Professor of the Practice is available only for long term, non-tenure-track faculty whose distinguished and experienced professional practice in a relevant field can provide effective, practice-oriented instruction in areas that supplement the core pedagogical instruction provided by the tenured and tenure track faculty.  While faculty with this title may, depending on specific requirements of the academic unit, have some additional research, service, or outreach obligations, teaching will be their primary responsibility. We do not expect these individuals to conduct research to the extent expected of tenure track faculty members, but they may conduct limited research when appropriate, as negotiated with their academic unit chair.

   This is intended to be primarily a full time teaching position. The teaching load will be determined by the academic unit, considering the type of courses taught and other responsibilities that might be assigned by the academic unit, such as Director of Undergraduate Studies, Associate Department Chair, and student advising.  The title may not be used for positions whose  responsibilities largely replicate those of tenured and tenure-track faculty. Similarly, the title is not to replace the titles of faculty now employed as Lecturers and Senior Lecturers, however, as with the University’s Enabling Legislation, academic units that have approved the title may migrate current Lecturers and Senior Lecturers to a Professor of the Practice title if appropriate. These titles may be used for the retention and recruitment of nonacademic career professionals at the end of, or in the midst of, their careers and/or deemed to be of use to the academic and professional educational goals of the academic unit.

3. Terms of Appointment

   1. Search: Appointment of faculty of this rank shall normally be the result of a national search; any waiver of a search must follow current Human Resources protocols for tenure-track positions. A terminal degree in the field and/or commensurate experience is required. The term of appointment is three years at the rank of Assistant Professor of the Practice, and five years for Associate Professor of the Practice and Professor of the Practice, and renewable indefinitely. Appointment and reappointment must be approved by the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
   2. Promotion: Promotion within the Professor of the Practice ranks is possible, and promotion guidelines will be comparable in rigor and process to those for tenuretrack faculty, including a dossier review comparable to tenure track appointment promotion procedures that includes evaluation from academicians both within and outside of the academic unit and Cornell University, and ad hoc committee review. These titles will be eligible for the annual salary improvement program. Individuals appointed in these titles may apply for advertised tenure-track positions, but may not move from these positions to an unadvertised tenure-track position.
   3. Reappointment/Renewal: A dossier review will be conducted at least every five years. The vote by the tenured faculty plus others with the respective title in that academic unit and a recommendation of the Chair will be presented to the Dean who has final authority for such reappointments. Non-renewal of an appointment as any form of Professor of the Practice will require one full year notice from the date of notice of non-renewal. Those holding these titles are not eligible for study leave or sabbatical leave. This group of faculty is required to submit an annual report per academic unit guidelines and to complete the University’s Conflict of Interest reporting. Grievance and appeals processes follow those available to tenure-track faculty, as per the current Faculty Handbook.

   Percentage Limitations

   The percentage of positions bearing these titles may not exceed 10% of the College’s existing tenure-track faculty positions; and may not exceed 20% of the number of tenure-track positions in any academic unit.

   Voting and Other Rights

   Professors of the Practice will be, where appropriate, voters with the same privileges of lecturers and senior lecturers. The Dean of the College shall have the responsibility of identifying those issues that are related to their roles with the College, and the academic unit Chair/Director shall have that responsibility within that academic unit. In the academic unit, those appointed to these titles may participate fully in hiring decisions of other Professors of the Practice of their rank or lower (Assistant or Associate Professor of the Practice). Professors of the Practice may serve, and are expected to serve, on College committees, and voting rights are as appropriate to committees, as defined above.

4. Impact Statement

   The use of the Professor of the Practice titles should not have any impact on the number of tenure-track faculty in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  Specifically, the College’s first priority should be to attract and fill tenure track lines. Current holders of non-tenure-track positions in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences may apply for any advertised positions at the titles of Professors of the Practice if they meet the criteria for such appointment. The same procedure will be used for their consideration as used for a new appointment with this title. There is not a promotion sequence from other non-tenure-track academic titles to the titles of Professor of the Practice. Chairs or Directors of an academic unit may make an argument to the Dean of the College to convert existing titles, as stated in the Preamble of the University’s Enabling Legislation, and the Preamble of this legislation. Except by appointment of the holder to a new position bearing one of these titles or by resignation of the holder, no non-tenure-track faculty position may be eliminated solely as a result of creating such a new position for a function comparable to that filled by the old position.

*Note: “Academic unit” refers to Department, School, or other organizational level of faculty within programs within the College.

CALS Proposal for use of Professor of the Practice title