Whereas the University Bylaws stipulates in Section XVII2.d that Clinical Professor appointments not exceed five years in duration;

Whereas for reasons cited in this proposal from the Cornell Law School (CLS);

Be it resolved that that the Faculty Senate supports the modification of Section XVII.2.i of the University bylaws from this

The foregoing provisions with respect to maximum periods of service shall not apply to the Medical College, the Department of Military Science and Tactics, the Department of Naval Science or the Department of Air Service.

to this

The foregoing provisions with respect to maximum periods of service shall not apply to the Medical College, Clinical Professors in the Cornell Law School, the Department of Military Science and Tactics, the Department of Naval Science or the Department of Air Service.

e’s AFPSF Committee studied the proposal and issued a report that identified two major concerns which are most easily conveyed as questions. First, why can’t the CLS adopt a “unitary system” of tenure that provides a single promotion process that works for both clinical faculty and doctrinal faculty? And second, for the overall sake of the tenure system at Cornell, shouldn’t there be a framework in place so that requests of this type from other colleges can be processed consistently?

Thus, the CLS sees the choice as between the current system (which accounts for their #44 ranking among the clinical programs in the country) and a system that has worked well at peer law schools without any erosion of the tenure process on their campuses. Critics are worried about erosion and the associated “environment impact” across Cornell. The CLS believes that their request is fair because Weill Cornell Medicine has been granted similar flexibility and that the unitary system will not advance the cause of clinical excellence. Moreover, the CLS maintains that their proposal is consistent with the philosophy of “engaged Cornell” and other outward looking trends within higher education. Critics think it is fair to ask the CLS to “play ball” with the unitary system because every other tenure-granting unit on campus has found a way to  make the unitary system work by expanding their view of what constitutes tenurable work.

Additional information and online commenting here. See also these Senate meeting sites for transcripts and chat logs: 4/15 , 4/29 , 5/13.