Posted: Originally posted 2/23/2025; revised and re-posted 4/15/2025

Passed: May 20, 2025
Vote results with comments

Sponsors: Committee on Academic Programs and Policies (CAPP)

Background

Presented at March and April 2025 Faculty Senate meetings:
Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Science Teaching Professor proposal

Revised proposal

CAPP review

Proposal to Authorize the Bowers College of Computing and Information Science to Use the Teaching Professor Title 

April 7, 2025

A. Justification

The Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Bowers) requests permission to use the Teaching Professor titles at all ranks (assistant, associate, and full) to recruit and retain the best teaching faculty in pursuance of the college’s educational mission. The use of these titles is essential to compete with the other elite programs in the computing, information, and data sciences across the country that already have them, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, UIUC, UT Austin, U Washington, U Michigan, Cal Tech, and others. The existence of Teaching Professor titles will underscore the importance we place on our educational mission and increase our competitiveness in the national talent pool for high-quality teaching faculty.

B. Description of the Position

Teaching Professor titles (Assistant Teaching Professor, Associate Teaching Professor, and Teaching Professor) will be used in Bowers for long-term, non-tenure track faculty appointments focused on teaching. 

The principal responsibilities for teaching professors are classroom teaching, curriculum development, and related activities at the undergraduate and professional master’s level.  The typical teaching load for teaching professors is two courses per semester.  Teaching professors are also responsible for engaging with their Department and College at a level appropriate for their professorial title and rank. Teaching professors are eligible to serve in key administrative roles such as Director of MPS programs and Director of Undergraduate Studies.

C. Terms of Appointment

C.1. Degree Requirements

Teaching professors of all ranks must hold a PhD or an equivalent terminal degree. 

C.2. Searches

Searches shall be national in scope and shall follow applicable college and university rules. 

C.3. Processes

This section describes the ongoing processes for appointment, reappointment, and promotion within the Teaching Professor ranks. Section F describes the procedures that will be used to transition existing Lecturer-track faculty to the Teaching Professor track.

C.3.1. New Appointments

New appointments to a Teaching Professor title at any rank are evaluated based on a dossier documenting the applicant’s teaching experience and expertise, and on a simulated class lecture open to the University community.  Dossiers shall include a CV, and teaching and advising statements.  Cornell University requires a statement on supporting diverse communities.  This may be either a separate statement or embedded in the other statements required of the candidate.  Dossiers shall also include a synopsis of previous teaching evaluations (if available), and names of between three and five external references.  The Chair may choose to solicit additional reference letters.  Appointments will be discussed and voted upon at a meeting of the eligible voters. Eligible voters are listed in Section E.  The Chair will discuss the Department recommendation with the Dean, who has final decision-making authority.

C.3.2. Reappointment in Rank: Assistant Teaching Professors

Assistant Teaching Professors are normally appointed for an initial three-year term and evaluated for reappointment in the third year to determine whether the candidate has earned a second three-year appointment.

Dossier contents shall be similar to the new-appointment dossier.  Reference letters are not solicited for inclusion in the dossier, but peer teaching evaluations and course evaluation summaries are required. The department shall meet to discuss and vote.  Voting eligibility is described in Section E.  The dossier, the results of the vote, a summary of the department’s discussions, and the recommendation of the Chair shall be delivered to the Dean of the College, who has the final decision-making authority.  Should the Dean’s decision be negative, the candidate must be allowed to serve at least one semester after written notice of non-renewal, as described in Section C.3.6. That notice of a negative decision must inform the candidate of the grievance process (Section C.3.6.)

The dean may convene an ad hoc committee for advice on the decision. If the dean chooses to reject the Department Chair’s recommendation, an ad hoc committee must be appointed. 

Assistant Teaching Professors who remain in rank shall have a full review every three years.

C.3.3. Reappointment in Rank: Associate and Full Teaching Professors

Associate and Full Teaching Professor appointments shall be reviewed every five years.  For Associate Teaching Professors the review will be dossier-based.  Full Teaching Professors will have reviews every five years, but only every other review will be dossier-based (10-year intervals between dossier-based reviews).  The alternate five-year review recommendation to the Dean will be made by the Chair based on a review of course evaluations and annual reports. (See C.3.4.)

Dossier-based reviews will be conducted by a Committee appointed by the Chair.  Dossier contents for reappointment reviews shall include the candidate’s CV and summaries of course evaluations since the previous (re)appointment. The Committee will conduct a peer evaluation of teaching. Reference letters need not be solicited for inclusion in the dossier but may be included if the Committee believes they will provide information not otherwise available.  If the Chair and the Committee concur on renewing the appointment, no faculty vote is needed, but the Chair may call for a vote if there is disagreement.  Voting eligibility is described in Section E.  The Committee’s report and the Chair’s recommendation will be communicated to the Dean, who makes the final decision. 

The Dean may convene an ad hoc committee for advice on the decision. If the Dean chooses to reject the Department Chair’s recommendation, an ad hoc committee must be appointed. 

If the decision by the Dean is negative the appointment will not be renewed.  Should the outcome of the review be negative, the candidate must be informed of the grievance process (Section C.3.6).

C.3.4. Annual Reviews

All Teaching Professors are required to submit an annual report as part of an annual review.

C.3.5. Promotion

Promotion is based on past and current performance.

The candidate and Department Chair shall discuss whether to pursue a promotion case or a reappointment-at-rank case. If the candidate requests a promotion review, the request shall be granted.

Early promotion (promotion before the end of a current appointment) is possible.  Permission to run an early promotion review must be requested by the Department Chair and granted by the Dean.

The contents of a promotion dossier shall be similar to a reappointment dossier. In addition, the promotion dossier shall contain, in addition to the requirements of a reappointment dossier, reference letters solicited by the department from referees chosen from a department list and from a candidate list.  At least five letters are required, at least two of which come from out-of-college and at least two from the Department.  These letters are distinct from the peer teaching review report.  Eligible referees are faculty and staff whose work is closely connected to the College’s teaching mission; e.g. other instructors, the McCormick Teaching Excellence Institute and the Center for Teaching Innovation staff, curriculum development professionals, etc. Finally, the dossier should contain a random selection of letters from current and former students who have taken the candidates courses, and, if appropriate, a random selection of letters from former undergraduate TAs.

The dossier review and the Department vote should be completed at least four months before termination of the current appointment. The procedures for the Dean’s evaluation (including ad hoc committees and for grievances) are the same as for a reappointment.

Faculty who are not promoted may be reappointed at their current rank.

C.3.6. Grievances

Teaching professors shall have access to the grievance policies described in the Bowers CIS legislation.  All final decisions with regard to RTE appointments belong to the Dean of the College.

C.3.7. Termination

A review at the end of an appointment period may result in a decision to promote, a decision to keep in rank, or a decision to terminate. Termination notification shall conform to the University’s “Notice Requirements for Early Termination, Non-Renewal or Reduction in Effort/Salary for RTE Faculty.”  Currently the requirement is for one semester’s notification for Assistant Teaching Professors in their first three-year renewal, and two semesters for all other Teaching Professors.

C.4. Appointment Lengths

Assistant Teaching Professors will have three-year appointments. Associate and Full Teaching Professors will have five-year appointments.  

C.5. Professional Development

Teaching Professors will be provided with a “teaching account”, with funds for conferences, materials, and other needs relevant to the development of teaching faculty.  Other support will be at the discretion of the Dean and based upon unit needs.

D. Limitation

D1. Scope

The principal task of Teaching Professors is to provide outstanding classroom teaching.  We also expect that Teaching Professors will

fill service roles, particularly those having to do with teaching.  Teaching  Professors are eligible to serve in administrative roles such as directing Master’s programs and serving as DUS.

Teaching Professors are encouraged to engage with the research culture of the college, especially for purposes of keeping the curriculum up to date and of incorporating recent research results into their teaching as appropriate. Teaching Professors may oversee research with undergraduate and professional Master’s students as part of their teaching role.  Research activity is not a requirement for appointment, reappointment, or promotion of Teaching Professors, and is valued by the College only insofar as it contributes to the College teaching mission or pedagogy more generally.

D.2. Numbers

Teaching Professor titles will not be used to shrink the size of the tenure-track faculty.  Teaching faculty complement research faculty; they do not substitute for them.  The number of RTE Faculty with University Voting Rights shall not exceed 30% of the total number of College Tenure-Track and such RTE Faculty.

All appointments will be at least 50% effort, and most will be at 100% effort.  The Lecturer titles will be retained for part-time and short-term teaching appointments.

E. Voting and Other Rights

Teaching professors are RTE faculty with all the rights, responsibilities, and limitations pertaining thereto.

Teaching Professors of any rank and Tenure-Track Professors of any rank are eligible to vote on new Teaching Professor appointments at any rank.  A separate vote shall be conducted to determine the candidate’s rank.  Teaching Professors and Tenure-Track Professors of the proposed rank or higher are eligible to vote on rank.

For reappointments and promotions of Teaching Professors to a given rank the Teaching Professors and Tenure-Track Professors of the proposed or higher rank are eligible to vote.

Voting rights of Teaching Professors on tenure-track hiring shall be determined at the department level.  Teaching Professors do not vote on tenure or promotions of Tenure-Track Faculty.

Teaching Professors at all ranks shall be eligible to vote on curricular matters at the department and college level.

F. Impact

F.1. Relationship to Other RTE Teaching Titles

The college will use the Teaching Professor, Professor of the Practice, and existing Lecturer track titles in support of the college’s teaching mission. No change in the implementation of the Professor of the Practice track is anticipated.  Lecturer-track faculty will contribute to the teaching needs of the college but may not meet degree requirements of the professorial teaching tracks, or may be appointed for specific short-term needs, or may teach specific classes part-time without otherwise participating in the broader mission of the college. The Senior Lecturer title will be retained, but it is expected that this title will mostly not be used for any further new appointments or promotions.

F.2. Transition Processes

All initial transitions will be lateral moves:  Lecturer to Assistant Teaching Professor, Senior Lecturer with less than five years in the role to Associate Teaching Professor, and Senior Lecturer with five or more years in the role to Full Teaching Professor.  In the initial phase upon activation of the Teaching Professor titles, only faculty currently holding a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer title are eligible.  Those individuals wanting to apply for a Teaching Professor title at any rank shall submit a dossier containing a CV, a teaching and advising statement, a service statement, and a synopsis of previous teaching evaluations.  Cornell requires a statement on supporting diverse communities.  This may be either a separate statement or embedded in the other statements required of the candidate. 

Transitions in each Department shall be determined by the Dean in consultation with the Department Chair.

The start of the appointment for the purposes of reappointment or promotion is counted from the most recent appointment to Lecturer or Senior Lecturer.

G. Definitions

In this document the following definitions apply:

Dean: For Ithaca-based appointments, “Dean” refers to the Dean of the Bowers College.  For Cornell Tech-based appointments, “Dean” refers to the Bowers Dean in consultation with the Cornell Tech Dean.

RTE Faculty with University Voting Rights: Research, Teaching, and Extension (RTE) Faculty with University Voting Rights are those specifically designated as such in the Faculty Handbook, section 2.1.  Specifically: Senior Lecturers, Senior Research Associates, Clinical Professors, Professors of Practice, Research Professors, and Teaching Professors of all ranks.

RTE Teaching Faculty: RTE Teaching Faculty for purposes of voting on this proposal (per Faculty Senate Resolution 195, sec. 2) are defined as benefits-eligible faculty who have appointments at any rank on the Lecturer, or Professor of the Practice, and Teaching Professor tracks, and who are on renewable appointments.

Tenure-Track Faculty: Tenure-track faculty references all faculty on tenure-track lines: Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors.

Teaching Professors: Teaching Professors are those faculty in the ranks of Assistant, Associate, and Full Teaching Professor.