The Associate Dean and Secretary of the Faculty (ADOF) is the Dean’s partner in running faculty governance. The ADOF serves as chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, sits ex officio on the UFC and other committees of the Senate as needed, and serves as Acting Dean when the Dean is unavailable. The role of the ADOF is defined in Article VI of the Faculty Handbook.

Eligibility

The ADOF must be a tenured member of the University Faculty (Article VI.B).

Term and Appointment

The term of the ADOF is three years with the possibility of reappointment by the Senate for an additional term not to exceed three years.

The Dean’s and ADOF’s terms are staggered so that the two offices are not filled in the same year (Article V.G).

Electorate

All University and RTE faculty with University Voting Rights can vote in the election of the ADOF, which is by the University Assemblies office.

Primary Duties

Under Article VI.A and D of the Faculty Handbook, the ADOF:

• Assists the Dean, carries out duties the Dean assigns, and serves as Acting Dean when needed.
• Chairs the Nominations and Elections Committee.
• Serves ex officio on every committee of the University Faculty and of the Senate, including the University Faculty Committee.
• Serves as secretary and ex officio voting member of the Faculty Senate.

The Work in Practice

The ADOF’s work is largely divided between two roles. As chair of Nominations and Elections, the ADOF leads the annual cycle of slating and conducting faculty elections and staffing both elected and appointed positions on Senate and administrative committees.

As the Dean’s deputy, the ADOF shares in agenda-setting for the Senate, helps guide weekly discussion of Senate matters, and takes on initiatives the Dean delegates.

Regular Interactions

Dean of Faculty – A weekly meeting to coordinate activities and jointly managed initiatives.

University Faculty Committee – Typically three meetings a semester with the Provost (the President attends one), plus monthly Senate agenda-setting meetings.

Faculty Senate – Regular meetings, normally monthly, of 90 minutes each.

Nominations and Elections Committee – Meetings as chair throughout the election and committee-staffing cycle. Fall meetings tend to focus on filling slates for elected and appointed positions on faculty committees. Spring meetings as needed focus on policy and oversight.

Office staff and the Senate Committee Coordinator – Ongoing work on elections, committee appointments, and records.

The University Faculty Committee (UFC), established by Article VIII.A.1 of the Faculty Handbook, is the executive committee of the Faculty Senate and the University Faculty, and the body the President and Provost consult on major policy issues.

Composition and Eligibility

The UFC has nine elected members plus the Dean of Faculty (chair) and the Associate Dean of Faculty, ex officio. Any member of the University Faculty may stand, with two kinds of seat:

Senator seats (5). Candidates must be current senators when elected. They serve the full UFC term even if their Senate term ends first.

Non-senator seats (4). Candidates need not be senators.

No one may serve on the UFC and the Nominations and Elections Committee at the same time.

Term

UFC terms are three years, staggered so that roughly a third of the seats turn over each spring. No one may serve more than two complete consecutive terms.

Electorate

All University and RTE faculty with UVR.

Primary Duties

• Provides liaison between the Senate and the President, Provost, and other senior administrators, and serves as the faculty body they consult on major policy issues.
• Assists the Dean in setting the agenda for regular and special Senate meetings and decides whether each meeting is open or closed to visitors.
• Acts for the Senate in emergencies.
• Establishes or reappoints ad hoc committees and subcommittees.
• Advises the Dean on all matters that concern the faculty.
• Reviews faculty representation in the Senate at least every three years.

The Work in Practice

UFC members are the faculty’s standing interlocutors with central administration. Much of the value of the role lies in frank, confidential exchange with the Provost and President before decisions are made, and in judgment about which issues should go to the full Senate and how.

Regular Interactions

Provost – About three meetings a semester to discuss pressing issues; the President attends one of these.

Senate agenda-setting – Monthly meetings with the Dean and ADOF.

Board of Trustees Executive Committee – A meeting at the fall and spring Board of Trustees meetings.

Faculty Senate – UFC members who are senators attend Senate meetings; non-senator members are welcome to attend.

The Nominations and Elections Committee (N&E), established by Article VIII.A.2 of the Faculty Handbook, decides who stands for faculty office and who staffs faculty committees.

They also supervise the policies and procedures surrounding elections and campaigns, although the elections themselves are run by the Office of the Assemblies.

Composition and Eligibility

N&E has nine members plus the Dean and the ADOF, ex officio; the ADOF chairs.

Elected seats (6). Elected at large by the faculty. Any member of the University Faculty may stand.

Appointed seats (3). Nominated by N&E and appointed by the Senate to balance colleges, disciplines, and the diversity of the faculty.

No one may serve on N&E and the University Faculty Committee at the same time.

Term

Three years, staggered for continuity.

Electorate

All University and RTE faculty with UVR may vote for the six elected seats.

Primary Duties

• Nominates candidates for Faculty Trustee, Dean of Faculty, ADOF, Senator-at-Large, the UFC, N&E itself, and other elected committees and offices. For the Dean, it prepares a slate of two or more potential candidates.
• Proposes members and chairs of appointed University Faculty and Senate committees, giving preference to senators where appropriate.
• Proposes faculty for administration and faculty-administration committees when asked.
• Prescribes procedures for University Faculty and Senate elections.
• Apportions Senate seats among constituencies at least every three years, and resolves apportionment questions.
• In building slates for any committed, the committee must be mindful of spanning all parts of the campus and the major scholarly areas: Biological Sciences, Creative Arts, Humanities, Physical Sciences, Professional Schools, and Social Sciences.

The Work in Practice

N&E shapes the composition of faculty governance more than any other body. Members identify and recruit colleagues for office, help persuade candidates to stand, weigh balance across colleges and disciplines, and staff a large roster of standing committees.

The work is concentrated in the run-up to spring elections with ad hoc requests and policy matters arising throughout the year.

Regular Interactions

ADOF (chair) – Preparation of slates, candidate outreach, and committee rosters.

Central administration – Requests for faculty nominees to search and policy committees.

Senators-at-large are full voting members of the Faculty Senate who represent the faculty as a whole rather than a department or college, ensuring that each major faculty rank has a guaranteed voice regardless of how constituency seats fall (see Article IX.C.1.f).

Seats and Eligibility

There are nine at-large seats, three in each category:

Tenured faculty (3).

Assistant professors (3).

RTE faculty with UVR (3).

A candidate must hold a title in the category of the seat sought.

Term

Three years, beginning July 1, staggered so that about a third of seats are elected each year. If an at-large seat falls vacant, N&E may appoint a temporary replacement for the rest of the academic year.

Electorate

All University and RTE faculty with UVR, from candidates nominated by N&E.

Responsibilities

Senators-at-large carry the same powers and duties as every senator. Under Article X, the Senate holds all powers of the University Faculty not reserved to the faculty as a whole.

Senators are expected to ascertain faculty opinion and keep the faculty informed of the reasons for Senate decisions. For at-large senators, whose constituency is the whole faculty, this means attending to colleagues in their rank across colleges, and especially to faculty whose departments are small or under-represented.

Time Commitment

Senate meetings – Normally monthly during the academic year, recently every two weeks, at 90 minutes each.

Senate orientation – Held at the start of each academic year.

Committee service – Senators are given preference for appointed Senate committees and are eligible for the UFC senator seats.

The two Faculty Trustees are full voting members of Cornell’s Board of Trustees, elected by the faculty, who bring faculty perspective and judgment to the Board’s governance of the university. The Faculty Trustee positions were established by the 1984 amendment to the university charter.

Eligibility

Faculty Trustees must be tenured members of the University Faculty (see Article IV.A.2).

Term

Four years, with the two seats staggered so that one is filled every two years.

Electorate

All University and RTE faculty with UVR. N&E canvasses the faculty and prepares a slate for Senate approval, and the candidate with a majority on the Hare ballot is elected.

Role and Duties

Trustee – Full participation in the Board’s deliberations and votes, with the fiduciary responsibilities of any trustee.

Independent judgment – Faculty Trustees speak and vote their own views. They do not speak for the faculty unless the faculty expressly authorizes them to do so in a particular case. But faculty trustees do offer their opinion of the likely faculty reaction to proposals on academic or educational policy.

Faculty Senate – Ithaca-based Faculty Trustees are ex officio voting members of the Senate, which keeps them in direct contact with faculty deliberation. Faculty trustees do not serve as formal representatives of the faculty to the Board. When the faculty wishes to convey its collective views, it typically does so through the President or a specially elected committee. Faculty Trustees are a second, personal channel that complements, and does not replace, those routes. They are elected as members with experience, expertise, and judgement of their own, not on the basis of a capacity to represent the will of the faculty writ large.

Time Commitment

Board of Trustees – Four meetings a year (October, February, March, and May), each about six hours spread over three days. The February meeting is in New York City; the others are in Ithaca.

Board committees – Committee assignments vary.

Faculty Senate – Regular Senate meetings as an ex officio voting member.

Election Results

• Chris Schaffer – Dean of Faculty (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Tara Holm – Faculty Trustee (7/1/2026-6/30/2030)
• Suzanne Charles – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Beth Milles – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Bryan Sykes – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Paul Fleming – University Faculty Committee (non-Senator or Senator) (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Jonathan Butcher – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Laurent Dubreuil – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Athena Kirk – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Elliot Shapiro – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Seema Golestaneh – Senator-at-Large (tenured) (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Immanuel Trummer – Senator-at-Large (tenured) (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)
• Lindsay Goodale – Senator-at-Large (RTE) (7/1/2026-6/30/2029)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Adam T. Smith – Associate Dean of Faculty (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)
• Debbie Cherney – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)
• Larry Blume – University Faculty Committee (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)
• Daniel Buckley – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)
• Julie Carmalt – Nominations & Elections Committee (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)
• Vivian Zayas – Senator-at-Large (tenured) (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)
• Shivaun Archer – Senator-at-Large (RTE) (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)
• Sandra Babcock – Senator-at-Large (RTE) (7/1/2025-6/30/2028)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Durba Ghosh – Faculty Trustee (7/1/24-6/30/28)
• Mark Lewis – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Jose Martinez – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Nate Foster – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Peidong Sun – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Michael Charles – Senator-at-Large (non-tenure) (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Azahara Gonzales – Senator-at-Large (non-tenure) (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Alexandra Werth – Senator-at-Large (non-tenure) (7/1/24-6/30/27)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Tara Holm – University Faculty Committee (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Beth Milles – University Faculty Committee (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Charles Walcott – University Faculty Committee (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Maurine Linder – University Faculty Committee (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Benjamin Anderson – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Risa Mish – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Chris Schaffer – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Parfait M. Eloundou-Enyegue – Senator-at-Large (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• So-Yeon Yoon – Senator-at-Large (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Kim Kopko – Senator-at-Large (7/1/23-6/30/26)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Chelsea Specht – Associate Dean of Faculty (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• David Lee – Faculty Trustee (7/1/22-6/30/26)
• Debbie Cherney – University Faculty Committee (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Sarah Besky – University Faculty Committee (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Johannes Lehmann – University Faculty Committee (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Kenneth Roberts – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Elisha Cohn – Senator-at-Large (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Allison Chartchyan – Senator-at-Large (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Andy Horbal – Senator-at-Large (7/1/22-6/30/25)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Eve De Rosa – Dean of Faculty (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Mariana Wolfner – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Mark Lewis – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Carla Gomes – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Marilyn Migiel – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Ella Diaz – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Carrie Adler – Senator-at-Large (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Ashleigh Newman – Senator-at-Large (7/1/21-6/30/24)
• Jeffrey Palmer – Senator-at-Large (7/1/21-6/30/24)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Abby Cohn – Faculty Trustee (7/1/20-6/30/24)
• Kimberly Kopko – Senator-at-Large (RTE) (7/1/20-6/30/23)
• Brooke Duffy – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/20-6/30/23)
• Kerry Shaw – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/20-6/30/23)
• Rosemary Avery – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/20-6/30/23)
• Charles Walcott – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/20-6/30/23)
• Courtney Roby – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/120-6/30/23)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Neema Kudva – Associate Dean of Faculty (7/1/19-6/30/22)
• Durba Ghosh – University Faculty Committee (7/1/19-6/30/22)
• David R. Lee – University Faculty Committee (7/1/19-6/30/22)
• David Zax – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/19-6/30/22)
• Bruce Lauber – University Faculty Committee (7/1/19-6/30/22)
• Rhonda Gilmore – University Faculty Committee (7/1/19-6/30/22)

See full voting results and candidate statements posted on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Melissa Hines – Faculty Trustee (7/1/18-6/30/22)
• Shorna Allred – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/18-6/30/21)
• Sara Warner – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/18-6/30/21)
• Mariana Wolfner – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/18-6/30/21)
• Anthony Hay – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/18-6/30/21)
• Robert Karpman – Senator-at-Large (7/1/18-6/30/21)
• Scott Coonrod – Senator-at-Large (7/1/18-6/30/21)
• Chelsea Specht – Senator-at-Large (7/1/18-6/30/21)

See full voting results and candidate statements on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Rosemary Avery – Senator-at-Large (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Suman Seth – Senator-at-Large (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Robert Thorne – Senator-at-Large (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Michael Masourek – Senator-at-Large (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Ruth Richardson – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Kerry Shaw – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Julia Finkelstein – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Cynthia Grant Bowman – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Rosemary Avery – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Shannon Gleeson – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Harry de Gorter – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/17-6/30/20)
• Kimberley O’Brien – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/17-6/30/20)

See full voting results and candidate statements on the Office of the Assemblies website.

Election Results

• Charles F. Van Loan – Dean of Faculty (7/1/16-6/30/19)
• Chris Schaffer – Associate Dean of Faculty (7/1/16-6/30/19)
• Bruce Lewenstein – Faculty Trustee (7/1/16-6/30/20)
• Rob Thorne – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/16-6/30/19)
• Durba Ghosh – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/16-6/30/19)
• Kate Walsh – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/16-6/30/19)
• Julia Felippe – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/16-6/30/19)

See full voting results.

Candidates

Election Results

• Thomas Fox – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• Steve Hilgartner – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• Alan Zehnder – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• David Pizarro – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• Tom Brenna – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• Ross Brann – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• June Bowman Nasrallah– University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• Debbie Cherney – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• Miguel Gomez – Senator-at-Large (Non-Tenured) (7/1/15-6/30/18)
• John Sipple – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/15-6/30/18)

Election Results

• Mariana Wolfner – Faculty Trustee (7/1/14-6/30/18)
• Chris Schaffer – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Charles Van Loan – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Shelley Feldman – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Kathleen Long – Nominations & Elections Committee (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Kerry Shaw – Nominations & Elections Committee (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Elizabeth Anker – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Jeff Doyle – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Irby Lovette – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Robert Thorne – Senator-at-Large (Tenured) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Ben Anderson – Senator-at-Large (Non-Tenured) (7/1/14-6/30/17)
• Michael Mazourek – Senator-at-Large (Non-Tenured) (7/1/14-6/30/17)

Nominations and Elections Report

Election Results

• Joanne E. Fortune – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/13-6/30/16)
• Risa Lieberwitz – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/13-6/30/16)
• Ronald Ehrenberg – University Faculty Committee (Non-Senator) (7/1/13-6/30/16)
• Rosemary Avery – University Faculty Committee (Senator) (7/1/13-6/30/16)

Election Results

• Joe Burns – Dean of Faculty (7/1/12-6/30/15)
• Michael Fontaine – Associate Dean of Faculty (7/1/12-6/30/15)
• Barbara Baird – Faculty Trustee (7/1/12-6/30/16)
• Debbie Cherney – Senator-at-Large (7/1/12-6/30/15)
• John Sipple – Senator-at-Large (7/1/12-6/30/15)
• Miguel Gomez – Senator-at-Large (Non-Tenured) (7/1/12-6/30/15)
• Thomas Fox – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/12-6/30/15)
• Steve Hilgartner – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/12-6/30/15)
• Alan Zehnder – Nominations and Elections Committee (7/1/12-6/30/15)

Candidates