Posted: October 23, 2026
Status: UFC referred to CAPP for review and comment – October 22, 2026

Dean’s Letter:

10.9.2026

Dean of Faculty, Chris B. Schaffer
Office of the Dean of Faculty
Cornell University
315 Day Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
deanoffaculty@cornell.edu

Re: College of Architecture, Art, and Planning proposal for adoption of Research Professor titles

 Dear Dean Schaffer,

Attached, please find the proposal for the adoption of Research Professor titles (Assistant, Associate, and Full) in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.

I am pleased to report the results of the recent AAP faculty vote on the attached proposal, which was held between September 18, 2026 and October 6, 2026.

The proposal received support across all faculty categories:

RTE faculty

• 19 of 25 eligible voters participated (76%)
• 18 votes in favor (95% of RTE voters; 72% of eligible RTE faculty)

Tenured and Tenure-track (TT) faculty

• 53 of 59 eligible voters participated (90%)
• 46 votes in favor (87% of TT voters; 78% of eligible TT faculty)

Emeritus (advisory votes)

• 4 of 26 eligible voters participated (15%)
• 4 votes in favor (100% of all Emeritus advisory votes)

Voting participation and support are well above the thresholds set by the enabling legislation for faculty senate consideration of the proposals.

With this strong show of support, the College requests that this proposal be advanced to the Faculty Senate.

Sincerely,

Gale and Ira Drukier Dean

With a founding principle of “… any person … any study,” Cornell is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

JMY/SO/CO/jre/mw

cc:       Caroline O’Donnell, Professor of Architecture
Sophie Oldfield, Professor of City and Regional Planning AAP Office of the Dean

Proposal:

A.   ​Justification

Resolution 109: Enabling Legislation for Research Professor Titles was adopted by the Faculty Senate in 2015 and added to the university’s “approved list of titles.” Colleges that wish to use the teaching professor title must comply with the enabling legislation and have its proposal approved by the appropriate committees.

The College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) proposes to include the title ‘Research Professor’ enabled by the legislation among the professorial titles approved at AAP. The Teaching Professor title will enable academic units to recruit, retain and support the development of outstanding research faculty. This title, available for use at the assistant, associate, and professor rank, may be modified with “acting,” “courtesy,” or “visiting.” The associate professor and professor ranks of this title may be modified with “emeritus/a.” This proposal is enabled by the May 2015 adoption of the Research Professor Titles by the Faculty Senate (see https://www.deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/faculty-governance/archives/resolutions/resolution-109-enabling-legislation-for-research-professor-titles/).

To enhance our standing within the global research community, the Research Professor (RP) title is beneficial for two main reasons:

First, the RP will enable academic units to carry out research and provide new opportunities for researchers across the college. The RP track comes equipped with the same promotion sequence that is available to tenure track faculty (assistant-associate-full). If this is properly managed, then it creates a well-defined career path that is essential for retention and a set of incentives that is essential for enhancing the stature of the titleholder, their department, and the college. The spirit of collaboration that characterizes AAP will ensure the total integration of RP titleholders into the overall research mission.

Second, the RP will create possibilities to strengthen research excellence in the college. AAP is a leader and innovator in collaborative research across disciplines. In some areas of study, AAP competes with peer institutions who offer professorial titles for research positions. The RP title will enable units to be fully competitive with peer institutions, many of whom have more varied or attractive opportunities for researchers who are not on the tenure track.

Professorial titles have a recognition that is appreciated across the research community, that comes into play when a proposal is reviewed, especially for center-level proposals that require sustained engagement and leadership.

B.   ​Description of Position

Research professor appointments are full-time, soft-money appointments designed for individuals whose research programs are at a level that (a) attracts external funding and (b) strengthens the overall research infrastructure within an academic unit. Their primary responsibilities include initiating new research activities; creating and managing research laboratories; seeking funding opportunities, submitting proposals, and fulfilling the terms of research grants and contracts; planning, conducting, and reporting on original research; and representing their research groups externally. Persons appointed to these titles may routinely serve as principal investigators on grants and contracts. It is understood that the host department and AAP may, on occasion, use their own resources to bridge a funding gap or to facilitate the transition to some new, strategic research initiative.

The title of Research Professor may not be used for positions whose responsibilities substantially replicate those of the TT faculty.¹ Accordingly, such individuals normally are not permitted to teach courses for credit. However, it may be acceptable to supervise a research-related independent study for credit as would the running of a seminar that aligns with the titleholder’s research agenda, provided there is no “percent of effort” violation associated with the external funding source.

C.   ​Searches, Appointments, Reappointments, Promotions

The university guidelines provided by the Office of Faculty Diversity and Development and the college guidelines for tenure track hiring shall apply to RP hiring.

The initial rank of the candidate will depend on their current research record and will be determined by the chair (in consultation with the unit) with the dean’s approval. For each research professor appointment, there must be a specific job description and evaluation criteria established for the position. This document will be used in selecting the candidate for the position, as well as in ongoing evaluations of the research professor once they have arrived, including annual evaluations for the salary improvement program. The candidate will be expected to give an interview talk similar to what is required for tenure track faculty.

A dossier-based review must be conducted as part of the search process. The dossier shall include letters from confidential external referees and letters from participants in current or recent research programs. The tenured and tenure track faculty vote on the appointment together with other RP faculty in the department whose rank is no lower than the rank of the proposed appointment. The Chair communicates the result of the vote together with the rationale for the appointment in a letter to the AAP Dean.

C1. Criteria and expectations for appointment and/or promotion

Research professors must hold a PhD or a terminal degree (or foreign equivalent) from their primary discipline, a field which is appropriate to the position. To qualify for the title, research professors are also expected to have achieved significant stature in the scholarly discipline comparable to that of a tenure track faculty member of the same rank. Having the potential to fulfill the expectations of a research professor will be essential for an appointment at the assistant RP level. An individual who is appointed at the associate or full level needs to have already demonstrated a capacity for original work and an ability to attract outside funding.

¹ Here and throughout this document, “TT faculty” refers to “tenure track faculty” by which we mean the pool for all assistant, associate, and full professors.

C2. Criteria and expectations for length of appointment, reappointment and promotion Research professor appointments are typically for three or five years, with five years being the upper limit. Funding for the position is expected to be obtained from external grants awarded to the individual as a PI or through an existing center at Cornell.

All university policies will apply if funding is withdrawn or reduced. Nonrenewal or early termination of appointment also may occur on the basis of other significant resource constraints, unreliable funding prospects, seriously diminished interest in the research area or a reduction in relevance to the appointing unit’s research mission.

Reappointments are made based on the individual’s performance in relation to the pre-set evaluation criteria established for the position. The chair or designate reviews the performance annually with the individual.

Promotion from assistant research professor to associate research professor and associate research professor to full research professor is based on the quality of achievement, productivity, national and international stature in the field, leadership of the independent research program, effectiveness with colleagues and with participants in the research program, and service to the field. Promotion is merit based and is not automatic after a particular number of years holding the title. A formal dossier review is required for promotions and follows the procedures for the promotions of the analogous tenure track ranks.

C3. Criteria and expectations for switching tracks²**

Because Cornell is a research university, it is necessary to support transitions between the RP track and the Research Associate track and between the RP track and the tenure track when they make sense and are consistent with the guidelines that attend the underlying titles. Researchers evolve over the course of their careers and sometimes “outgrow” their job description.

2 From the Research Professor Enabling legislation concerning the relationship to Existing Titles: “Because the Research Professor titles are intended to replace the current Research Scientist, Principal Research Scientist, and Senior Scientist titles, individuals holding such titles may convert, with the approval of the department and the dean, to the appropriate level of Research Professor. An individual currently holding a Research Scientist, Principal Research Scientist, and Senior Scientist titles who is not approved to move to the Research Professor title or does not wish to do so may remain in the current title subject to all applicable conditions. There shall be no new appointments to the Research Scientist, Principal Research Scientist, and Senior Scientist titles. Individuals holding other academic titles, including Research Associate and Senior Research Associate cannot convert to Research Professor titles, but may seek appointment to such titles through the normal appointment processes.”

For example, it is possible for a senior research associate (SRA) who has an appropriate record of independent accomplishment to be hired into an advertised RP position. The metrics that are applied to the general pool of applicants will apply to an SRA applicant. In particular, the research record will be reviewed for originality, independence, and potential. As described in Section 3.1 of the Faculty Handbook, “senior research associates normally are responsible to a member of the faculty but may serve, within certain limitations, as principal investigator on a grant or contract.” If excellence is displayed in that direction, then there may be a good match for an RP position where “persons appointed to these titles may serve routinely as principal investigators on grants and contracts” to quote again from the Faculty Handbook.

It is also possible for a current member of the faculty who is on the tenure track to apply for an open RP position. The same set of evaluation metrics apply. A possible situation when this makes sense might be an assistant professor who has an emerging reputation as a brilliant

researcher, but who lacks interest in teaching and does not wish to submit to a tenure review. It should be noted that a faculty member in a tenure-track appointment may not move into a research-track appointment after a negative tenure decision in any circumstance.

“Track switching” can have unintended side effects that relate to morale and retention, so care must be exercised when this option is in play. Consultation with the dean and the department faculty is essential.

D.   ​Limitations

RPs will constitute part of the 35% maximum RTE positions in the college.

E.   ​ Voting and Other Rights

Voting rights for RPs are articulated in the University Resolution 109 and the Faculty Handbook. The dean shall have the responsibility of identifying those issues that are related to their roles with the college and the department chair shall have that responsibility within the department. In the department, those appointed to this professorial title shall participate fully in hiring decisions of other RPs at or below their rank.

RPs may serve on departmental and college committees as appropriate..Individuals holding RP titles shall be eligible to be members of their unit’s graduate field with appointment to the field following the same procedures used for the appointment of TT faculty. If appointed to the field, individuals holding RP titles shall have the same opportunities to be members of graduate committees as other field members.

An RP is not eligible for sabbatical leave. RPs will be eligible for the annual salary improvement program for faculty.

RP offer and appointment letters will include notification that the appointment may be terminated early or modified if funding is withdrawn or reduced. Nonrenewal or early termination of appointment also may occur on the basis of other significant resource constraints, unreliable funding prospects, seriously diminished interest in the research area or relevance to the appointing unit’s research mission, or performance.

F.  ​Impact

The use of the title is expected to strengthen the academic units in the college and ultimately to contribute positively towards Cornell’s ranking in research-related areas.