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 Teaching Professor titles

 Dear Dean Schaffer,

Attached, please find the proposal for the adoption of Teaching 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%)
• 49 votes in favor (92% of TT voters; 83% 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 195: To establish a Teaching Professor track at Cornell University was enabling

legislation adopted by the Faculty Senate in April 2024 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 (https://deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/faculty-

governance/archives/resolutions/resolution-195-to-establish-a-teaching-professor-track/) and have its proposal approved by the Faculty Senate.

The College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) proposes to include title ‘Teaching 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 teaching 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.”

There are several motivations for adopting the teaching professor titles. In some areas of study, our academic units compete with peer institutions who offer professorial titles for teaching positions. The Teaching Professor titles are an opportunity to elevate a teaching-focused career. Teaching professors do not have a research/creative practice requirement to their academic position. The “professor” title helps to recognize the importance and quality of instruction and leadership provided by AAP faculty currently in lecturer or senior lecturer positions. Unlike the two-rank lecturer track that offers limited room for advancement, the three-rank teaching professor track (assistant, associate, and full) will increase opportunities to recognize professional advancement of those faculty and the associated benefits that accrue to the educational environment, including activities such as curriculum development, pedagogical innovation, degree program leadership, and external visibility.

B.   ​Description of Position

The teaching professor titles are available only for benefits eligible (50% FTE or greater), long term, non-tenure-track faculty members whose efforts are devoted primarily to the teaching mission of the college and university. Sustained excellence in teaching is expected of teaching professors at all levels. Assistant, associate, and full teaching professors are expected to achieve

a high level of expertise within their areas of teaching responsibility to substantially contribute to their program’s educational mission. Teaching professors at higher ranks should demonstrate impact inside and outside the university through activities such as pedagogical achievement, curriculum development, and leadership roles. Consistent with their rank and local needs, teaching professors are also expected to contribute teaching-related service, especially in areas that concern advising, mentoring, curriculum development, the management of degree programs and departmental service, including serving on search committees, academic committees, coordination, and admissions reviews.

The teaching professor titles may not be used to replicate the combined teaching and research/ creative practice responsibilities of the tenure-track faculty. Accordingly, teaching professor appointments should not require conducting research or creative practice, publishing its results, or advising Ph.D. students. Teaching professors may choose to participate in such activities, especially when related to pedagogy, and should stay current with research and creative practice in their area to best incorporate it into their teaching.

Faculty holding teaching professor positions may apply for advertised tenure-track or professor of the practice positions but may not move from these positions to an unadvertised tenure-track position.

B.1.  Course Load

The Teaching Professor position is primarily a teaching position. The teaching load is equivalent to the combined teaching and the research load of a typical tenure-track load (and including

equivalent service) per year. Individual course loads will be determined based on the norms and precedents in the department, types of courses taught, and additional responsibilities that might be assigned by the department.

B.2.    Criteria and Expectations for Appointment

B.2.1.    Criteria and expectations for appointment at or promotion to the rank of Assistant Teaching Professor

Assistant teaching professors are expected to have potential to develop into excellent classroom and studio teachers. They will contribute to the development of existing or new courses, and service as defined above.

B.2.2.    Criteria and expectations for appointment at or promotion to the rank of Associate Teaching Professor

To be appointed or promoted to the rank of associate teaching professor, candidates are expected to have six or more years of full-time experience teaching in higher education (at Cornell or elsewhere) and to demonstrate the ability to make contributions to their department’s educational mission beyond those typically required of an assistant teaching professor. These might include creating novel and effective learning activities, contributing to curricular development and assessment, design and implementation of a new course, or service to and leadership in areas of importance to their department and the college.

An associate teaching professor should demonstrate broad knowledge of the field as a whole and be able to draw on that knowledge to make connections between introductory and advanced level courses and studio practice. Candidates should show evidence of continued development of their pedagogy and keep current in their area of instruction. External engagement in the form of publications, lectures, and any campus-wide or external recognition for their educational contributions would weigh very favorably in appointment or promotion to the position.

B.2.3.    Criteria and expectations for appointment at or promotion to the rank of (full) Teaching Professor

To be appointed or promoted to the rank of teaching professor, candidates are expected to have eleven or more years of full-time experience teaching in higher education. They are expected to make significant contributions to the broad educational mission of their department, advance teaching and learning in their discipline and professional fields, use innovative strategies in teaching and have impact beyond their department.

Examples of such impact may include: the development of materials such as a website making available important teaching materials in their field of instruction, development of educational software of value to courses taught at Cornell or elsewhere, dissemination of achievements via papers or presentations on education, curriculum development, mentoring other faculty’s teaching efforts, development and delivery of distance learning courses, collaboration on teaching beyond the department, significant engagement activity related to communities and industry, partners, significant involvement in curricular innovation and leadership at the departmental or college level, or leadership in national professional organizations appropriate to their field, or teaching awards beyond the college.

Full teaching professors are expected to contribute to department, college, or university service at a level beyond that of associate teaching professors.

C.   ​Searches, Appointments, Reappointments, Promotions

 C.1.    Degree Requirements

Teaching professors should typically hold a graduate degree appropriate to the level and field of instruction. For some departments and programs in AAP, this is a PhD. But for many faculty eligible for this title in the college, a PhD in the field taught is not standard or not available. For example, teaching professors in the departments of Architecture or Art would typically hold degrees such as a Master of Fine Arts or Masters of Architecture. However, Teaching Professors in building technology or design technology increasingly have PhDs. The dean may also accept degrees other than the PhD in cases in which a faculty member without a PhD is already appointed at Cornell or another peer institution and has demonstrated the appropriate skills and accomplishments.

C.2.    Searches

Searches for open teaching professor positions require a national, formal search or granting of a waiver of a search approved by the Dean and the Vice Provost in cases where the University waiver of search criteria applies. All searches will follow best practices and applicable college and university rules for academic appointments.

C.3.    Processes and Procedures

• Appointments

New appointments must be voted on by the faculty of the department. Votes for hiring and rank are separated. The appropriate rank is determined by the criteria described in section B.2. of this document.

Appointments at the level of assistant teaching professor are for up to three years and are renewable. Evaluation for reappointment to a second term must take place at the start of the third year of appointment. Evaluation for promotion to Associate Teaching Professor typically happens in the third year of their second three-year term.

Appointments for associate and full teaching professors are for up to five years and are renewable. Evaluation for reappointment as Associate Teaching Professor or promotion to Teaching Professor (full) typically happens in the fifth year of the first term. Full Teaching Professors are typically evaluated for reappointment to subsequent five-year terms at that rank in the fifth year of each term.

All tenure track and non-tenure track teaching faculty on renewable appointments can vote on all hiring decisions for teaching professors. See section E.1 for the broader policy voting rights.

All tenure track and non-tenure track teaching faculty on renewable appointments can vote on the decision to appoint a candidate at the rank of assistant teaching professor.

All tenured associate and full professors as well as sr. lecturers, associate, and full teaching professors, associate, and full professors of practice on renewable appointments can vote on the decision to appoint a candidate at the rank of associate teaching professor.

All tenured full professors as well as full teaching professors and full professors of practice on renewable appointments can vote on the decision to appoint a candidate at the rank of full teaching professor.

Final decisions on all initial appointments and reappointments are made by the Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, except in the case of shared departments, where the Dean of the collaborating college is involved as per procedures described in relevant AAP policy documents.

C.3.2.    Reappointments

Appointments at the level of assistant teaching professor are for up to three years and are renewable. Appointments for associate and full teaching professors are for up to five years and are renewable. The length of an appointment must be stipulated at the time of appointment.

Decisions on renewal are at the discretion of the appointing unit and are dependent on departmental needs and availability of funding. Decisions not to renew and minimum notice requirements must adhere to policy 3.4 in the Faculty Handbook.

As per the Faculty Handbook, the department chair and Dean are not bound by department votes on reappointments, though the chair must report votes to the Dean. All reappointments are made internal to the college.

C.3.2.1.    Reappointment for Assistant Teaching Professors

Decisions to reappoint assistant teaching professors should be voted on by the department faculty based on a dossier-based review of the candidate’s teaching and other service relative to the criteria B.2.1 stated above for assistant teaching professors. The chair may wish to appoint a review committee. The dossier should typically include an up-to- date CV, teaching statement with accompanying documentation of relevant student work, department solicited letters from students on teaching, mentoring and advising as relevant, student evaluations of teaching, internal and external peer review of teaching, and candidate’s service statement. Voting rights are as stated in the procedures for initial appointment at this rank.

C.3.2.2.    Reappointment for Associate and (full) Teaching Professors

All associate and full teaching professors will be reviewed for reappointment every five years, following a dossier-based review and departmental vote. A negative review will result in nonrenewal of their current appointment. Therefore, appointments should be timed to run in sync with review cycles.

Final decisions on reappointments are made by the Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, except in the case of shared departments, where the Dean of the collaborating college is involved as per procedures described in relevant AAP policy documents.

C.3.3.    Procedures for Promotion to Associate or full Teaching Professor

Promotion from assistant to associate and from associate to full teaching professor will require a dossier-based review and assessment by department faculty and 3-5 external reviewers in peer institutions. The chair will appoint a promotion committee.

The candidate is expected to assist in the evaluation by supplying a curriculum vitae, a summary of their teaching practice and future goals, and their service, both internal and external (as applicable). The candidate should also provide a short list of 5 potential peer reviewers, including reviewers (internal or external to Cornell) who may be able to shed special light on the candidate’s educational contributions. In strict confidentiality, the department will contact a subset of these reviewers together with individuals not on the candidate’s list. A minimum of two letters from peers, at least one of which should be arm’s-length (external to the department, not suggested by the candidate, and with no significant ties to the candidate), are required. The department will also collect letters from students and advisees.

The dossier for promotion from assistant to associate teaching professor, or associate to full teaching professor should provide evidence of the candidate’s contributions and qualifications addressing the criteria for appointment and promotion for each rank. Recognizing that not all items below are applicable for all candidates, a typical dossier will contain:

• Up-to-date CV (required)
• A statement summarizing the contributions made by the candidate to the educational and, if appropriate, outreach and engagement mission of the department; (required)
• Examples of student work produced in studio/workshops, and other courses; (required)
• Examples of teaching materials and instructional aids that document the candidate’s teaching and development of courses;
• Course notes or manuals, and any teaching software or textbooks (with evidence of adoption of such materials outside of Cornell being highly significant);
• A summary of participation at national or international conferences on education and/or in their discipline and/or service to their educational or disciplinary community;
• A summary of academic advising of individual students at all levels, and advising student projects, academic and honorary organizations;
• Course evaluations and summaries of course evaluations; (required)
• Letters from students, including a sample of the solicitation letter and a list of individuals solicited; (required)
• Letters of evaluation by professorial and/or RTE faculty (can be internal or external to Cornell) with first-hand knowledge of the candidate’s teaching obtained through teaching observations, or review of course materials, or collaborations; (required)
• Additional materials following any special guidelines and criteria developed by the

Note that the above are guidelines and that some items may not be appropriate for all faculty given the broad range of duties of RTE teaching faculty and the differences between departments and college programs.

Promotions to associate teaching professor or to (full) teaching professor are voted on by the departmental faculty. Voting rights at each rank are as stated in the process for initial appointments in section C.3.1. As per the Faculty Handbook, the department chair is not bound by the vote, though the chair must report the vote to the dean. The chair represents the department in making and explaining to the dean the department’s recommendation for or against the promotion. The dossier and letter will then be transmitted to the Dean’s office for further review. All policies will follow relevant AAP and university policy guidelines.

When the departmental vote is positive, the Dean will review the case and either decide based on the dossier provided, or at the Dean’s discretion, appoint an ad hoc committee to review the dossier and make a recommendation on the promotion. The makeup of the committee shall typically include two tenured faculty members and one teaching professor or professor of practice at or above the rank under consideration. These faculty may be from outside the candidate’s department and have suitable background for judging the case.

The Dean has final approval of all promotions, except in the case of shared departments where the Dean of the collaborating college is involved as per agreed on criteria in the MOU.

C.3.4.     Appeals

Teaching professors shall have access to the processes for appealing decisions of the Department and Dean described in Section 4.3 of the Faculty Handbook. However, all final decisions with regard to RTE appointments belong to the Dean of the College. There is no appeal to the Provost.

C.3.5.     Terminations

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 3.6. Professional Development

Since teaching professors are expected to achieve and to apply a high level of expertise in teaching and service, it is expected that departments will provide mentoring, and opportunities for professional development such as conference travel, participation in teaching workshops internal or external to Cornell, or other opportunities.

The policy for professional leaves is outlined in University Policy 6.2.1, Leaves for Professors and Academic Staff (cornell.edu)

D.   Limitations

D.1.    Scope

The principal responsibility of Teaching Professor titles is to provide excellent teaching, advising, and mentoring at the undergraduate and professional Masters levels. Teaching Professors are encouraged to engage with the research culture of the college and timely research in the field, especially for purposes of keeping the curriculum up to date and of incorporating research into their teaching as appropriate for the level of courses taught. Research/scholarly activity /creative practice is not an expectation or a requirement for appointment, reappointment or promotion of Teaching Professors.

All appointments will be between 50%-100% effort.

D.2.    Numbers

The total number of benefits-eligible (≥50% FTE) RTE faculty in the college with university voting rights (including Professor of the Practice, Teaching Professor, Research Professor, Senior Lecturer and Lecturer) will not exceed 35% of the total number of tenured/tenure-track faculty and benefits-eligible RTE faculty with appointments in the college. This is meant to be an average across the college; some departments may have a greater, some a smaller fraction of RTE teaching faculty with university voting rights. The limitation on the percentage of RTE faculty with university voting rights is meant to prevent the erosion of the number of tenure-track faculty in the college.

E.   ​ Voting and Other Rights

• Voting Rights

Teaching professors on benefits eligible renewable appointments will have university voting rights (UVR) as defined in the Cornell Faculty Handbook.

Voting rights on faculty appointments, promotions, and curricular matters are summarized in the table below. Note that voting rights are extended only to benefits eligible faculty on renewable appointments. The general rule is that teaching professors at any rank may vote on hiring of RTE teaching faculty at any rank* but for rank and for promotion only of RTE faculty up to their rank. Teaching professors do not vote on tenure track promotions or rank. Voting by teaching professors on tenure track hires is left to the discretion of departments.

* Departments can, at their discretion, extend voting rights to allow TP faculty to vote on TT hires. If so, departments must have written policies explicitly stating these voting rights.

Engagement in departmental matters outside issues outlined in table above are left to the discretion of departments. Votes on issues pertaining to the graduate fields (Masters research and PhD programs) are governed by field rules and not by this document.

E.2.    Grievance Procedures

Rights to grievance procedures that are available to academic employees generally are also available to Teaching Professors (Cornell University Policy 6.2.10).

F.  ​Impact

F.1 Titles

The college will use the Teaching Professor, Professor of the Practice, and existing Lecturer track titles in support of its teaching mission. No changes are expected in the Professor of Practice track. The Lecturer and Senior Lecturer titles will be used largely for short-term teaching positions or where appropriate. Lecturer-track faculty may 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 participating in the broader mission of the academic unit or college. The Senior Lecturer title will be retained, but it is expected that this title will be used only in circumstances a teaching professor appointment would not be appropriate.

F.2. Transition Process

All initial transitions will be lateral moves as mapped out in the table below.

Current RTE Lecturers/Senior Lecturers will have the option to apply for the Teaching Professor title and rank. RTE Faculty will be able to apply for this title in the fall of 2026.

Those individuals who wish to be appointed to a Teaching Professor title, who have held a lecturer role for more than three years, and who have been hired through a search and/or have been reappointed through department process, shall provide a CV and dossier as described in Section 3.2.1, a brief rationale that describes their teaching, advising, and mentoring as well as further activities and plans for activities that demonstrate engagement and meeting defined criteria for each position and participate in an interview with an appointed selection committee. Also considered will be previous departmental reviews.

Tenure-track and tenured faculty will review, discuss and vote on each case (title and rank). The Department chair will thereafter make a recommendation to the dean on each case (title and rank).

Appointment lengths and dates will be carried over from the faculty member’s previous appointment. Applications for transition should be made within one year of college adoption of the teaching professor titles. They will not be available after.

Lecturers wishing to move diagonally (to Associate or (full) teaching Professor titles will need to submit as per the promotion guidelines above.

G.   ​Definition of RTE Teaching Faculty

For purposes of the vote on AAP’s teaching professor proposal, Research, Teaching and Extension (RTE) faculty are defined by the University as benefits eligible, non-tenure-track faculty at all ranks, including Lecturers, Clinical Professors, Professor of the Practice, Research Professors and Teaching Professors.

If the teaching professor title is adopted, then faculty with teaching professor titles at any rank will also be considered RTE teaching faculty. Teaching Professors will be those faculty in the ranks of Assistant, Associate, and Full Teaching Professor.

Timeline: Once the University Faculty Senate approves this proposal, the College will implement these titles and start the process of working with its current RTE faculty to transition to the Assistant and Associate Teaching Professor titles with a targeted completion date of June 30, 2027. The full implementation of the Full Teaching Professor title will also be completed by June 30, 2027. The College will ascertain the title transition to either Assistant Teaching Professor or Associate Teaching Professor for implementation by June 30, 2027.