Interim Provost John A. Siliciano ’75, J.D., M.P.A.

The provost works to maintain and enhance the university’s excellence in teaching, scholarship, and outreach, and is responsible for strategic planning and budgeting, tenure and promotion, academic and research initiatives, and general academic supervision of the Ithaca campus.

The provost acts as the university’s chief academic officer and chief budget officer and serves as the president’s first deputy officer. The provost oversees all academic programs and units of the university, other than those reporting to the provost for medical affairs.

In carrying out these responsibilities, the provost works directly with the deans of the colleges, schools, and faculties and with the vice provosts as well as other members of the provost’s executive staff.

About Interim Provost Siliciano

John Siliciano, professor of law, became interim provost of Cornell on July 1, 2024. In this role, he acts as the university’s chief academic officer, chief budgeting officer, and first deputy officer to the president and works to enhance the university’s excellence in teaching, scholarship, and outreach.

Siliciano has a wealth of experience and expertise at Cornell, including as a long-serving college and university administrator and a long-time faculty member at Cornell Law School. As deputy provost from 2016 to 2022, he steered a wide range of academic and operational efforts, including dean searches, tenure and promotion reviews, support for department chairs, faculty policy oversight, and special projects and initiatives. He played an essential part in advancing Cornell’s academic initiatives, including the formation of the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and developing and implementing the university’s plans for teaching and research continuity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to serving as deputy provost, Siliciano held leadership positions as vice provost and senior vice provost for academic affairs, amounting to 17 years of experience in the Provost’s Office. At Cornell Law School, Siliciano previously served as associate dean for academic affairs, vice dean, and interim dean.

Siliciano, a 1975 graduate of Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences (B.A. in history), was appointed to the Cornell Law School faculty in 1984 and promoted to full professor in 1990. As a scholar, he is a nationally recognized expert on torts and product liability. Prior to joining the Cornell faculty, Siliciano clerked for Chief Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Siliciano earned his M.P.A. degree at Princeton University and his J.D. degree at Columbia University, where he was editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review.