Dear Colleagues:
On behalf of the West Campus House System, we are pleased to issue a call for nominations for a house professor-dean in Alice Cook House. The appointment begins July 2025.
Faculty leadership is at the core of the West Campus House System, and its mission is to create an environment that links the residential life of students to the academic mission of the university. Charged with bringing students and faculty together in a spirit of intellectual inquiry and active citizenship, the five West Campus houses offer upper-level students a unique, faculty-led, living-learning opportunity. These diverse and inclusive communities emphasize informal interactions with faculty members, and engaging intellectual, cultural, and social opportunities. As one former house professor-dean noted: “My time as house professor-dean has been one of the most impactful experiences of my faculty career to date. It gave me a much more comprehensive understanding of the university as a whole – both by building deep connections and friendships with faculty and students from across the full breadth of the university [...] and by seeing more holistically the substantial elements of undergraduate experience and university life that fall beyond our classrooms and majors […].”
Each of the West Campus houses, named after a legendary Cornell faculty member, is a community of approximately 350 upper-level students, and includes a dining room, common room, seminar room, library, and guest suite for distinguished visitors who participate in programming in the house. The house professor-dean is a tenured faculty member who resides in the house and is supported by a house assistant dean, a seasoned student affairs administrator. Together, they bring to life the mission of the West Campus House System. They are supported by graduate resident fellows and undergraduate resident fellows, who live on the floors with the residents, organize events, and help develop a sense of community. In addition, thirty house fellows who are a mix of faculty, senior administrators, and community leaders play an active role in the ongoing programs of each house, joining students at dinners and helping to develop a range of activities. Finally, each house also has a house administrative coordinator who runs the house office and provides key operational and programmatic support.
House professor-deans serve under the direction of the Office of the Provost, report to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and work closely with members of Student and Campus Life. The house professor-dean appointment is for an initial three-year term with a possible two-year renewal. The appointment includes a salary supplement and leave arrangement, with compensation to the house professor-dean’s college. The house professor-dean lives in a three-bedroom apartment with any immediate family members, and all receive Cornell Dining privileges. The house professor-dean also receives a reserved parking space on West Campus. House professor-deans with children have had wonderful multi-generational experiences and would be happy to talk to interested applicants.
Faculty members are encouraged to nominate themselves or colleagues. Nominees must be members of the tenured faculty. Nominations should be sent to Stacy Kesselring, sk866@cornell.edu, by December 13, 2024. The search committee will begin reviewing nominations immediately thereafter. After this date, nominations will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. If you are nominating a colleague(s), please simply supply their name(s). If you are nominating yourself, please provide a brief statement, by e-mail, explaining your interest.
The application process will be managed in two steps. Initial nominations will be reviewed by the search committee, and candidates selected to move forward in the process will be asked to provide additional supporting materials by January 31, 2025. Finalists will be interviewed during the spring semester and the appointed faculty member will assume residency in August 2025.
In addition to the house professor-dean position, we are conducting a search for a faculty-in-residence position on North Campus, which begins summer 2026. While both the faculty-in-residence and house professor-dean positions are rooted in the mission of meaningful faculty engagement with students outside the classroom, the positions have significant differences in responsibilities and expectations, including time commitments, appointment terms, compensation, and eligibility requirements. The two searches will be conducted independently but follow a similar timeline.
We encourage interested faculty to contact any of the house professor-deans for further information as well as Ethan Stephenson, Director of Faculty Living-Learning Programs. He may be reached at evs24@cornell.edu. Additional information about the house professor-dean position, names and contact information for the current house professor-deans, and information about opportunities to attend open houses can be found on the house professor-dean search page. Women and underrepresented minorities are especially encouraged to apply.
Best regards,
John A. Siliciano ‘75, J.D., M.P.A.
Interim Provost
Lisa H. Nishii, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education & Vice Provost for Enrollment