Dear Colleagues:
On behalf of the West Campus House System, we are pleased to issue a call for nominations for two house professor-dean positions, one for Hans Bethe House and one for Alice Cook House. Both appointments begin 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 unique faculty-led, living-learning opportunities within their diverse and inclusive communities. These 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. Cornell dining and parking privileges are provided to the faculty member and any immediate family members. 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 January 31, 2024; however, nominations will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis. The search committee will consider nominees as potential candidates for either position. 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.
Eligible nominees will be asked to provide application materials, and in early March, the search committee will begin selecting candidates for interviews. We anticipate offers will be made by mid-May, and the appointed faculty members will have a full year to work with the current house professor-deans before assuming residency in August 2025.
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. We also encourage you to visit West Campus and meet the current house professor-deans and other faculty and students from these communities. Additional information about the house professor-dean position, search process, names and contact information for the 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,
Michael I. Kotlikoff, V.M.D., Ph.D.
Provost
Lisa H. Nishii, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Interim Vice Provost for Enrollment