Named professorships or chairs are appointments normally supported wholly or in part by endowment income. In some cases named professorships are supported by general funds.
The terms of a donor may define the discipline of the incumbent of the chair so narrowly that the award is limited to a single department or be broad enough to encompass the entire University. Chairs may be awarded to individuals with existing Cornell appointments or to those recruited from outside the University. Appointments to endowed professorships are normally awarded to tenured members of the faculty at the rank of professor.1
Authority for appointment or promotion of a faculty member to an endowed professorship, rests with the Board of Overseers upon the recommendation of the Dean of the Medical College. An appointment to an endowed professorship at an affiliated institution may first require the approval of the appropriate officers and/or boards of the affiliated institution.
The following credentials are required:
To insure the timely approval of an appointment to an endowed professorship, these credentials should be submitted to the Office of Faculty Affairs well in advance of the proposed effective date. If an individual is being recommended for appointment to an endowed professorship concurrent with a recommendation for appointment, promotion or tenure, the policies and procedures described in Appointment and Promotion of Faculty and Tenure will pertain to the appointment, promotion or tenure action.