P1
The ad hoc committee shall assess the candidate by the standards and in the manner described in Section IV(B) above, consistent with the following procedures. It shall examine the material the candidate provided to the department, the department committee’s report, the candidate’s annual performance reviews, and other relevant material as described in Section IV(B)(1)(b) above, including responses to the letters it sends to present and former students of the candidate and assessments of the candidate’s research by the outside reviewers. The committee shall also obtain the vitas of at least five of the candidate’s peers to provide another basis for appraising the candidate’s research performance.
If the ad hoc committee wishes to obtain additional information from the candidate during the review process, the committee shall put its questions in writing and submit them to the dean. The dean shall transmit these questions to the candidate who shall, in turn, provide a timely written response.
The committee shall not consider such factors as staffing patterns, tenure ratios, or the putative relevance, importance, or future of the candidate’s discipline or specialty area in its deliberations; any assessment of those factors shall be made by a special committee appointed for that purpose by the dean.
The ad hoc committee is expected to work in parallel with, although independently from, the department committee. The schedule should be such that the department committee finishes its work first, so that its report and any supporting documentation can be taken into consideration by the ad hoc committee in preparing its final report.
It is the task of the dean to coordinate the schedules of the two committees to assure that the ad hoc committee has the foundation of its report in place when it receives the department committee’s report.
Upon completion of its deliberations, the ad hoc committee shall prepare a written report stating and explaining its tentative recommendation for or against promotion to tenure. The section of the report pertaining to research must clearly show which of the candidate’s publications and manuscripts in preparation were sent to each outside reviewer. This report shall not identify the committee members or any other individuals who contributed to it.
The dean shall forward this report to the candidate, who shall submit to the dean a written response within seven days. The dean shall forward the candidate’s response to the committee.
The ad hoc committee shall then promptly prepare and submit to the dean its written final report stating and explaining its recommendation for or against promotion to tenure. The committee shall also forward to the dean the candidate’s response to its initial report, the letters received from
P2
Ad Hoc Committee Report
- An ad hoc committee comprising three tenured Cornell faculty members will be convened by the
Dean immediately upon completion of the P&T report (December 1) to provide additional
assessment of the tenure case. - The ad hoc committee will be charged to review the materials and produce a report.
- The ad hoc members will each receive a package of candidate materials identical to that provided
to external reviewers, plus copies of the external letters and the P&T Committee report. - The Ad Hoc committee report is due to the Dean within six weeks after being charged, or no later
than January 25, whichever is earlier.
P3
Upon receipt of a positive departmental recommendation, the dean will appoint an ad hoc committee composed of three tenured faculty (at least two of whom are members
of the college faculty) to review the dossier and advise whether promotion should
ensue.
The primary function of an ad hoc committee is to ensure, judging from the materials in the dossier, that the department has followed college and university procedures in a rigorous and reasonable fashion, and has upheld the standard of excellence we require of tenured professors at Cornell.
The dean will return the dossier to the department only if serious procedural or substantive defects are found. Very few dossiers will be returned to the department if
the procedures outlined above are followed carefully. The dean will reach a decision on the case after receipt of the ad hoc committee’s recommendation,
In complex cases, the dean may convene the Dean’s Advisory Committee on Appointments.
