Sponsors:

Extension Professor Track Working Group:

• Eve De Rosa – Dean of Faculty (Chair)
• Anthony Burrow – Senior Associate Dean for Outreach and Extension for the College of Human Ecology; Director, Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research
• Diane Burton – Senior Associate Dean for Research, Outreach, and External Relations for the School of Industrial and Labor Relations
• Susan Fubini – Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the College of Veterinary Medicine
• Andrew Turner – Associate Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension

Co-Sponsors:

University Faculty Committee

Research-Teaching-Extension Working Group

Background

Cornell University’s mission as New York State’s land‑grant institution rests on a longstanding commitment to the creation of knowledge and its translation for public benefit. Extension is a core academic function through which the university fulfills this mission, linking research and scholarship with communities, industries, agencies, and organizations across the state, the nation, and beyond. In this context, extension work is understood as academic work that intentionally extends the university’s knowledge, research, and expertise beyond the campus to external communities, partners, and stakeholders. Through extension, Cornell faculty design, lead, and evaluate applied programs; engage directly with stakeholders; translate research into practice; and respond to emerging societal needs. Extension work often involves sustained relationships, long‑term programmatic leadership, external funding, and the management of complex initiatives. These responsibilities require professional independence, judgment, and accountability comparable to those expected of faculty in other mission‑critical roles at the university.

Cornell has repeatedly recognized that when faculty are entrusted with sustained leadership in a core mission area, their titles and career structures should reflect the nature and level of that responsibility. Over time, the Faculty Senate has authorized renewable‑term professorial titles for non‑tenure‑track faculty whose primary contributions lie in clinical practice, professional application, research, and teaching. These actions reflect a shared institutional principle: professorial titles are appropriate when faculty responsibilities demand advanced expertise, independence, and demonstrated impact, even when those responsibilities differ from the traditional tenure‑track model. This principle is reflected internally in Cornell’s use of Assistant, Associate, and Full Research Professor titles for long‑term, externally funded research faculty.

The establishment of the Teaching Professor track provides a recent precedent for this approach. In adopting that track, the Faculty Senate recognized that long‑term faculty with primary responsibility for undergraduate, graduate, and professional education warranted a three‑rank professorial structure that acknowledged their expertise and leadership while remaining distinct from the tenure track, as articulated in Resolution 195. The same underlying rationale applies to extension, where faculty are relied upon for sustained, high‑impact leadership in a central academic mission of the university.

Across the land‑grant system, extension is widely understood as a core academic mission requiring faculty leadership and accountability. Many peer land‑grant universities, including the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, North Carolina State University, and Washington State University, use non‑tenure‑track professorial models for extension faculty. While specific title conventions vary by institution, these models typically include professorial rank (assistant, associate, and full) and rigorous review. Aligning Cornell’s titles with prevailing land‑grant practice supports recruitment, retention, and clarity of role, while affirming extension as an important academic endeavor.

Consistent with this approach, the Extension Professor title will first be enabled through Faculty Senate approved legislation establishing university wide principles. Only after approval of this enabling legislation may colleges or schools submit college- or school-level implementation proposals for Faculty Senate approval. College‑ and school‑level implementation proposals must demonstrate that use of the Extension Professor title is consistent with maintaining a faculty composition in which tenure track appointments remain predominant, and that the combined use of Research-Teaching-Extension (RTE) faculty titles does not alter the overall balance of faculty lines within the unit. At a minimum, these college and school proposals are expected to articulate the academic rationale for use of the Extension Professor title; describe role expectations consistent with the Faculty Handbook description of the Extension Professor ranks; establish transparent and rigorous processes for appointment, reappointment, and promotion comparable in seriousness to other Research, Teaching, Practice, and Clinical professorial tracks; specify expectations regarding external funding and Principal Investigator eligibility; and clarify how requests to transition individuals from the extension associate track to the Extension Professor track will be reviewed. Colleges and schools retain discretion over specific procedures, documentation, and timelines, provided that such practices are consistent with these principles and approved by the Faculty Senate.

Motivation

There are several interrelated reasons why it is important to establish an Extension Professor track.

• Equity. Cornell already recognizes the importance of specialized academic contributions through the Clinical Professor, Professor of Practice, Research Professor, and Teaching Professor tracks. Establishing the Extension Professor track extends this recognition to faculty whose primary contributions are in extension. Many colleges and schools rely on externally funded, grant‑supported professionals to lead high‑impact outreach, stakeholder engagement, applied program development, and the translation of research into practice. Providing a professorial pathway for this work promotes equity across mission areas.

• Recruitment and Retention. In some fields, it is increasingly difficult to compete with peer institutions that offer professorial titles for extension positions. The absence of such titles can hinder the recruitment and retention of highly qualified extension faculty, particularly those expected to serve as Principal Investigators on grants and contracts.

• Professional Development. Existing non‑professorial extension titles do not always provide incentives for long‑term commitment, leadership, and professional growth. A three‑rank Extension Professor track creates opportunities to recognize advancement and sustained excellence in extension work, benefiting the university through enhanced program leadership, applied innovation, stakeholder partnerships, evaluation of outcomes, and external visibility.

Guiding Principles

The Extension Professor track is guided by the principles that have informed other renewable‑term professorial titles at Cornell. First, the enabling legislation should be modeled on existing frameworks for the Clinical Professor, Professor of Practice, and Teaching Professor tracks. High standards and rigorous review are essential components of any Research-Teaching-Extension (RTE) professorial appointment. Second, the legislation must respect the diversity of extension needs across the university. Extension activities vary across disciplines and evolve over time, and the framework for the Extension Professor track must be sufficiently flexible to accommodate this diversity while maintaining clarity and consistency. Third, the extension associate track will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. The Extension Professor track is intended for long‑term faculty whose extension portfolios require professorial responsibilities and rigorous review, not as a replacement for existing extension associate roles.

Description of the Extension Professor Title

The Extension Professor title is available only to long‑term, non‑tenure‑track faculty members whose primary efforts are devoted to the extension mission of the university, including outreach, stakeholder engagement, applied program development, and the translation of research and scholarship to benefit communities and external partners. The Extension Professor title is established with three ranks: Assistant Extension Professor, Associate Extension Professor, and Extension Professor. Faculty appointed at each rank are expected to demonstrate a level of expertise, judgment, and independence appropriate to that rank. Expectations for leadership, scope of responsibility, and impact increase with rank. Extension Professors contribute to the university through activities such as applied innovation, program leadership, partnership development, evaluation of outcomes, dissemination of knowledge for external audiences, and extension‑related service, including advising, mentoring, and management of initiatives. The Extension Professor title may not be used to replicate the combined teaching and research responsibilities of the tenure track. Appointments do not require classroom teaching of for‑credit courses, supervision of doctoral research, or scholarly publication for tenure‑track purposes. Extension Professors may engage in such activities when relevant to their extension mission, but these activities may not be required for appointment, reappointment, or promotion.

External Funding Requirement and Principal Investigator Eligibility

Extension Professors at all ranks are expected to maintain salary support primarily from external grants or contracts and must meet university and sponsor requirements to serve as Principal Investigators where applicable. This expectation reflects the applied, outward‑facing nature of extension work and the central role of external funding in sustaining extension programs. Promotion guidelines are comparable in rigor and process to those used for tenure‑track faculty, while remaining appropriate to the extension mission. Extension Professors hold university voting rights consistent with existing policy. College‑ or school-level voting rights are governed by college or school legislation. The titles Assistant Extension Professor, Associate Extension Professor, and Extension Professor are available in a given college or school only in accordance with Faculty Senate–approved enabling legislation governing the use of the title.

Resolution

Whereas extension is a core academic mission of Cornell University as New York State’s land‑grant institution; and

Whereas the current range of extension titles does not always align with the responsibilities and impact of long‑term extension faculty; and

Whereas Cornell relies on extension faculty for a substantial share of its outreach, engagement, and applied programming; and

Whereas the responsibilities and impact of long‑term extension faculty warrant recognition through an appropriate professorial title distinct from the tenure track; and

Whereas it is important that professorial extension appointments be governed by clear standards and rigorous review consistent with Cornell’s approach to other research, teaching, and extension professorial titles; and

Whereas it is equally important that there be carefully developed procedures for processing requests to transition individuals from the extension associate track to the Extension Professor track;

Be it resolved that the Extension Professor track, with ranks of Assistant Extension Professor, Associate Extension Professor, and Extension Professor, be added to the university’s approved list of academic titles; and

Be it further resolved that a college or school that wishes to use the Extension Professor title must do so pursuant to Faculty Senate approved enabling legislation and a Faculty Senate approved college or school implementation proposal governing the use of the title.