Professors-at-Large are nominated by individual faculty members, departments, or groups of departments. The process has two stages.
In the pre-proposal stage, the principle sponsor (or group of sponsors) supplies a letter to the Selection Committee noting the nominee’s qualifications and achievements, along with a copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae. Nominees should be leaders in their own fields and professions. The selection committee seeks evidence of broad intellectual appeal across disciplines and fields of study, particularly for undergraduates. The committee will also consider the appeal the nominee has for the widest possible audience of both students and faculty. Nomination letters should mention other departments, faculty, or programs in addition to the primary sponsors that have agreed to support the nomination or might reasonably be expected to do so.
Pre-Proposal letters are due no later than November 7, 2009. The Selection Committee will review the letters by January 15, 2010, and will invite selected sponsors to furnish a full proposal.
At the full proposal stage, the sponsoring letter should be expanded and strengthened. The letter should be accompanied by additional letters of support in which faculty members from diverse disciplines express their support for the nomination. The full package is due in the President’s Office on February 12, 2010. The Committee allows nominators to skip the Pre-Proposal stage and submit only the full nominating package, but Pre-Proposals generally elicit suggestions from the Selection Committee and the Program Director and thus help to produce stronger full proposals.
The Selection Committee reviews submitted nominations based on two main criteria:
Whenever possible, the Committee seeks to achieve broad representation across the academic disciplines.
After careful review, the Committee forwards its recommendations for appointment to the University President. The President will review the recommendations and make the final decision. The term of appointment for nominees approved in the spring will begin July 1. Nominators will be expected to participate as faculty sponsors during the course of the appointment.
The Selection Committee will consist of no fewer than ten members of the faculty and, ex officio, the chief academic and chief research officers of the University (the Senior Vice President and Provost and the Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School). Broadly representative of the physical and life sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts, the Committee will be appointed by the University President from lists of nominees provided by the Faculty Senate and by the Deans, drawing equally from the two pools of nominees. Faculty members will serve staggered five-year terms, with two new members appointed each year.
Last modified September 25 2009 12:35 PM
