Skip to main content

A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program announces 2024-25 Call for Nominations

September 18, 2024

The A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program is pleased to invite Cornell faculty members, or groups of Cornell faculty members, to submit Professor-at-Large nominations specifically in the areas of Humanities, Life Sciences, and Social Sciences. Nominations of individuals who bridge these traditional disciplinary categories also are encouraged. The deadline for submission is Monday, Nov. 27.

A.D. White Professors-at-Large are appointed to six-year terms as non-resident visiting professors at Cornell. During their tenure, Professors-at-Large complete two to three 5-to-7-day visits to campus interacting with faculty, students, and members of the community through public lectures, informal meetings, and various other events. They are regarded as full members of the Cornell faculty for the duration of their appointment. Naming of a scholar as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large represents one of the most eminent distinctions and honors bestowed by Cornell University.

The A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program has been called one of the truly imaginative projects in American universities, bringing a steady stream of the world’s foremost scholars, thinkers, and artists to campus to engage with the Cornell community in multiple forums under a single mandate: to enliven the intellectual and cultural life of the University. These in-person interactions are the hallmark of the Program and serve to foster engaged conversations and meaningful experiences among all audiences.

Former A.D. White Professors-at-Large include anthropologist Louis S.B. Leakey, who traced the origin of humanity; astronaut Mae Jemison, M.D. ‘81; musician Wynton Marsalis; writer Eudora Welty; astrophysicist Kip Thorn; physician Oliver Sacks; Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison, M.A. ‘55; Nobel laureate and geneticist Barbara McClintock, B.S. 1923, M.A. 1925, Ph.D. 1927; and writer and actor John Cleese.

Pre-proposal nominations are due by Monday, November 27, and may be submitted via the online form.