The A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program provides a special opportunity for Cornell faculty to bring eminent individuals of international distinction to Cornell for fully-supported, immersive visits that advance the intellectual and creative life of the campus and community.

Cornell faculty members, academic departments, or groups of departments are invited to to submit A.D. White Professor-at-Large nominations in the subject areas of Arts, Humanities, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences. Nominations of individuals who bridge these traditional disciplinary categories also are encouraged.

Submissions are being accepted via the Program website and due by Monday, November 24.

Established in 1965, the A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program honors the legacy of Cornell’s first president, Andrew Dickson White, and his visionary belief in a university that champions bold thinking, global dialogue, and intellectual exchange. Called one of the truly imaginative projects in American universities, the Professors-at-Large Program embodies the spirit of intellectual freedom, encouraging dynamic, curiosity-driven engagement with a vast array of audiences, in creative, open-minded ways. These in-person interactions are a hallmark of the A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program and serve to foster engaged conversations and meaningful experiences among all audiences.

A.D. White Professors-at-Large are appointed to six-year terms as nonresident visiting professors. During their tenure, each professor completes two or three week-long visits to campus, typically lasting five to seven days. They are regarded as full members of Cornell faculty and are welcomed as lifetime members of Cornell’s academic community. Being named an A.D. White Professors-at-Large represents one of the eminent distinctions and honors bestowed by Cornell University.

Former A.D. White Professors-at-Large include anthropologist Louis S.B. Leakey; astronaut Mae Jemison, M.D. ‘81; musician Wynton Marsalis; writer Eudora Welty; astrophysicist Kip Thorn; physician Oliver Sacks; Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison, M.A. 1955; Nobel laureate and geneticist Barbara McClintock, B.S. 1923, M.A. 1925, Ph.D. 1927; and writer and actor John Cleese.