2025-26 Call for Nominations: A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program

Cornell faculty members, academic departments, or groups of departments are invited to submit nominations of distinguished scholars and artists for the A.D. White Professors-at-Large Program by Monday, November 24.

Nominations are being accepted onlineacross all categories: Arts, Humanities, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences. The program particularly encourages the nomination of scholars whose work bridges traditional academic boundaries.

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 interactions are hallmarks of the Program.

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. '55; Nobel laureate and geneticist Barbara McClintock, B.S. 1923, M.A. 1925, Ph.D. 1927; and writer and actor John Cleese.

Submissions are accepted via the Program websiteand due by November 24.