By December 1st, 2020, Deans are asked to nominate their most promising tenure-line faculty in the social sciences with an eye toward Assistant Professors. The nomination files must be submitted by the Deans, although we do suggest that they consult with department Chairs to identify viable candidates and work with Chairs and candidates to create the nomination files. Candidates may also speak to their own Chairs and/or Deans to request to be nominated. The CCSS does not limit the number of nominations a college submits.
The process and internal college timelines for considering faculty for nomination and compiling nomination files varies by college. As a result, it is best practice for Chairs and candidates to be in touch with their Dean or appropriate Associate Dean early in the search process.
Complete nomination files should be emailed to Anneliese Truame (amt58@cornell.edu) by the deadline for that program’s search.
Please send one pdf file containing all pieces for a single nomination. The completed nomination file itself is composed of several parts:
Items from Dean and Chair:
Dean’s cover letter/email: One letter may be sent to affirm the nomination of the whole group of candidates from a college, or separate letters may be submitted for each candidate, as each Dean prefers. In either case, this cover letter should indicate the Dean’s support for the nomination(s) from the college and support for the terms of the fellowship as indicated on the CCSS website and in the letter of recommendation. The letter should:
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identify which semester the candidate is requesting as the semester in residence at the CCSS.
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include a basic plan of how the applicant’s teaching and service obligations will be covered while in residence as an indication of support for the leave. The letter should describe the nominee’s normal teaching load and the extent to which they will be excused from teaching by the department.
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confirm that the faculty member can take course and administrative release during the residence semester, will not incur a teaching deficit, is not beginning the fellowship with an existing deficit, and can be in residence at the CCSS during the semester requested.
Letter of recommendation: The recommendation letter is written by the Chair, Director, or Dean depending on the preferred process of the college. It should indicate the support of the Chair and department if written by the Dean. The letter should:
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detail the ambitions of the project and describe how the candidate meets the following selection criteria: (1) quality of nominee’s scholarly publications; (2) level of productivity of nominee thus far; (3) creativity of the overall research agenda; (4) current impact of the candidate’s work; and (5) the potential for future significant contributions to the field.
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explain how this opportunity will help the nominee’s chances to achieve the goals of the project, in what way(s) the nominee stands out compared to peers, and how the nominee contributes to the intellectual community at Cornell.
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indicate if/when the candidate’s upcoming review is estimated to occur.
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indicate whether the course off-set support should be transferred to a department account or college account (practice varies by college/school.)
Items from Nominee:
These pieces are usually sent to the Chair, who writes the letter of recommendation and sends all of these materials on to the Dean to prepare the cover letter.
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Nominee letter: A letter from the nominee outlining the project and goals, potential career impact, with a statement justifying that the work is at a level of scope and ambition that would make it difficult or impossible to achieve without the fellowship.
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Research proposal: The nominated faculty member prepares a short research proposal (no more than 5 double-spaced pages) describing the research project, and a budget describing how the $8,500 will be spent, if granted the CCSS fellowship.
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Nominee CV: A complete and up-to-date CV.
The Selection Process:
Roughly 8-12 fellows will be selected for the program. The applications will be reviewed by the Co-Directors of the CCSS and a review committee. Selection will be based on the following criteria: quality of scholarly publications; level of productivity; creativity and intellectual merit of the applicant’s work; current impact of the work; and the potential for future significant contribution to the field. The selection process will also take into account the diversity, on many dimensions, of the fellows’ cohort.
Please contact Anneliese Truame (amt58@cornell.edu) with questions about the CCSS Fellows Program.
