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Cornell University

Undergraduate Education

Living-Learning Faculty Engagement Opportunities

For interested faculty, there are many opportunities to get involved with faculty living-learning at Cornell.  To learn more about any of these, please contact Ethan Stephenson (evs24@cornell.edu), Director of Faculty Living-Learning Programs.

Residential faculty positions (live-in positions)

At Cornell, there are two residential live-in positions.  Living amongst the first-year students on North Campus are Faculty-in-Residence.  This position focuses exclusively on engaging with their building’s residents and other members of North Campus through scheduled events and informal interactions. In the West Campus House System, the House Professor-Dean not only is involved in the programmatic elements of the house, they also are involved in hiring, training, and supervising professional and graduate student staff, as well as playing a leadership role in other functions of their house and the house systems in general.  Recruitment for both of these positions begins with a call from the provost and the vice provost for undergraduate education. 

Faculty and House Fellows

Faculty members who are connected to a specific residential community and participate in events are called faculty fellows on North Campus and House Fellows on West Campus. Interested faculty interested in becoming fellows can reach out directly to Faculty-in-Residence, House Professor-Deans or Ethan Stephenson. 

1st year dining discussion leader

This program provides faculty members looking for a way to expand their ability to connect with first-year students with a meal plan that they can use to dine with a limited number of students each week.  A call from the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education goes out in the spring semester through the Monday morning message from the Dean of the Faculty. Interested faculty who eligible to apply if they are teaching a course for the upcoming academic year that is carries at least two credits and is primarily geared toward or substantially enrolled by first-year students. Selected faculty are notified before June.

Learn Where You Live (LWYL) instructor

LWYL courses are seminar-sized, one-credit courses offered S/U on North and West Campus and are an effective way to:

  • Build meaningful relationships with students living;
  • Share your passion for a topic that may or may not be your primary area of teaching and expertise; 
  • Innovate pedagogically in a low-risk environment, including teaching in teams, across disciplines, or offering immersive experiences in condensed time periods.

Student evaluations have been extremely positive, with students regularly commenting on the strong relationships they have formed with LWYL faculty instructors, the dynamic learning environments, the lack of added stress, and the sense of belonging these courses foster. 

Interested faculty are asked to completed a course proposal that is reviewed by the Learning Where You Live Curriculum Committee.  Once approved the course is assigned a UNILWYL course number and registrar support is provided.  Unfortunately, course relief is not available, but each instructor receives a small stipend.