Despite Trends, C.U. Tenure Rate Remains Steady

Though percentages of tenured professors have been declining at universities across the country, Cornell’s rate of faculty with tenure appointments has remained steady over the past ten years. Amid growing financial concerns at many schools, which have forced administrators to turn to adjunct and non-tenure track faculty, the nationwide percentage of tenured faculty has dropped to about 30 percent of all educators over the last 30 years.

Cornell, however, has stayed above the average. During the 1996-1997 school year, nearly 80 percent of the 1,871 faculty members were tenured or on tenure-track according to Cornell’s Academic Personnel Data Base.