Matthew Drennan came to Cornell in 1991 as a visiting professor from the NYU Wagner School, where he was a tenured professor. In 1995 he was appointed professor with tenure for city and regional planning at Cornell. He served as Director of Graduate Studies for urban planning, 2001–04, and for regional science from 1997–04. Drennan is retired from Cornell and was granted Emeritus Professor status in CRP at the end of the 2005–06 academic year.