Office of the President

History of the Cornell Presidency

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  • Photo of Andrew Dickson White

    Andrew Dickson White

    1865 - 1885 A radical idea in American education was born when Andrew Dickson White and Ezra Cornell crossed paths in the New York State Senate ... more

  • Photo of Charles Kendall Adams

    Charles Kendall Adams

    1885 - 1892 Charles Kendall Adams, a former student of Andrew Dickson White, continued to build upon White's legacy. His achievements included ... more

  • Photo of Jacob Gould Schurman

    Jacob Gould Schurman

    1892 - 1920 In 1886 Jacob Gould Schurman came to Cornell University as professor of Christian ethics and moral philosophy, and in 1890 he was named ... more

  • Photo of Livingston Farrand

    Livingston Farrand

    1921 - 1937 Cornell historian Morris Bishop described Livingston Farrand as "one of the most likable, nay lovable, men this campus has known." A physician ... more

  • Photo of Edmund Ezra Day

    Edmund Ezra Day

    1937 - 1949 Edmund Ezra Day became the fifth president of Cornell in 1937 and later led the university through the turbulent years of World War II ... more

  • Photo of Deane Waldo Malott

    Deane Waldo Malott

    1951 - 1963 Deane Waldo Malott's term as Cornell's sixth president represents the largest period of building in the history of Cornell University ... more

  • Photo of James A. Perkins

    James A. Perkins

    1963 - 1969 Academic innovations were a hallmark of James A. Perkins's administration. By the late 1960s, he was regarded as one of the leading theoreticians ... more

  • Photo of Dale R. Corson

    Dale R. Corson

    1969 - 1977 Dale R. Corson led the university through the final years of the Vietnam War and student activism, and through the economic recession of the 1970s ... more

  • Photo of Frank H.T. Rhodes

    Frank H.T. Rhodes

    1977 - 1995 When Frank H.T. Rhodes retired as president of Cornell University on June 30, 1995, he was the longest-serving Ivy League president ... more

  • Photo of Hunter R. Rawlings III

    Hunter R. Rawlings III

    1995 - 2003 Hunter R. Rawlings III came to Ithaca as Cornell’s tenth president with a vision for, in his words, “composing Cornell”: organizing the remarkably diverse ... more

  • Photo of Jeffrey S. Lehman

    Jeffrey S. Lehman

    2003 - 2005 Jeffrey Sean Lehman took office as Cornell's eleventh president on July 1, 2003. Prior to his appointment, he was the dean of the University of Michigan Law School ... more

  • Photo of David J. Skorton

    David J. Skorton

    2006 - David J. Skorton became Cornell University's 12th president on July 1, 2006 and was inaugurated in ceremonies on Cornell's Ithaca campus on ... more