List of presidents of Cornell University
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The president of Cornell University is the chief administrator of Cornell University, an Ivy League institution in Ithaca, New York. Included in the list below are all Presidents of Cornell University from Andrew Dickson White, the university's co-founder and first president from 1865 to 1888, through the 15th and current president, Michael Kotlikoff, who was appointed president of the university in 2025. Since the university's founding in 1865, there have been 15 Presidents of Cornell University, excluding four interregnum presidents who served during university presidential transitions.
| President of Cornell University | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Cornell University Board of Trustees |
| Inaugural holder | Andrew Dickson White |
| Formation | 1866 |
| Website | https://president.cornell.edu/about/ |
New York's only land-grant university, Cornell University was founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White. Its main campus is in Ithaca, New York. Its medical school, Weill Cornell Medicine, is located in Manhattan, New York City, and it also maintains a facility in the Education City section Qatar. In 1954, Cornell joined the newly formed Ivy League, and the league's only land-grant institution.
List of presidents
The following persons have served as president of Cornell University:[1]
| No. | President | Term start | Term end | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Andrew Dickson White (1832–1918) [a] |
1866 | 1885 | [2][3] |
| 2 |  | Charles Kendall Adams (1835–1902) |
1885 | 1892 | [4] |
| 3 | .jpg) | Jacob Gould Schurman (1854–1942) |
1892 | 1920 | [5] |
| 4 |  | Livingston Farrand (1867–1939) |
1921 | 1937 | [6] |
| 5 | _in_1947.jpg) | Edmund Ezra Day (1883–1951) |
1937 | 1949 | [7] |
| interim |  | Cornelis de Kiewiet (1902–1986) |
1949 | 1951 | [8] |
| 6 |  | Deane Waldo Malott (1898–1996) |
1951 | 1963 | [9] |
| 7 | | James Alfred Perkins (1911–1998) |
1963 | 1969 | [10] |
| 8 |  | Dale R. Corson (1914–2012) |
1969 | 1977 | [11][12] |
| 9 |  | Frank H. T. Rhodes (1926–2020) |
August 1, 1977 | June 30, 1995 | [13] |
| 10 | |
Hunter R. Rawlings III (born 1944) |
July 1, 1995 | June 30, 2003 | [14] |
| 11 |  | Jeffrey S. Lehman (born 1956) |
July 1, 2003 | June 30, 2005 | [15] |
| interim | |
Hunter R. Rawlings III (born 1944) |
July 1, 2005 | June 30, 2006 | [16] |
| 12 | .jpg) | David J. Skorton (born 1949) |
July 1, 2006 | June 30, 2015 | [17][18] |
| 13 | .jpg) | H. Elizabeth Garrett (1963–2016) |
July 1, 2015 | March 6, 2016[b] | [19] |
| acting | |
Michael I. Kotlikoff | February 22, 2016[c] | April 24, 2016 | [20] |
| interim | |
Hunter R. Rawlings III (born 1944) |
April 25, 2016 | April 16, 2017 | [21] |
| 14 |  | Martha E. Pollack (born 1958) |
April 17, 2017 | June 30, 2024 | [22] |
| Interim | |
Michael I. Kotlikoff | July 1, 2024 | March 21, 2025 | [23] |
| 15 | March 21, 2025 | present | [24] | ||
Table notes:
- White was the co-founder of Cornell University, along with Ezra Cornell, and introduced the bill in the New York State Senate establishing Cornell University. The bill was passed and became the university's charter.
- Died in office.
- Provost Kotlikoff was appointed acting president while Garrett was being treated for cancer.