List of presidents of Cornell University

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
Incumbent
Michael Kotlikoff
since March 21, 2025
(Interim: July 1, 2024 – March 21, 2025)
AppointerCornell University Board of Trustees
Inaugural holderAndrew Dickson White
Formation1866
Websitehttps://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:

No. President Term start Term end Ref.
1 Andrew Dickson White
(1832–1918)
1866 1885
2 Charles Kendall Adams
(1835–1902)
1885 1892
3 Jacob Gould Schurman
(1854–1942)
1892 1920
4 Livingston Farrand
(1867–1939)
1921 1937
5 Edmund Ezra Day
(1883–1951)
1937 1949
interim Cornelis de Kiewiet
(1902–1986)
1949 1951
6 Deane Waldo Malott
(1898–1996)
1951 1963
7 James Alfred Perkins
(1911–1998)
1963 1969
8 Dale R. Corson
(1914–2012)
1969 1977
9 Frank H. T. Rhodes
(1926–2020)
August 1, 1977 June 30, 1995
10 Hunter R. Rawlings III
(born 1944)
July 1, 1995 June 30, 2003
11 Jeffrey S. Lehman
(born 1956)
July 1, 2003 June 30, 2005
interim Hunter R. Rawlings III
(born 1944)
July 1, 2005 June 30, 2006
12 David J. Skorton
(born 1949)
July 1, 2006 June 30, 2015
13 H. Elizabeth Garrett
(1963–2016)
July 1, 2015 March 6, 2016
acting Michael I. Kotlikoff February 22, 2016 April 24, 2016
interim Hunter R. Rawlings III
(born 1944)
April 25, 2016 April 16, 2017
14 Martha E. Pollack
(born 1958)
April 17, 2017 June 30, 2024
Interim Michael I. Kotlikoff July 1, 2024 March 21, 2025
15 March 21, 2025 present

Table notes:

  1. 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.
  2. Died in office.
  3. Provost Kotlikoff was appointed acting president while Garrett was being treated for cancer.

See also

  • History of Cornell University

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