List of presidents of Cornell University

President of Cornell University
Incumbent Michael Kotlikoff since March 21, 2025 (Interim: July 1, 2024 – March 21, 2025)
Appointer	Cornell University Board of Trustees
Inaugural holder	Andrew Dickson White
Formation	1866
Website	https://president.cornell.edu/about/

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.

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		Jacob Gould Schurman (1854–1942)	1892	1920	[5]
4		Livingston Farrand (1867–1939) [6]	1921	1937
5		Edmund Ezra Day (1883–1951) [b]	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		David J. Skorton (born 1949)	July 1, 2006	June 30, 2015	[17] [18]
13		H. Elizabeth Garrett (1963–2016)	July 1, 2015	March 6, 2016 [c]	[19]
acting		Michael I. Kotlikoff	February 22, 2016 [d]	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:

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. White served on the faculty of the University of Michigan
2. First dean of the University of Michigan's business school.
3. Died in office.
4. Provost Kotlikoff was appointed acting president while Garrett was being treated for cancer.

See also

• History of Cornell University

References

1. "The Presidency". Cornell University.
2. "Andrew Dickson White, President, 1866-1885". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
3. "Andrew Dickson White". Cornell University Office of the President. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
4. "Charles Kendall Adams, President, 1885-1892". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
5. "Jacob Gould Schurman, President, 1892-1920". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
6. "Livingston Farrand, President, 1921-1937". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
7. "Edmund Ezra Day, President, 1937-1949". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
8. "Guide to the Cornelius W. De Kliewiet Papers, 1949-1951". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
9. "Deane Waldo Malott, President, 1951-1963". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
10. "James Alfred Perkins, President, 1963-1969". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
11. "Dale Raymond Corson, President, 1969-1977". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
12. Vitello, Paul (April 5, 2012). "Dale Corson, Cornell Administrator Who Helped Quell Protest, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
13. "Frank Howard Trevor Rhodes, President, 1977-1995". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
14. "Hunter Ripley Rawlings III, President, 1995-2003". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
15. "Jeffrey Sean Lehman, President, 2003-2005". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
16. "Cornell president to step down; interim president named". Cornell Chronicle . June 11, 2005.
17. "David J. Skorton, 2006". Cornell University Library. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
18. "Cornell's Skorton Will Step Down to Head the Smithsonian". Bloomberg. March 10, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
19. Slotnik, Daniel E. (March 7, 2016). "Elizabeth Garrett, First Female President of Cornell, Dies at 52". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
20. "Provost Michael Kotlikoff to Serve as Acting President While Garrett Undergoes Treatment - The Cornell Daily Sun". cornellsun.com. February 22, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
21. Walters, Karen (March 24, 2016). "Hunter Rawlings to take helm as interim president April 25". Cornell Chronicle . Retrieved October 22, 2016.
22. "Martha E. Pollack, provost at Michigan, named 14th president". Cornell Chronicle . November 14, 2016.
23. Lefkowitz, Melanie (May 9, 2024). "After 'transformational' tenure, Pollack to retire June 30". Cornell Chronicle . Retrieved May 9, 2024.
24. Nutt, David (March 21, 2025). "Michael Kotlikoff named Cornell's 15th president". Cornell Chronicle . Retrieved March 22, 2025.

External links

• Cornell University
• The Cornell Presidency
• Cornell President Inaugurations
• Cornell Office of the President