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 Arts Quad on the campus of Cornell University, with a statue of Andrew Dickson White, Cornell's first president, in the foreground

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

No.	President		Term of office	Education	Notes
1		Andrew Dickson White (1832–1918) [1]	1866 – 1885 (19 years)	A.B., Yale College (1853) M.A., Yale College	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] White served on the faculty of the University of Michigan
2		Charles Kendall Adams (1835–1902) [3]	1885 – 1892 (7 years)	University of Michigan (1861)
3		Jacob Gould Schurman (1854–1942) [4]	1892 – 1920 (28 years)	B.A., University of London (1877) M.A., University of London (1878) D.Sc., University of London (1878)
4		Livingston Farrand (1867–1939) [5]	1921 – 1937 (16 years)	Undergraduate degree, Princeton University (1888) M.D., College of Physicians and Surgeons (1891)
5		Edmund Ezra Day (1883–1951) [6]	1937 – 1949 (12 years)	B.S., Dartmouth College M.A., Dartmouth College Ph.D., Harvard University	First dean of the University of Michigan's business school.
–		Cornelis de Kiewiet (interim) (1902–1986) [7]	1949 – 1951 (2 years)	B.A., University of Witwatersrand (1923) M.A., University of Witwatersrand (1924) Ph.D., University of London (1927)
6		Deane Waldo Malott (1898–1996) [8]	1951 – 1963 (12 years)	Undergraduate degree, University of Kansas (1921) Master's degree, Harvard Business School (1923)
7		James Alfred Perkins (1911–1998) [9]	1963 – 1969 (6 years)	Undergraduate degree, Swarthmore College (1934) Ph.D., Princeton University (1937)
8		Dale R. Corson (1914–2012) [10] [11]	1969 – 1977 (8 years)	B.A., College of Emporia (1924) M.A., University of Kansas (1935) Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley (1938)
9		Frank H. T. Rhodes (1926–2020) [12]	1977 – 1995 (18 years)	B.S., University of Birmingham (1948) Ph.D., University of Birmingham (1950)
10		Hunter R. Rawlings III (born 1944) [13]	1995 – 2003 (8 years)	B.A., Haverford College (1966) Ph.D, Princeton University (1970)
11		Jeffrey S. Lehman (born 1956) [14]	2003 – 2005 (2 years)	B.S., Cornell University (1977) J.D., University of Michigan Law School M.P.P., University of Michigan
–		Hunter R. Rawlings III (interregnum) (born 1944)	2005 – 2006 (1 year)	B.A., Haverford College (1966) Ph.D, Princeton University (1970)
12		David J. Skorton (born 1949) [15] [16]	2006 – 2015 (9 years)	Undergraduate degree, Northwestern University (1970) M.D., Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (1974)
13		H. Elizabeth Garrett (1963–2016) [17]	2015 – 2016 (<1 year)	B.A., University of Oklahoma (1985) J.D., University of Virginia School of Law (1988)	Garrett died in office in March 2016. [17]
–		Michael I. Kotlikoff (acting)	2016 (2 months)	B.A., University of Pennsylvania V.M.D., University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Ph.D., University of California, Davis (1994)	Acting President from February to April 2016 [18]
–		Hunter R. Rawlings III (interim) (born 1944)	2016 – 2017 (1 year)	B.A., Haverford College (1966) Ph.D, Princeton University (1970)	The Cornell University Board of Trustees appointed Rawlings as interim university president following the death of Elizabeth Garrett, effective April 2016. [19]
14		Martha E. Pollack (born 1958)	2017 – 2024 (7 years)	A.B., Dartmouth College (1979) Ph.D, University of Pennsylvania (1986)
15		Michael I. Kotlikoff	2025 – present (Interim: 2024–25)	B.A., University of Pennsylvania V.M.D., University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Ph.D., University of California, Davis (1994)	Appointed following Pollack's retirement for an interim term of two years starting on July 1, 2024. [20] The Cornell Board of Trustees elevated Kotlikoff to become the 15th president, with immedate effect, on March 21, 2025. [21]

See also

• History of Cornell University

References

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