Jeffrey Lehman, Cornell University's 11th president, took the community by surprise in June when he announced his resignation during a reunion weekend shortly after graduation. Lehman did not cite specific reasons for his departure -which came only two years after he assumed the post - but merely cited irreconcilable differences he had with the board of trustees.
Lehman's sudden departure resembles the resignation of Brown's 17th president, Gordon Gee, in February 2000. Gee's announcement caught the University community off-guard, leading to a nine-month search process that ended with the hiring of President Ruth Simmons.
Lehman's speech placed the blame for his departure on the university's overseers. "Over the past few months, it has become apparent to me that the Board of Trustees and I have different approaches to how the university can best realize its long-term vision," Lehman said as part of his State of the University address, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. "These differences are profound and it has now become absolutely clear that they cannot be resolved."
"He and the board came to separate conclusions as to the strategy for achieving Cornell's long-term vision," said Trustee Edwin Morgens, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Cornell officials and the Cornell University press office declined to comment further about the resignation.
In the absence of a concrete explanation, rumors are running wild within the Cornell community. Some students speculate that he was forced out because the trustees wanted to allocate more money to biotechnology and research, while others suspect that a controversy over his wife's appointment to a high-level administrative position led to a rift between the president and the trustees.
According to the Cornell Daily Sun, Lehman, Cornell's first alumnus president, was well liked among students and had a noteworthy track record at the university. In his unusually short two-year stint as president, Lehman pushed to improve Cornell's image domestically and globally, oversaw record-breaking fund-raising efforts, and witnessed a 17.4 percent increase in applications to the university.
"I'm sad to see him go," said Benjamin Massarsky, a Cornell undergrad who was shocked by the news, which he received via e-mail this summer. "I really liked that we had a graduate as president, and he was very effective."
"Having an alumnus president really contributed to the Big Red spirit here," said David Kim, another Cornell undergraduate.
Through community e-mails the university has made a conscious effort to reassure students and faculty that they are in good hands.
Following Lehman's address, Peter Meinig, chairman of Cornell's Board of Trustees, wrote a letter to the Cornell community announcing that Hunter Rawlings III, Cornell's president from 1995 to 2003, will serve as the university's interim president until a new leader is found.
Cornell officials are unsure of the effects Lehman's resignation will have on the university in the coming year as a newly formed search committee looks for a full-time president.
Similar situations have proven troublesome at other universities. After Brown's Gee suddenly resigned in 2000 after a two-year tenure, the University faced a number of obstacles, particularly a loss of momentum in fundraising.
Rawlings, the acting president, told the Cornell Daily Sun that he does not anticipate any major changes during his interim presidency. "We just want to make sure the deans are able to continue with their initiatives and students will continue to be well-served in their education," he said.
Following a one-year sabbatical, Lehman will return to Cornell as a law school professor. In a statement released after his resignation, he wrote, "I'd like to be remembered as a president who brought the community together for a moment to think about what Cornell means for the world."
According to the Cornell News Service, the search for a new president is estimated to take roughly one year, as is typical for high-level academic institutions.
The presidential search committee is comprised of 24 individuals representing diverse perspectives within the Cornell community, including trustees, faculty, undergraduates, graduates, medical students, administrators and alumni. Faculty members have been most active in the search for a new president, according to the news service. But the committee has made an effort to involve the community as well, holding open hearings and forums for the university population.
Eventually the committee members will compile a list of the top contenders, which will then be narrowed down until a final decision is made. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is currently among the top candidates for the position.
According to the Cornell News Service, presidential search committee member and former chair of the Cornell English department Laura Brown said that the committee is looking for "leadership and communication abilities in the new president; for an individual who has experience in a complex institutional setting; and for a president who can serve not only the immediate needs of the university but its long-term future."
