The Presidency
![Martha E. Pollack](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_14_pollack.jpg)
Martha E. Pollack
2017 – 2024
A computer scientist and expert in artificial intelligence, Martha E. Pollack led significant advances in the university’s academic distinction and in the accessibility of a Cornell education.
![Elizabeth Garrett](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_13_garrett.jpg)
Elizabeth Garrett
2015 – 2016
Elizabeth Garrett, the university’s first woman president, was a dynamic leader who launched key initiatives before her untimely death.
![David J. Skorton](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_12_skorton.jpg)
David J. Skorton
2006 – 2015
A distinguished cardiologist and biomedical researcher, David J. Skorton enhanced Cornell’s strengths, not only in science and technology but also in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
![Jeffrey S. Lehman](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_11_lehman.jpg)
Jeffrey S. Lehman
2003 – 2005
The first alumnus to become president of Cornell, Jeffrey S. Lehman had been dean of the University of Michigan Law School.
![Hunter R. Rawlings III](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_10_rawlings.jpg)
Hunter R. Rawlings III
1995 – 2003
Hunter R. Rawlings III came to Cornell with a vision for organizing the remarkably diverse parts of the university to work more effectively together.
![Frank H. T. Rhodes](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_09_rhodes.jpg)
Frank H.T. Rhodes
1977 – 1995
During his 18-year presidency, Frank H.T. Rhodes was a nationally recognized advocate for research and education.
![Dale R. Corson](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_08_corson.jpg)
Dale R. Corson
1969 – 1977
Dale R. Corson led the university through the final years of the Vietnam War and student activism, and through the economic recession of the 1970s.
![James A. Perkins](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_07_perkins.jpg)
James A. Perkins
1963 – 1969
Academic innovations were a hallmark of James A. Perkins’s administration.
![Deane Waldo Malott](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_06_malott.jpg)
Deane Waldo Malott
1951 – 1963
Deane Waldo Malott’s term as Cornell’s sixth president represented the largest period of building in the history of Cornell University.
![Edmund Ezra Day](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_05_day.jpg)
Edmund Ezra Day
1937 – 1949
Edmund Ezra Day became Cornell’s fifth president in 1937 and later led the university through the turbulent years of World War II.
![Livingston Farrand](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_04_farrand.jpg)
Livingston Farrand
1921 – 1937
A physician and public health advocate, Livingston Farrand presided over times of growth and the challenges of the Great Depression.
![Jacob Gould Schurman](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_03_schurman.jpg)
Jacob Gould Schurman
1892 – 1920
Jacob Gould Schurman came to Cornell as professor of Christian ethics and moral philosophy, and soon became head of the Susan Linn Sage School of Philosophy.
![Charles Kendall Adams](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_02_adams.jpg)
Charles Kendall Adams
1885 – 1892
Charles Kendall Adams, a former student of Andrew Dickson White’s, continued to build upon White’s legacy.
![Andrew Dickson White](https://cdn.statically.io/img/president.cornell.edu/_assets/img/presidents/thumbs/president_01_white.jpg)
Andrew Dickson White
1865 – 1885
A radical idea in American education was born when Andrew Dickson White and Ezra Cornell crossed paths in the New York State Senate.