Lehman Resigns Citing Differences With Board of Trustees

By | June 11, 2005

President Jeffrey S. Lehman ’77 announced his resignation, effective June 30, during the State of the University address Saturday morning. Lehman spoke in front of alumni who returned to Ithaca for reunion weekend.

The announcement came as a shock to alumni and students alike.

President Emeritus Hunter R. Rawlings III has agreed to act as interim president until a replacement is selected. Rawlings served as Cornell’s 10th president from 1995 to 2003.

The search process for a new president generally lasts about a year.

“I am proud of what Cornell has achieved during my tenure as president. Over the past few months, it has become apparent that the Board of Trustees and I have different approaches to how the University can best realize its long-term vision. In light of our differences, it is best for the University that I step aside. I know that this remarkable university will continue to prosper and move forward under different leadership. As a Cornell graduate, I remain deeply devoted to the University, its faculty and students,” Lehman said in his speech.

Rawlings told The Sun that he foresaw no major changes during his interim presidency.

“The Board of Trustees has asked me to serve as interim president, and though the circumstances are clearly difficult, I am happy to serve in this position until the next president is chosen,” he said. “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.”

Lehman — Cornell’s first alumnus president — served for only two years, the shortest tenure in University history. His administration was marked by several initiatives, including the Call to Engagement, a record year in fundraising, a 17.4 percent applications increase across the University, and a strong push to improve Cornell’s image both at home and across the world.

After a year sabbatical in which he will be a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., Lehman will return as a tenured professor in Cornell’s law school.

With additional reporting by Erica Temel, Michael Morisy, and Eric Finkelstein.

Archived article by Sun Staff

Speculation Still Surrounds President's Resignation

By June 18, 2005

President Jeffrey S. Lehman’s ’77 resignation earlier this month shocked the auditorium of alumni who had gathered to hear his State of the University address. What began as an abstract continuation of Lehman’s Call to Engagement, focusing on the need for integration of the liberal arts with hard science and highlighting the past two years’ achievements, slowly became a mark on Cornell’s history as the president explained why he needed to resign. “Imagine for a moment an airplane that is supposed to fly from New York to the beautiful island of Bali. It can get there by flying east. Or it can get there by flying west,” he said. “But even if the pilot and the co-pilot are each highly skilled, even if they have the highest regard for one another, the plane will not reach its destination if they are unable to agree about which direction to take.” Lehman said that he recognized his need to resign after realizing that he and the Board of Trustees had “different approaches to how the University can best realize its long-term vision.” But why, after two years, was Cornell’s first alumnus to serve as president so at odds with the Board that he felt he must step down? Those hoping for new information after Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting were disappointed, as little more than the approval of President Emeritus Hunter R. Rawlings III as the interim president emerged from the closed door meeting. Rawlings’ term will begin after Lehman’s resignation takes effect June 30. E-mails sent to faculty and trustees told them to refer all questions to Tommy Bruce, vice president for communications and media relations, or Peter C. Meinig ’62, chairman of the Board of Trustees. University representatives have said it was a testament to Lehman’s character and “fanatical” love for the University that, realizing it was best that he leave, he did so suddenly and with as little fanfare as possible. Reunion weekend was the most appropriate time to make such an announcement to avoid the appearance that the University was trying to hide something, Bruce said. One alumnus, however, said that the very public, shocking nature of the speech was an obvious “slap in the face” to a board that had, by almost all accounts, forced his resignation. Although Lehman and University representatives have consistently characterized the issues as ones between the president and the Board, many members of the Board told The Sun they were unaware of the rift until the day of Lehman’s announcement. University observers theorized that the conflict was a more personal one. Because neither Lehman or the Board has come out with any more information, speculation has run rampant. A top administrator put it bluntly: “It’s terrible what Meinig did to him.” Many in Day Hall and on the Board itself say that Meinig forced Lehman to resign or face removal. Why Meinig would want to remove a president who had reigned over two of Cornell’s most lucrative fund raising years ever is a closely guarded secret. Day Hall observers have spent endless hours debating various theories about what caused the final break, which occurred sometime shortly after commencement. Most attribute at least some degree of the relationship’s breakdown to the sudden departure of Inge Reichenbach, Cornell’s former vice president for alumni affairs and development. Although University representatives were quick to characterize her departure to Yale as her decision to take a more lucrative offer, Reichenbach had made every sign of making Ithaca her permanent home. Others say that the bungled appointment of a new dean for the School of Industrial and Labor Relations was one of the oft-cited “bumps” that slowly drove Lehman and Meinig apart. According to professors at the school, Lehman went against the wishes of the majority of the school’s students, faculty and alumni to offer the post to a former University of Michigan colleague, Jan Svejnar ’74. Prof. Harry Katz, the Jack Sheinkman Professor of Collective Bargaining and director of the Institute of Collective Bargaining, eventually accepted the position after a public backlash against Svejnar. The administration and observers are both quick to point out that none of these issues alone would be enough to cause a final rift. “Some people … have said, ‘Can’t you give us one example?’ The truth is over the last few months, the road got very bumpy,” Lehman told The Sun. “And if I choose one bump or two bumps, people will look at it and say well that’s not a reason for there to be a parting.” “There is a larger strategic question that is still open, and I don’t want to put that out in public, because I think that could distort the way that is discussed by the Board,” Lehman added. “I think that it’s become clear to me that I’m not the right person to lead that internal conversation in a way that is effective.” Although University spokespeople cautioned against reading too much into one specific “strategic question” being debated by the Board, several trustees have told The Sun that there is one central question that caused the schism. There’s just as much debate, however, about what that one question may be. The most prevalent theory is that it all came down to the capital campaign. Lehman’s appointment created a rare excitement about Cornell for many alumni, boosting donations for the past two years. But observers have said that this money was “peanuts” compared to the billions planned for the capital campaign, and without Reichenbach’s experienced hand guiding the campaign, the monetary goal meant to boost Cornell’s endowment seemed less attainable. Some observers say that the division may have begun even before Reichenbach left, as she and Lehman struggled to set out an agenda for the campaign. Lehman preferred themes such as “Wisdom in the Age of the Genome,” which some critics charged would drive off the big-money donors needed to raise at the scale the University needed. Far preferable, they said, would be more concrete themes such as the Life Sciences Initiative. Other faculty and trustees told The Sun that an even more fundamental split was forming: Meinig had pushed to earmark the extra income from the capital campaign for the Life Sciences Initiative, they said, leaving Cornell’s liberal arts department in, what one top administrator conceded, was a lower priority position. Lehman, Meinig, and University spokespeople all have flatly denied most of these theories. Many alumni, however, are not satisfied that the reason for Lehman’s departure is still shrouded in secrecy. Meinig could not be reached for comment, and Reichenbach declined comment. Archived article by Michael MorisySun News Editor
A Conversation with Lehman

By June 14, 2005

The announced resignation of President Jeffrey S. Lehman ’77 shocked the hundreds of alumni who came to hear his State of the University address. Most observers expected him just to highlight the many accomplishments of his short tenure: a jump in donations, a spike in admissions and the continued expansion of Cornell at home and across the globe. Instead, the speech left thousands of students and alumni across the globe with one unanswered question: What could cause a rift so quickly between the Board of Trustees and the president? June 13th marked Lehman’s first public appearance after his announcement, a Tompkins County Area Development dinner where he spoke on the potential of Cornell’s research coupled with the local economy. Lehman spoke with The Sun afterwards to try to explain the secrecy behind the board’s reasoning and his own feelings about Cornell. The Sun: We’ve received dozens of e-mails from students and alumni praising you for not only being a great president, but also for being one of them, given your status as the first alumnus to serve as president. Is there anything you would like to say to them? Lehman: This has been the best two years of my professional life. It has been such a privilege to be back at Cornell, to get to know the current generation of students, and to be a part of the life of my alma mater. I am so proud of what Cornell is and what Cornell stands for. I truly believe there is no other university like it. There is no other university that produces the kind of feeling of community that Cornell does, and I will miss that very much. The Sun: A lot of people were touched by your Call to Engagement. Alumni say that the University always asks for money. But with the Call, one alumni wrote in and said that the University has asked for his opinion, and so now he’s going to give both his opinion and his money. What have you learned and what do you hope will stay on after as your legacy? Lehman: I think what I learned through the Call to Engagement process is that Cornell is a community of people who care, people who dream, people who believe in dreams, in the importance of all that we do. I’ve learned that there are themes that unite this community. I thought that my role was to try to describe what I saw and what I heard that was already there. My hope is that some of my descriptions rang true, and that Cornellians will find them useful as they continue to do so many great things. The Sun: When did you make the decision? Lehman: It was an evolving decision. It happened over a period of months. I didn’t [pause] make a final decision until after graduation. At that point it became clear to me that my differences with the board could not be resolved. The Sun: Even within the board, several trustees have said there was a lot of debate about which direction the University should go in, what kind of vision for the school should be followed. Nobody outside the board really knows how those visions differ. Could you elaborate on those differences? Lehman: I understand why people are hungry for more detail, but the way I’ve come to think of it is this: There’s no small, no single incident or decision or disagreement that was pivotal or decisive. There is a larger strategic question that is still open, and I don’t want to put that out in public, because I think that could distort the way that is discussed by the board. I think that it’s become clear to me that I’m not the right person to lead that internal conversation in a way that is effective. But I think, I’m confident that somebody else might be able to do a better job of leading that conversation, that might be more effective than I have been able to be. That is one way of putting it. I’ve also told some people, that have said, “Can’t you give us one example?” The truth is over the last few months, the road got very bumpy. And if I choose one bump or two bumps, people will look at it and say well that’s not a reason for there to be a parting. It’s not an individual … I know examples can sometimes help to clarify, but sometimes examples can be misleading, because they don’t capture the big picture. The big picture really is being strategically in tune. Universities are very complex organizations and I said Cornell should fly, and I really believe that. I’m mixing metaphors here. I think that to make the kind of music that this university should make in the world, the president and the board have to be in tune, and we’re just not. And I don’t think it’s for want of effort. I think everyone involved loves Cornell and wants what’s best for it. The Sun: What do you plan on doing at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars? Lehman: I’ve been talking a lot at Cornell about the idea of a transnational University, so they’ve asked me to come there. So I’m going to be writing about the role of the transnational university in the kind of new environment that Tom Friedman describes in his new book The World is Flat. At this point, Lehman had to leave for a previously scheduled engagement.Archived article by Michael MorisySun News Editor