By JONATHAN SWARTZ
Correction appeneded
As the Cornell University Board of Trustees welcomed Elizabeth Garrett as the University’s 13th president on Tuesday, Cornell professors and faculty from a wide range of disciplines voiced their enthusiasm on the University’s decision.
Prof. Chris Barrett, department director for applied economics and management, said that a female president is “a very important step forward for Cornell.”
“A president who brings such extraordinary experience and past accomplishments is a rare treasure. What a tremendous blessing that in Elizabeth Garrett Cornell gets both,” he said. “This is a very exciting next step in Cornell’s continued evolution as one of the world’s
premier universities.”
Echoing Barrett, Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government, also noted the significance that Garrett will be the first female president of the University.
“How exciting: Cornell gets a different kind of president — someone not straight from a successful term as an important administrator of a Midwestern college, as were the last four, and a woman, unlike the last 12,” Kramnick said.
Prof. Roger Gilbert, department chair of English, said that while he does not know much about Garrett, he appreciates that she is an advocate for the humanities.
President Emeritus Frank H. T. Rhodes, President-Elect Elizabeth Garrett, President David Skorton and President Emeritus Jeffrey S. Lehman pose following the announcement of Cornell’s 13th president. (Courtesy of Cornell University Photography)