Cornell University names Garrett as first woman president

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell University board of trustees on Tuesday “unanimously” elected Elizabeth (Beth) Garrett as the school’s next president.

Garrett, who will assume the presidency July 1, 2015, will be the first woman to lead the university, Cornell said in a news release posted on its website.

She currently serves as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

A presidential-search committee selected Garrett. Cornell formed the committee in March after current president, David Skorton, announced he would be leaving Cornell on June 30, 2015, to become the next secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

“I am proud today to welcome Beth Garrett as the next president of Cornell University,” Robert Harrison, chairman of the board of trustees, said in the news release. “Beth has not only distinguished herself as an inspirational leader, thinker and scholar, but she also embodies the values and traditions that have placed Cornell at the forefront of the increasingly global field of higher education. She is going to be a great president.”

In the same news release, Garrett said that she is “honored” by her selection as Cornell’s next president.

“Cornell is one of the world’s truly great universities, with a stellar commitment to excellence in teaching, research, scholarship and creative activity, linked with a deep commitment to public engagement. I am excited to join the Cornell community and to work with the faculty, staff, students and alumni to write the next chapter in its illustrious history,” said Garrett.

USC appointed Garrett to her current position in October 2010.

Besides her administrative role, Garrett also serves as the Frances R. and John J. Duggan Professor of law, political science, finance and business economics, and public policy at USC.

She also previously served as USC’s vice president for academic planning and budget, according to the Cornell news release.

Garrett’s primary scholarly interests include the legislative process, the design of democratic institutions, the federal-budget process, and tax policy, Cornell said.

She is the author of more than 50 articles, book chapters and essays, and is co-author of the nation’s “most influential” casebook on legislation and statutory interpretation, now in its fifth edition, Cornell contended.

When Garrett arrives at Cornell, she will be a tenured faculty member in the Law School with a joint appointment in the department of government in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com