Robert Barker/University Photography

Kathy Okun waves to the large crowd gathered in Duffield Hall to say farewell to her and her husband, President Jeffrey Lehman.

Several hundred people -- faculty, staff, administrators and friends -- gathered in Duffield Hall's atrium on the Cornell campus June 28 to thank President Jeffrey S. Lehman and his wife, Kathy Okun, for two years of service. Lehman announced his surprise resignation, effective June 30, at Reunion Weekend June 11.

The reception, called "A Fond Farewell" by its organizers, the Employee Assembly, the Office of Human Resources and Pawprint, gave people a chance to say goodbye to Lehman and Okun. 

The event was informal, with a steadily growing line of well-wishers waiting to shake hands with the couple or to give them a hug or offer a few words. Three commemorative guest books were displayed for guests to sign.

As the line stretched through the atrium, Lehman took a few minutes to speak after being introduced by Donna Goss, chair of the Employee Assembly. "These past two years have been a dream for the two of us," Lehman said. "Kathy and I have been shaking hands as quickly as we possibly can." He said he felt honored to serve Cornell and to describe a path toward the university's sesquicentennial in 2015. 

But, he said, as he prepares to step aside, "The greatness of this university endures." Cornell's greatness is not a function of strategic direction, leadership philosophy, fiscal priorities or buildings, he said, but is "because of a quality that is shared by the people who work and study and live here." Cornell's greatness continues because of the teaching and research at the university that consistently reaches out to the larger world, he said.

"For two years, Kathy and I have been inspired by your willingness to draw on your best selves," Lehman said. "You have made us want to draw on our best selves as well." He concluded, "We truly love you all."