The Cornell University Board of Trustees' Saturday vote endorsing David Skorton as the 12th president of the university was unanimous, and thanks to an amended bylaw, 19 members of the board were able to vote, even though they weren't in Ithaca to cast their ballots.

Previously, the 64 voting members of the board were required to vote in person. By amending Article XXIII of the Bylaws of Cornell University, trustees can now participate and vote via conference telephone or similar communications equipment that allows all members participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time.

When the board leadership realized last week that the board was going to vote on Skorton's candidacy at the regularly scheduled January meeting, which is always held in New York City, they switched the Saturday portion of the meeting to Ithaca. And on Friday, Jan. 20, they made this possible by amending the bylaw. Although 40 trustees were able to change their plans and fly to Ithaca early Saturday morning and vote in person, 19 remained in New York City. For the first time, however, they were allowed to vote via video conferencing from Weill Cornell Medical College.

"We put the suggested amendment on the agenda 10 days before the January meeting," said James J. Mingle, university counsel and secretary of the corporation, noting that at that time, voting on the new president was only a possibility. "The board leadership thought it was important, however, to have that capability [to vote via video conferencing]."

Even without the amendment, Mingle said that the 40 trustees in attendance in Ithaca on Saturday would have been adequate to pass the resolution naming Skorton as president.

Changing the bylaws, he added, is not unusual and occurs several times a year.