The Cornell University Board of Trustees elected at its June 16 meeting three emeritus trustees and four presidential councillors in recognition of their distinguished service to the university. The posts are effective July 1.

"These individuals are unsurpassed in their devotion to the university as well as in the expertise they have so generously shared," said Peter C. Meinig '61, chairman of the board.

"I am delighted that the board has chosen to honor these dedicated and knowledgeable alumni and friends and that Cornell will continue to benefit from their guidance," added Cornell President David Skorton.

The emeritus trustees are: Marcus H. Loo '77, M.D. '81; N.R. Narayana Murthy and Sherri Koenig Stuewer '73, M.S. Eng '75. The board considers trustees for emeritus status if they have completed at least two terms of distinguished service to the board.

The board also elected those emeritus trustees and George G. Gellert '60, MBA '62, J.D. '63, presidential councillors, a distinction conferred for life and the highest honor the board can bestow. Presidential councillors give their wisdom and advice on large matters of university interest at the request of the president.

Gellert, of New Vernon, N.J., is chair and chief executive officer of Atalanta Corp., a U.S. distributor of imported foods. He served as an alumni-elected trustee 1995-99. He is a life member of the Cornell University Council. A volunteer with the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network 1965-90, Gellert has served on the Johnson School Advisory Council, Food Industry Management Board, and Undergraduate Business Program Campaign Committee. He also helped found the Personal Enterprise Program.

Loo, a clinical professor of urology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, lives in Scarsdale, N.Y. He was elected an alumni trustee in 2003. He is a member of the board's Committee on Academic Affairs, which he co-chaired 2004-08, and of the Governmental Relations and Student Life committees. He also is a member of the Cornell University Council and a founding member of the Cornell Asian Alumni Association and has served on the board of directors of the Weill Medical College Alumni Association.

Murthy is founder-chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited, a global software consulting company. He lives in Bangalore, India, where Infosys is headquartered. He began his first term on the board in 2003. He serves on the Committee on Academic Affairs. Murthy has previously served on the Committee on Student Life, Finance Committee, the Committee on Alumni Affairs and Development and the Ad Hoc Committee on Intellectual Property. Murthy's son, Rohan Narayan Murthy, graduated from Cornell in 2005.

Stuewer has served on the board's committees on Academic Affairs, Finance, and Alumni Affairs and Development. She co-chairs the board's Buildings and Properties Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee. Stuewer also serves on the Engineering College Advisory Council, where she has been a member since 1994 and served as chair 2001-04, and is a member of the Cornell University Council. A resident of Dallas, Texas, Stuewer is Exxon Mobil Corp.'s vice president for environmental policy and planning.