Jason Koski/University Photography

Cornell President Emeritus Dale Corson speaks during a reception and farewell ceremony held by Cornell faculty members for former President Jeffrey Lehman in Duffield Hall Oct. 14.

"You built bridges," Charles Walcott, dean of the university faculty, told Jeffrey S. Lehman during a ceremony held by faculty members Oct. 14 to honor Cornell's 11th president and his wife, Kathy.

The event took place in the Duffield Hall atrium and included speeches by another former president, deans, faculty and Lehman himself. The mood was one of gratitude for the work Lehman did during his two-year tenure, which ended June 30.

Walcott continued that Lehman "built bridges not only in Bridging the Rift, but also between Cornell and Ithaca." The comment referred to Lehman's initiative in promoting a collaboration by Cornell and Stanford University with the Bridging the Rift Foundation to build a research center on the border between Israel and Jordan.

"Jeff poured his heart and soul into his job and did everything he could to promote Cornell," Walcott added.

The lead speaker was President Emeritus Dale Corson, who expressed his deep fondness for Lehman, commenting that when he heard of the resignation he was "fairly unhappy with the abruptness and lack of ability to discuss it." He noted that he and President Emeritus Frank Rhodes will be consultants to the presidential search committee and that the two intend to meet with the final candidates.

"I want to be sure that whoever comes in as Jeff's successor knows what life is going to be like, and I hope I do better at that than I did for you, Jeff," said Corson.

Jason Koski/University Photography

Jeff Lehman speaks about his early meetings with Cornell faculty just before accepting the position as Cornell's 11th president.

Susan Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and professor of molecular biology and genetics, said that Lehman's "vision for Cornell" had particular resonance with the CALS faculty.

W. Kent Fuchs, dean of Cornell's College of Engineering, commented that when Lehman first began his appointment, he had described Cornell as beloved and revolutionary. "We as faculty use those words to describe you," said Fuchs, telling Lehman that he is indeed beloved, and "the difference you have made has been revolutionary."

Don Greenberg, director of the Program of Computer Graphics, said, "I am sure that my feelings are shared by everyone in this room; your time as president was too short."

Walcott also read a statement from Provost Biddy Martin thanking Jeff and Kathy Lehman for their efforts on behalf of Cornell. "We owe them a debt of gratitude for their hard work," she wrote.

In his speech to the faculty, Lehman recalled that before his decision to accept the job at Cornell, he met with faculty members to learn about their work. He said he was inspired by the faculty's brilliance, but at the same time he was "distressed by the weak sense of common cause I felt among faculty." A university is "far greater than the sum of its parts," he said, and the faculty underestimated a sense of its own high quality.

Lehman's recommendations for how to change the malaise he observed came in October 2004 when he identified three strategic areas for Cornell -- Life in the Age of the Genome, Wisdom in the Age of Digital Information and Sustainability in the Age of Development -- in his State of the University address. The first two areas drew on existing Cornell initiatives that would benefit from more interdisciplinary activity, and the third, sustainability, he ushered in during his Cornell-wide Call to Engagement last year.

"As I see the first fruits of the task forces, I feel encouraged," Lehman said, adding that by the time he resigned, "this faculty began to appreciate anew just how good it is."