ITHACA, N.Y. -- Hunter R. Rawlings III, president emeritus of Cornell and currently a professor in the university's Department of Classics, will become interim president of Cornell following President Jeffrey S. Lehman's departure June 30. Subject to approval by the Cornell Board of Trustees, Rawlings will serve until the university names a new president, said Peter Meinig, chairman of the board.

At the time of Rawlings' retirement as Cornell's 10th president in June 2003, Meinig called Rawlings a "master bridge builder" and praised him for his "efforts to unite Cornell" and for his unflagging vision "that Cornell would become the best major research university for undergraduate education in the United States." Now, Meinig said, "We are pleased and fortunate that Hunter has agreed to guide the university through this transition." 

Rawlings served as president of Cornell from July 1995 through June 2003, a period full of achievement: 

• He renewed Cornell's emphasis on undergraduate teaching, creating the position of vice provost for undergraduate education, and he established the Cornell Presidential Research Scholars program, which encourages undergraduates to work directly with faculty on advanced research projects.
• He helped transform North Campus into a living and learning environment for all freshmen, with many faculty-in-residence. He also began a similar residential college initiative on West Campus for upper-level students.
• Under faculty committee recommendations, Rawlings identified strategic campus areas in the life sciences and engineering, including advanced materials science, computing and information science and the new fields that comprise the biological revolution, including genomics, computational biology, bioinformatics and nanobiotechnology. Under his tenure construction began for Duffield Hall, a cutting-edge nanofabrication research facility dedicated last October, and plans were set in motion for the Life Sciences Technology Building.
• Rawlings developed a multiyear plan to improve faculty and staff compensation, and he set a Cornell record in his appointments of women and minorities to senior administrative positions.
• He strengthened ties between Cornell's Ithaca campus and the Weill Cornell Medical College and signed an agreement to establish a new location of the medical college in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar. And he created the Tri-Institutional Program that has built research ties among Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the New York and Ithaca campuses of Cornell.
• Rawlings made permanent the trustee policy on need-blind admission to Cornell and increased student diversity in addition to lowering the university's rate of admission offers and raising the yield on those offers.
• He encouraged intellectual collaboration across disciplines and departments, initiating and personally participating in a series of foundation-supported faculty seminars in the social sciences and humanities, underscoring their critical significance to society.
• He completed the $1.5 billion capital campaign begun by his predecessor, President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes; he carried through a successful $200 million campaign for scholarships and financial aid; he oversaw the growth of the Cornell endowment to $2.894 billion on Dec. 31, 2001, from $1.424 billion on June 30, 1995; and he raised $2.3 billion in gifts to the university.

Before coming to Cornell, Rawlings served as president of the University of Iowa. Born in Norfolk, Va., he received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1970 and is a 1966 graduate of Haverford College. He is married to Elizabeth Trapnell Rawlings, a translator and expert on Francophone literature. The couple has four children.

Meinig also noted that Biddy Martin, Cornell provost since 2000, and Antonio M. Gotto Jr., provost for medical affairs for Weill Cornell Medical College for the past eight years, will continue in those positions to ensure continuity. "With the university's leadership in experienced and capable hands, we are looking forward to a seamless transition," Meinig said.