ITHACA, N.Y. -- As a result of Cornell University President Jeffrey S. Lehman's surprise resignation announcement last weekend, Cornell's Board of Trustees faces the challenging process of finding a 12th leader for the 140-year-old university. 

"There aren't very many people who have relevant experience to be president of Cornell University," said Cornell trustee Edwin H. Morgens, who was chairman of the last Presidential Search Committee, formed when Hunter Rawlings announced March 15, 2002, that he was stepping down. (Rawlings retired June 30, 2003, and two years later to the day, he will become interim president.) "The right candidate must be an academician and an executive at the same time. Cornell has a huge, more than $2 billion operating budget to manage, so you need someone with rare experience." 

Peter C. Meinig, chairman of the board, soon will select the trustee who will head the next Presidential Search Committee. Details on the search could be announced next week at the earliest, following the board's executive committee meeting June 16 in New York City. The last 19-member committee was composed of trustees, trustees emeriti, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, staff, Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) and Graduate School of Medical Sciences representatives, and alumni. 

In the search for the 11th president, the committee took nine months to whittle 500 initial nominations down to one. Initially, the search team launched a wide-flung request for input, and campus constituents were asked what qualities they would like to see in the next president. Before Lehman was selected, the committee sent out 200,000 requests for nominees to alumni and scheduled open meetings with students, faculty, staff and members of WCMC. The search committee also met with senior administrators and deans to solicit their suggestions, and input also was sought from such community leaders as the mayor of Ithaca, school board members and city lawmakers, and their comments were carefully considered. 

At this stage, the university also seeks the help of professional headhunters. In the effort that led to Lehman's hiring, a national search firm, Isaacson, Miller of Boston, was hired to manage, identify and recruit the best candidates. 

This massive call for input informs the search committee as it develops a "case statement" -- made available to the public -- which defines the main characteristics Cornell seeks in its next president. 

"The case statement is a document meant to inform candidates of what the job is, and it tells about Cornell and what its aspirations are," said Morgens. 

In the last search, Cornell sought a president who could inspire the Cornell community and raise funds for investment; strengthen undergraduate education; enhance diversity; foster collaboration across Cornell's colleges; create new partnerships with New York state; and create a managerial agenda that focuses on workforce planning, information technology and entrepreneurship. 

Only after the case statement is developed does the committee begin to identify potential candidates. The committee also gathers recommendations from presidents of other universities and others in higher education who are "in the know." Details of the search are kept confidential, partly because the best candidates tend to avoid searches where names are divulged. 

Leading to Lehman's hiring, alumni initially nominated 500 people. That list was reduced to 100, and the committee made phone calls to check availability and interest. The list was then cut to 35. At that point, the search committee divided into groups of two and three, packed their suitcases and spread out across the country to visit each candidate. After interviews, only 12 remained, including acting presidents, provosts and deans who showed great promise. These were then given a thorough reference and background check. 

The remaining five or six candidates then flew to New York City for interviews, where the candidates could maintain their anonymity more easily than in Ithaca. 

And then there were three candidates. The rest is history.