Robert Barker/University Photography

Peter and Nancy Meinig at a gala honoring Peter Meinig on a decade of service as chair of the Cornell University Board of Trustees.

Peter C. Meinig '61 stepped down Dec. 31, 2011, as chair of the Cornell University Board of Trustees, a post he held for 10 years. Following a gala in his honor, he sat down with the Cornell Chronicle to talk about the university's successes, his most stressful moments and lowering his handicap on the golf course.

As head of a group of opinionated, intelligent Cornellians, you have acted as a consensus builder. How have you kept all the parts moving in the right direction?

We have a 64-person board, 25 very active trustees emeriti and a vibrant committee system. Our Ivy League peer institutions are amazed that we can make this system work. Board members are a dedicated group who for the most part park their egos at the door and look for solutions that are best for Cornell as a whole.

You have also had to be the place where "the buck stops." What has been your most difficult decision?

I cannot recall a time when I made an important decision without the active involvement of other board members, the president, a member of the administrative team or faculty members. Building consensus in times of stress is important.

My most stressful moment was in late 2008 when we believed that the university's liquidity might be impaired by the meltdown in financial markets. A team of administrators and board members joined to help the university navigate through this challenge.

What accomplishments are you most proud of during your time as chair?

I prefer to talk about accomplishments of the university. I will list just a few: increased access for financially deserving students; the $100 million Faculty Renewal Fund; the administration's effort, supported by the trustees, to reduce administrative expenses; the hiring of President David Skorton; and, of course, winning the Cornell NYC Tech Campus.

What would you have liked to have accomplished that you weren't able to?

We need a successful sesquicentennial campaign and to dramatically increase our endowment, which now stands at $5 billion. This will help Cornell continue to increase student access and enable us to attract and retain the very best young faculty. And we need to plan carefully to take full advantage of the opportunities created by the Cornell NYC Tech Campus -- and make sure they benefit the entire Cornell community.

In what ways is Cornell evolving to meet the future?

We are rethinking what we do and how we do it. That is the purpose of the Strategic Plan developed by the faculty and Provost Kent Fuchs and his leadership team. I hope that the university community will periodically review progress toward its recommendations and update it as needed.

We will need to find other sources of revenue to counteract the decline in government support and to look for new ways to create and deliver knowledge. The New York City tech campus, in my view, is an imaginative response to these challenges. I am confident our faculty and leadership will identify and implement many others.

How will you spend your time now that your board responsibilities have ended?

My wife, Nancy, and I … want to spend more time with our grandkids, who live in Houston, Austin and San Francisco. Our businesses face many challenges today, and I hope to have more time to provide advice to those -- including some family members -- who lead them. Finally, we will stay close to Cornell, as Nancy and I have agreed to co-chair the sesquicentennial celebration in 2015. And I am dumb enough to think that I can still lower my handicap on the golf course!

As board chair, you've seen ten classes of students graduate. What advice do you give young graduates?

I like to tell them to follow their dreams. I say, "You have been blessed with a wonderful education from a premier university and have had an opportunity to learn to interact with and to lead others at Cornell. Work hard and do not settle for second best. Make Cornell proud."