Vice President and General Counsel Donica Thomas Varner, who has played a pivotal role in the development of the university’s Expressive Activity Policy and in navigating Cornell’s response to executive orders and federal funding freezes, has announced plans to step down from her position effective Feb. 6, 2026.

The university will conduct a national search for Varner’s replacement. Upon her departure, Debbie Hodys, associate vice president and deputy general counsel and secretary of Weill Cornell Medicine, will lead the Office of General Counsel on an interim basis.

In a joint statement, President Michael I. Kotlikoff and Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees, said Varner’s leadership over more than four highly consequential years had strengthened the office and the university.

“Donica has provided us and countless university leaders with wise counsel, steady leadership and a deep commitment to Cornell’s mission and values,” they wrote. “Please join us in thanking Donica for her outstanding contributions to Cornell and wishing her every success in her next endeavors.”

Varner, the first Black person to serve as the university’s chief legal officer, said it has been a career highlight to support an institution whose founding mission resonates closely with her own values.

“My serving as Cornell’s chief legal officer was an historic first,” Varner said. “I am grateful for the tremendous opportunity to partner with dedicated colleagues across the university and Board of Trustees to advance the university’s mission with integrity and fidelity to its ‘…any person…any study’ ethos. I am most appreciative to have led teams of outstanding professionals in the Office of General Counsel and the Office of the Secretary of the Corporation. I am very proud of the work that we have accomplished together.”

When Varner joined Cornell in July 2021, the university was returning to full residential instruction during the pandemic. Each year since has presented significant challenges, including a Supreme Court decision outlawing race-conscious admissions practices; campus activism in response to global events; unprecedented complex litigation with implications for the higher education sector; negotiations with new bargaining units; the university’s response to federal executive orders and frozen research funding, and its recent settlement with the federal government.

As general counsel, Varner represents and advises Cornell boards, senior officers and other officials and units. She oversees approximately 25 attorneys and other staff who provide in-house legal services from offices in Ithaca and New York City, in addition to selecting and overseeing all outside legal counsel retained to represent the university.

Varner organized the office around four main practice areas: litigation, administrative proceedings and regulatory compliance; research, technology and academic innovation; business, charitable giving and transactions; and people and inclusive excellence. She introduced educational workshops and trainings across those areas, including the “Conversations with Office of General Counsel” series, to help reduce risk and achieve institutional objectives.

“Our attorneys are out in the community meeting with our clients,” she noted. “The Conversations with Office of General Counsel series is the hallmark of our commitment to be engaged legal advisers.”

At Cornell, Varner has been an executive mentor for undergraduates in the Meinig Family National Scholars Program and an executive sponsor of the Women of Color Colleague Network. She participated on the Legal Services Review Panel of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

An attorney for more than 30 years, Varner previously served as vice president, general counsel and secretary of Oberlin College, and held positions at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. Prior to working in higher education, she practiced employment and labor law in Detroit-area firms.

Upon her departure from Cornell, Varner plans to reflect on how best to advance her commitment to education and leveraging the law to create thriving diverse, equitable and inclusive communities. “I’m extremely blessed,” she said, “to be at a stage where I can pause and think about new opportunities for meaningful impact that bring me joy.”