Rollins College’s president Cornwell to step down next year
Rollins College President Grant Cornwell plans to retire in June 2025 after a decade at the Winter Park school’s helm, the college announced Tuesday.
In a video posted to Rollins’ website, Cornwell, 66, described his years at Rollins as “the most meaningful of my career.”
“What matters most to me is our shared sense of purpose and mission that have transformed Rollins into one of the nation’s very best liberal arts colleges,” he said in the video.
During Cornwell’s tenure, Rollins has attracted record numbers of applicants and embarked on several campus projects, including transforming a 1950s library building into Kathleen W. Rollins Hall, which houses 10 programs and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration. The school also added Lakeside Neighborhood, a 250,000-square-foot student residential community along Lake Virginia.
He also led an ambitious fundraising campaign raising over $290 million, including the single-largest outright gift — $40 million — in Rollins’ history.
Cornwell came to Rollins in 2015 after serving as the president of The College of Wooster in Ohio. He previously was vice president of academic affairs and professor of philosophy at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.
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Rollins trustees praised Cornwell in a statement sent from the school Tuesday morning, noting his focus on academic rigor and student opportunities.
“President Cornwell has been a passionate and innovative leader, tirelessly devoted to the College’s liberal arts mission to educate students for global citizenship and responsible leadership,” Board of Trustees Chair Rick Goings said.
The college is starting a national search for Cornwell’s successor. Cornwell said he plans to remain in office until a new president is ready to take the helm.
Even after a new president is selected, Cornwell and his wife, Peg, plan to remain “lifelong members of this community,” he said.
“We won’t be going far,” he said in the video posted to the school’s website. “Peg and I love this campus and this community and we plan to make Winter Park our permanent residence.”
