Grant Cornwell


Grant Cornwell is the 15th president of Rollins College. Founded in 1885, Rollins is a four-year liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida, known for its commitment to community engagement and developing students for global citizenship and responsible leadership. Cornwell took office as president of Rollins College in July 2015, following eight years as president of the College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio. Previously, he was vice president and professor of Philosophy at St. Lawrence University, in Canton, New York.
Cornwell received his B.A. in Philosophy and Biology from St. Lawrence University. He received his Masters and Ph. D., also in Philosophy, from the University of Chicago. He received is second Ph. D, Doctor of Humane Letters, from The College of Wooster in 2017.
Prior to coming to Wooster, Cornwell served as vice president of the university and dean of academic affairs at St. Lawrence University from 2002 to 2007. As chief academic officer, he had management responsibility for the university's 46 academic departments and interdisciplinary programs, the university libraries and gallery, intercollegiate athletics, and information technology.
Under Cornwell’s leadership at Rollins, applications, enrollment and diversity of the student body have been the highest in the College’s history. He led faculty, trustees, staff and alumni through a comprehensive strategic planning process resulting in the execution of 14 strategic initiatives to better deliver on the college mission and improve the college’s market position. He is forging the transformation of the Hamilton Holt School evening program to meet the needs of a new generation of learners. He has also advanced the College’s commitment to excellence in teaching by relaunching the Endeavor Center for Faculty Development.
Cornwell's scholarship and teaching lie in the areas of human rights, globalization, and critical race theory. Cornwell is co-editor of two books: Global Multiculturalism: Comparative Perspectives on Ethnicity, Race, and Nation and Democratic Education in an Age of Difference: Redefining Citizenship in Higher Education. He has authored more than two dozen scholarly articles or chapters in edited volumes, as well as a CD-ROM on the history of slavery and the sugar industry in St. Kitts.
Cornwell served on the national advisory board of Liberal Education and Global Citizenship: The Arts of Democracy, a three-year faculty and curriculum development initiative of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, from 2001 to 2004. He also served as a fellow of the National Learning Communities Project, a leadership group convened by the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, from 2000 to 2004. Currently, Cornwell serves on the advisory board for the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education and is a member of the SAGE Group, formed as a collective of national educational leaders by the Association of American Colleges and Universities to work with institutions to realign practices toward more intentional undergraduate education.

Professional experience

President, The College of Wooster, 2007-2015.
Vice President of the University and Dean of Academic Affairs, St. Lawrence University, 2002-2007
Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, St. Lawrence University, 1998-2002
Associate Dean of the First Year, St. Lawrence University, 1992-1997, St. Lawrence University, 1992-2000
Graduate Research Intern, The Hastings Center: Institute of Society Ethics, and the Life Sciences, summer, 1983
Preceptor for "Social and Ethical Issues in Medicine"
', The University of Chicago Medical School, 1982-1983

Education

Doctor of Humane Letters, The College of Wooster, May 15, 2017
Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Chicago, June 9, 1989.
Master of Arts, The University of Chicago, June 20, 1982
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy and Biology St. Lawrence University, May 28, 1979