Elizabeth Garrett

Elizabeth Garrett
Born	Helen Elizabeth Garrett 30 6, 1963
Birthplace	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Legal scholar, academic administrator
Title	President of Cornell University
Known for	13th President of Cornell University; first woman to serve as Cornell's president
Education	University of Virginia (JD) University of Oklahoma (BA)
Spouse(s)	Andrei Marmor

Helen Elizabeth Garrett (June 30, 1963 – March 6, 2016), commonly known as Elizabeth Garrett or Beth Garrett, was an American legal scholar, professor of law, and academic administrator who served as the 13th president of Cornell University. Appointed in 2015, she was the first woman to hold the presidency in Cornell's history, a milestone that reflected a distinguished career in legal academia and university governance. Her tenure, however, was tragically cut short when she died of colon cancer on March 6, 2016, at the age of 52, becoming the first Cornell president to die while in office. Before assuming the Cornell presidency, Garrett had served as Provost of the University of Southern California (USC) from 2010 to 2015 and held faculty positions at prominent law schools. Her scholarship focused on jurisprudence, legislative processes, and the intersection of law and public policy. In fewer than nine months as president, Garrett initiated several administrative and policy changes at Cornell while simultaneously undergoing cancer treatment, leaving a legacy defined both by the promise of her leadership and the poignancy of her untimely death.

Early Life

Elizabeth Garrett was born Helen Elizabeth Garrett on June 30, 1963, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She grew up in Oklahoma and pursued her undergraduate education in her home state before moving to Virginia for law school. Little additional detail about her childhood and family background has been documented in published sources beyond her Oklahoma roots, which she carried with her throughout a career that took her to some of the most prominent academic institutions in the United States.

Education

Garrett earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma. She subsequently obtained her Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Virginia School of Law. Her legal education at Virginia provided the foundation for a career in legal scholarship and academic administration that would eventually lead her to the highest levels of university leadership.

Career

Early Legal and Academic Career

After completing her law degree, Garrett built a career as a legal scholar specializing in jurisprudence, legislative processes, tax policy, and direct democracy. She held faculty positions at prominent law schools, establishing herself as an authority on the intersection of law and public policy. Her scholarly work examined how legislation is crafted and how legal frameworks shape governance. Over the course of her career, she authored numerous publications on these topics and became a recognized voice in discussions about the legislative process and government transparency.

Garrett's expertise attracted attention beyond academia. In 2009, she was reportedly considered for roles in the Obama administration's Treasury Department as the new president worked to fill key positions in the wake of the global financial crisis. Her involvement in public policy discussions further elevated her profile as a scholar-practitioner who could bridge the worlds of legal theory and governance.

Garrett also served in advisory capacities in California state government. She was associated with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, contributing her expertise in election law and political transparency to the state's regulatory framework.

University of Southern California

Garrett served on the faculty of the USC Gould School of Law, where she was a professor of law and held leadership roles within the university. Her positions at USC included service on the executive board of Keck Medicine of USC, reflecting the breadth of her administrative responsibilities at the university.

In 2010, Garrett was appointed Provost of the University of Southern California, a position she held until 2015. As provost, she served as USC's chief academic officer, overseeing the university's academic programs, faculty appointments, and strategic planning. The role placed her at the center of one of the largest private research universities in the United States and gave her extensive experience in the kind of large-scale university administration that would later inform her presidency at Cornell. Her five-year tenure as provost was characterized by efforts to strengthen USC's academic profile and expand its research enterprise.

Cornell University Presidency

On July 1, 2015, Garrett became the 13th president of Cornell University, succeeding David J. Skorton, who departed to become Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Her appointment was historic: she was the first woman to serve as president of Cornell, one of the eight Ivy League universities and a land-grant institution with a complex structure encompassing both privately endowed and state-supported colleges.

Garrett assumed the presidency with an ambitious agenda for the university. During her brief time in office, she undertook a number of administrative and policy initiatives that attracted attention both on campus and in broader higher education circles.

Administrative Changes

In the fall of 2015, Garrett initiated a series of administrative reorganizations at Cornell. In October 2015, The Cornell Daily Sun reported on what it described as an "administrative shake-up," as Garrett restructured leadership roles and made changes to the university's senior administration. These changes signaled her intent to put her own stamp on the institution's governance and reflected a management style that prioritized efficiency and accountability.

Garrett also generated media attention for her early decisions as president. The Cornell Daily Sun noted in October 2015 that Garrett's leadership was producing headlines, suggesting that her active approach to the presidency was a departure from the more incremental style of her predecessor.

Campus Policy Initiatives

Among the specific decisions Garrett made during her presidency was the final approval of Anabel's Grocery, a student-run grocery store on the Cornell campus designed to address food insecurity among students. In November 2015, Garrett gave her authorization for the project to proceed, a decision that was welcomed by students who had advocated for the initiative.

However, not all of Garrett's policy positions were met with approval from the Cornell community. In February 2016, she indicated that the university's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035—a pledge that had been made under President Skorton—was "not a priority" for her administration. This statement prompted a response from the Cornell Student Assembly, which passed a resolution urging Garrett to adhere to Skorton's carbon neutrality pledge.

Additionally, in February 2016, Cornell faculty called for increased input in university governance at an open forum, reflecting tensions over the pace and direction of changes under Garrett's leadership. These discussions were taking place even as Garrett was managing her cancer diagnosis, a fact that added complexity to the governance dynamics of the period.

Illness and Death

Garrett was diagnosed with colon cancer during her presidency. She received treatment at Weill Cornell Medicine, the medical school affiliated with Cornell University, while continuing to carry out her duties as president to the extent possible. On March 6, 2016, Garrett died at her home in New York City from the disease. She was 52 years old.

The Cornell Chronicle announced her passing, stating: "Our president, colleague and friend, Elizabeth Garrett, passed away." Her death came less than nine months after she had assumed the presidency, making her tenure one of the shortest in Cornell's history and marking the first time a sitting Cornell president had died in office.

Following Garrett's death, Martha E. Pollack was eventually selected as her successor, becoming the 14th president of Cornell University.

Personal Life

Elizabeth Garrett was married to Andrei Marmor, a legal philosopher who held academic positions at USC and later at Cornell. The couple relocated to Ithaca, New York, when Garrett assumed the Cornell presidency in 2015.

Garrett was known among colleagues for her intellectual rigor and her commitment to the academic enterprise. Her career trajectory—from Oklahoma to the University of Virginia, through faculty positions at leading law schools, to the provostship at USC and ultimately the presidency of an Ivy League university—reflected a sustained record of achievement in legal scholarship and higher education leadership.

She died on March 6, 2016, in New York City, at the age of 52.

Legacy

Elizabeth Garrett's legacy at Cornell University and in American higher education is defined by both the historic nature of her appointment and the brevity of her tenure. As the first woman to serve as president of Cornell—an institution founded in 1865—her selection in 2015 represented a milestone in the university's history and in the broader landscape of Ivy League leadership.

Her death from colon cancer at age 52, less than a year into her presidency, was widely mourned across the Cornell community and in academic circles nationally. The Cornell Chronicle and The Cornell Daily Sun both published extensive coverage of her passing, and tributes from faculty, students, staff, and alumni reflected the impact she had made in her short time at the university.

Garrett's career before Cornell—particularly her years as a law professor and her tenure as provost at USC—established her as a significant figure in legal education and university administration. Her scholarship on legislative processes, direct democracy, and tax policy contributed to ongoing academic debates about the structure and function of American government.

The initiatives she supported during her time at Cornell, including the approval of Anabel's Grocery to address student food insecurity, continued after her death and became part of the institutional fabric of the university. Her presidency, though cut short, prompted reflection within the Cornell community about institutional priorities, governance, and the challenges facing research universities in the 21st century.

Martha E. Pollack, who succeeded Garrett as Cornell's 14th president, continued the work of leading the university through a period of transition following the loss of its first female president.