Rollins President Grant Cornwell Announces Retirement

Rollins College announces that President Grant Cornwell will retire in June 2025 after 10 years of exemplary leadership and dedicated service.

“Since 2015, we have had the exceptional good fortune to have Grant Cornwell at the helm of Rollins College,” says Rick Goings ’12H, chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees, in a statement to the Rollins community. “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.”

This past fall, Rollins welcomed the most selective, academically talented, and diverse incoming class in its history, following a record number of applicants. U.S. News & World Report once again ranked Rollins the No. 1 regional university in the South, and The Princeton Review ranked the College’s classroom experience among the top 25 in the nation.

“President Cornwell provided thoughtful and steady leadership during an era of dramatic change in higher education,” says Don Davison, vice president for academic affairs and provost. “A liberal arts education has never been more relevant, and Grant has overseen a renewed commitment to the College’s mission, strengthening our academic excellence and rigor.”

Throughout his tenure, Cornwell spearheaded numerous strategic initiatives and capital projects to enrich students’ lives and educational experiences, transforming the Rollins campus in the process.

A 1950s library building was refashioned to become Kathleen W. Rollins Hall, the College’s headquarters of applied learning and home of the newly launched Rollins Gateway, a signature program to prepare students for meaningful lives and productive careers. The state-of-the-art Lakeside Neighborhood created a new model for residential colleges that prioritizes health, wellness, and community. The Tiedtke Theatre & Dance Centre has strengthened Rollins’ role as a leader in performing arts education.

Additional milestones of the Cornwell presidency include:

• Installation of the 291st chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society in the liberal arts
• Transition of the College’s Hamilton Holt School to reorient its offerings to better meet the needs of working adults and returning students
• Reimagination of curricular focus and delivery in the Crummer Graduate School of Business
• Development and implementation of a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging strategic plan to foster inclusivity and diversity and empower students, faculty, and staff to reach their fullest potential
• Expansion of The Alfond Inn, the College’s Winter Park boutique hotel, distinguished by its philanthropic mission that directs all net operating income to scholarships for Rollins students

“Grant has transformed Rollins in ways that will be felt for years to come,” says Rollins Trustee Ted Alfond ’68 ’18H. “I have witnessed his innovative approach to unique opportunities and projects that have enhanced the College as well as the Winter Park community.”

After eight years as president of The College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio, Cornwell took office as president of Rollins. Previously, he was vice president of academic affairs and professor of philosophy at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

Cornwell graduated with honors from St. Lawrence University with majors in philosophy and biology. He received his MA and PhD, also in philosophy, from the University of Chicago. Both St. Lawrence and The College of Wooster have awarded him honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees.

In addition to a body of scholarship defining liberal learning in a global environment, Cornwell’s research and teaching throughout his career have focused on issues of racial justice and multicultural democracies. He has served on the boards of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), as well as chair of the AAC&U’s Presidents’ Trust, a national advocacy group for advancing liberal education.

Cornwell has also been a compelling voice for academic freedom. Last year, he joined the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, whose mission is to advance free inquiry, free speech, and diversity of thought as essential principles for institutions of higher learning and democracies.

Cornwell will remain in office until June 2025. As Rollins begins a national search for its next president, the College remains committed to building on Cornwell’s legacy and continuing its tradition of excellence in higher education.