Vice President of the University and Dean of Academic Affairs Grant
H. Cornwell Jr. '79 returned to St. Lawrence to teach. He’s
back on campus because he believes a St. Lawrence education is "transformative."
"The
most exciting part about what I do is the strategic work with the
faculty to see how we can best achieve our mission in providing the most
rigorous and transformative liberal arts education possible," he
says.
Making the decision about which college to attend might have been
easier for Cornwell than for most people. His father graduated from
the University in 1939 and an older brother in 1968. He says that
he ultimately chose this place because there was something different
about the campus and because "St. Lawrence was in the blood."
He earned his master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago,
and returned to St. Lawrence in 1986 as a member of the philosophy department.
In 2002, Cornwell was appointed vice president of the University and
dean of academic affairs, overseeing the academic program, but he
continues his scholarly research on global citizenship.
Cornwell most appreciates that St. Lawrence has always been a place
that is open to new ideas. "That's what I love about this school; if
someone is passionate about something, they can make it happen here," he
states. And he has advice for students. "The world is a place
full of problems to be solved, and they create a context of urgency
for our work," Cornwell says. "Your education is
about your role in the world’s affairs and your capacities to
create positive change."
