Grant H. Cornwell Jr. ’79
Vice President of the University and Dean of Academic Affairs

Making a college decision was a little easier for Grant Cornwell than for most people. His father, Grant Sr ’39, and brother, George ’68, attended St. Lawrence, and after several visits, Grant Jr. chose St. Lawrence because there was something different about the campus and because “St. Lawrence was in the blood.”

After graduating in 1979, Cornwell earned his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where he decided that he wanted a career as a teacher and scholar at a liberal arts college. In 1986, he returned to St. Lawrence 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. “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.

Cornwell protects some time to continue his scholarly research on global citizenship. “My research has two dimensions,” he explains.” I’m interested in the ethics and politics of global citizenship, and in exploring the role of liberal inquiry in the education of responsible global citizens.”