Jeffrey S. Lehman
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Sean Lehman is an American
scholar, lawyer
and academic administrator who is currently serving as the chancellor and founding dean of the Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen, China. Known as an advocate for the role of universities in globalization, he previously served as dean of the University of Michigan Law School
, president of Cornell University
, and Chair of the Board of Internet2.
fraternity
and co-wrote the book 1000 Ways to Win Monopoly
Games. He spent his junior year participating in the Sweet Briar College Junior Year in France. He went on to receive a J.D.
and a M.P.P.
from the University of Michigan
, where he served as Editor-in-Chief od the Michigan Law Review. After graduating, he served as law clerk
for Chief Judge Frank M. Coffin of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
, and then for Associate Justice John Paul Stevens
of the U.S. Supreme Court
.
After practicing law in Washington, D.C.
, Lehman returned to the University of Michigan in 1987 to join the law school faculty. He also taught as a visiting professor at the Yale Law School
and the University of Paris
.
Along with then University President Lee Bollinger
, received national attention in the 2003 Supreme Court case of Grutter v. Bollinger
, in which the University largely succeeded in defending the law school's affirmative action
admissions policies.
and Stanford
), raising over US$375 million that year alone. Lehman was also known for prominently promoting his "three themes": "life in the age of the genome," "wisdom in the age of digital information" and "sustainability in the age of development." These themes arose from intensive engagement with faculty, students and Cornellians during his first year, a process that won him great respect across campus. Lehman pioneered the concept of a "transnational" university, by opening a medical campus in Doha, Qatar and cooperative education and research arrangements with universities in China, India and Singapore.
In 2005, Lehman resigned from the presidency, citing irreconcilable differences with the leadership of the Cornell Board of Trustees — an announcement that came as a surprise to most of the Cornell community and to outsiders. Lehman's tenure was by far the shortest of any Cornell President. Specific reasoning for Lehman's departure has been highly secretive and subject to occasional debate within the Cornell faculty and alumni communities.
Lehman remains a member of the Cornell faculty. In 2007, Cornell published "An Optimistic Heart," a book of speeches that Lehman wrote and delivered as president.
On Sept. 29, 2011, Lehman was a recipient of the 2011 Friendship Award, China’s highest award for foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social progress.
, an advanced not-for-profit U.S. networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government.
Lehman is an independent director of Infosys
, Limited, a NASDAQ
listed technology company headquartered in Bangalore, India. He attracted attention in India in his role as chair of the nominations committee that recommended the successor to the company’s founder N. R. Narayana Murthy
, who had been appointed to the Cornell Board of Trustees during Lehman's tenure as President. He also serves as chair of the board of the company’s American subsidiary, Infosys Public Services.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scholar, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and academic administrator who is currently serving as the chancellor and founding dean of the Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen, China. Known as an advocate for the role of universities in globalization, he previously served as dean of the University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
, president of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and Chair of the Board of Internet2.
Education and Early Career
Born in Bronxville, New York, Lehman earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Cornell. While a student at Cornell, Lehman was active in the Alpha Phi OmegaAlpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
and co-wrote the book 1000 Ways to Win Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
Games. He spent his junior year participating in the Sweet Briar College Junior Year in France. He went on to receive a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
and a M.P.P.
Master of Public Policy
The Master of Public Policy , one of several public policy degrees, is a master's level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to public policy and the...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where he served as Editor-in-Chief od the Michigan Law Review. After graduating, he served as law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
for Chief Judge Frank M. Coffin of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Maine* District of Massachusetts...
, and then for Associate Justice John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
of the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
.
After practicing law in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Lehman returned to the University of Michigan in 1987 to join the law school faculty. He also taught as a visiting professor at the Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
and the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
.
Dean of the University of Michigan Law School
In 1994, Lehman became Dean of the University of Michigan -- at that time the youngest law school dean in America. During his deanship, Michigan became the first U.S. law school to require all J.D. students to complete a course in transnational law. The school also drew attention for initiatives in public service and the teaching of legal writing. From 2001 to 2003, he served as president of the American Law Deans Association.Along with then University President Lee Bollinger
Lee Bollinger
Lee Carroll Bollinger is an American lawyer and educator who is currently serving as the 19th president of Columbia University. Formerly the president of the University of Michigan, he is a noted legal scholar of the First Amendment and freedom of speech...
, received national attention in the 2003 Supreme Court case of Grutter v. Bollinger
Grutter v. Bollinger
Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School...
, in which the University largely succeeded in defending the law school's affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
admissions policies.
President of Cornell University
In 2003, Lehman became the 11th president of Cornell University. As president of Cornell, he oversaw effective large-scale fundraising efforts. In 2004, Cornell ranked third in the nation in university fundraising (behind only HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
), raising over US$375 million that year alone. Lehman was also known for prominently promoting his "three themes": "life in the age of the genome," "wisdom in the age of digital information" and "sustainability in the age of development." These themes arose from intensive engagement with faculty, students and Cornellians during his first year, a process that won him great respect across campus. Lehman pioneered the concept of a "transnational" university, by opening a medical campus in Doha, Qatar and cooperative education and research arrangements with universities in China, India and Singapore.
In 2005, Lehman resigned from the presidency, citing irreconcilable differences with the leadership of the Cornell Board of Trustees — an announcement that came as a surprise to most of the Cornell community and to outsiders. Lehman's tenure was by far the shortest of any Cornell President. Specific reasoning for Lehman's departure has been highly secretive and subject to occasional debate within the Cornell faculty and alumni communities.
Lehman remains a member of the Cornell faculty. In 2007, Cornell published "An Optimistic Heart," a book of speeches that Lehman wrote and delivered as president.
Founding Dean of the Peking University School of Transnational Law
After serving as a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., Lehman became the chancellor and founding dean of the Peking University School of Transnational Law, located on the university's Shenzhen campus. The school is modeled on the American style of law school, and it is intended that graduates will be eligible to sit for the New York bar exam.On Sept. 29, 2011, Lehman was a recipient of the 2011 Friendship Award, China’s highest award for foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social progress.
Other Activities
From 2007 to 2011, Lehman chaired the board of Internet2Internet2
Internet2 is an advanced not-for-profit US networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government....
, an advanced not-for-profit U.S. networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government.
Lehman is an independent director of Infosys
Infosys
Infosys Limited, formerly Infosys Technologies Limited is a global technology services company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is the second largest IT exporter in India with 133,560 employees as of March 2011. It has offices in 33 countries and development centers in India, China,...
, Limited, a NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
listed technology company headquartered in Bangalore, India. He attracted attention in India in his role as chair of the nominations committee that recommended the successor to the company’s founder N. R. Narayana Murthy
N. R. Narayana Murthy
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy , better known as N. R. Narayana Murthy, is an Indian industrialist and software engineer. He and six other engineers founded Infosys in 1981. Mr. Murthy served as CEO from 1981 to 2002. From 2002 to 2011, he served as Chairman...
, who had been appointed to the Cornell Board of Trustees during Lehman's tenure as President. He also serves as chair of the board of the company’s American subsidiary, Infosys Public Services.
External links
- Jeffrey Lehman personal website
- Lehman at Peking University School of Transnational Law, Shenzhen
- Cornell Presidency: Jeffrey S. Lehman
- Cornell University LibraryCornell University LibraryThe Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. In 2010 it held 8 million printed volumes in open stacks, 8.5 million microfilms and microfiches, more than of manuscripts, and close to 500,000 other materials, including motion pictures, DVDs, sound recordings, and...
Presidents Exhibition: Jeffrey Sean Lehman (Presidency; Inauguration) - LegalInsight.net audio: A Conversation with Jeffrey Lehman
- Inside Higher Ed: "Sudden Departure at Cornell"
- Lehman named Cornell President