Cornell is a non-profit organization governed by a 64-member Board of Trustees consisting of both privately and publicly appointed trustees.
Three trustees are appointed by the Governor of New York: one seat is reserved for the eldest lineal descendant of Ezra Cornell; two members from each of the fields of agriculture, business, and labor in New York state; eight trustees to be elected from among and by the alumni of the university; two trustees to be elected from among and by the faculty of the university at Ithaca and Geneva; two trustees to be elected from among and by the membership of the university's student body at Ithaca (one undergraduate and one graduate student); and one trustee to be elected from among and by the nonacademic staff and employees of the university at Ithaca and Geneva, 37 trustees at large and finally, the Governor, Temporary President of the Senate, Speaker of the Assembly, and president of the university serve in an ex officio voting capacity.
Robert Harrison has served as the chairman of the board since 2014.
The board elects a President to serve as the chief executive and educational officer.

Martha E. Pollack was inaugurated as Cornell's fourteenth president on August 25, 2017.
She succeeded Elizabeth Garrett, who served from July 2015 until her death from colon cancer on March 6, 2016 — the first Cornell president to die while in office.

The Board of Trustees hold four regular meetings each year, and portions of those meetings are subject to the New York State Open Meetings Law.

Cornell consists of nine privately endowed and four publicly supported "statutory colleges": the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Human Ecology, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and College of Veterinary Medicine.
These statutory colleges received $131.9 million in SUNY appropriations in 2010–2011 to support their teaching, research, and service missions, which makes them accountable to SUNY trustees and other state agencies.
The budget also includes $3.9 million of state funds for Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Residents of New York enrolled in these colleges also qualify for discounted tuition.
However, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer issued a 2005 opinion asserting that, with respect to their academic activities, statutory colleges should be understood to be private, non-state parties.:1
Cornell is decentralized, with its colleges and schools exercising wide autonomy.
Each defines its own academic programs, operates its own admissions and advising programs, and confers its own degrees.
The only university-wide requirements for a baccalaureate degree are to pass a swimming test, take two physical education courses, and satisfy a writing requirement.
A handful of inter-school academic departments offer courses in more than one college.
All academic departments are affiliated with at least one college; the last department without such an affiliation, the Cornell Africana Studies and Research Center, merged with the College of Arts and Sciences in July 2011.

Seven schools provide undergraduate programs and an additional seven provide graduate and professional programs.
Students pursuing graduate degrees in departments of these schools are enrolled in the Graduate School.
The School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions offers programs for college and high school students, professionals, and other adults.
Of the 15,182 undergraduate students, 4,602 (30.3%) are affiliated with the largest college by enrollment, Arts and Sciences, followed by 3,203 (21.1%) in Engineering and 3,101 (20.4%) in Agriculture and Life Sciences.
By student enrollment, the smallest of the seven undergraduate colleges is Architecture, Art, and Planning, with 503 (3.3%) students.

Several other universities have used Cornell as their model, including Stanford University, the University of Sydney in Australia, and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom; the last did so on the recommendation of one of its financiers, Andrew Carnegie, who was a Cornell Trustee.

The university also operat
Cornell is a non-profit organization governed by a 64-member Board of Trustees consisting of both privately and publicly appointed trustees. Three trustees are appointed by the Governor of New York: one seat is reserved for the eldest lineal descendant of Ezra Cornell; two members from each of the fields of agriculture, business, and labor in New York state; eight trustees to be elected from among and by the alumni of the university; two trustees to be elected from among and by the faculty of the university at Ithaca and Geneva; two trustees to be elected from among and by the membership of the university's student body at Ithaca (one undergraduate and one graduate student); and one trustee to be elected from among and by the nonacademic staff and employees of the university at Ithaca and Geneva, 37 trustees at large and finally, the Governor, Temporary President of the Senate, Speaker of the Assembly, and president of the university serve in an ex officio voting capacity. Robert Harrison has served as the chairman of the board since 2014. The board elects a President to serve as the chief executive and educational officer.
Martha E. Pollack was inaugurated as Cornell's fourteenth president on August 25, 2017. She succeeded Elizabeth Garrett, who served from July 2015 until her death from colon cancer on March 6, 2016 — the first Cornell president to die while in office.
The Board of Trustees hold four regular meetings each year, and portions of those meetings are subject to the New York State Open Meetings Law.
Cornell consists of nine privately endowed and four publicly supported "statutory colleges": the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Human Ecology, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and College of Veterinary Medicine. These statutory colleges received $131.9 million in SUNY appropriations in 2010–2011 to support their teaching, research, and service missions, which makes them accountable to SUNY trustees and other state agencies. The budget also includes $3.9 million of state funds for Cornell Cooperative Extension. Residents of New York enrolled in these colleges also qualify for discounted tuition. However, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer issued a 2005 opinion asserting that, with respect to their academic activities, statutory colleges should be understood to be private, non-state parties.:1
Cornell is decentralized, with its colleges and schools exercising wide autonomy. Each defines its own academic programs, operates its own admissions and advising programs, and confers its own degrees. The only university-wide requirements for a baccalaureate degree are to pass a swimming test, take two physical education courses, and satisfy a writing requirement. A handful of inter-school academic departments offer courses in more than one college. All academic departments are affiliated with at least one college; the last department without such an affiliation, the Cornell Africana Studies and Research Center, merged with the College of Arts and Sciences in July 2011.
Seven schools provide undergraduate programs and an additional seven provide graduate and professional programs. Students pursuing graduate degrees in departments of these schools are enrolled in the Graduate School. The School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions offers programs for college and high school students, professionals, and other adults. Of the 15,182 undergraduate students, 4,602 (30.3%) are affiliated with the largest college by enrollment, Arts and Sciences, followed by 3,203 (21.1%) in Engineering and 3,101 (20.4%) in Agriculture and Life Sciences. By student enrollment, the smallest of the seven undergraduate colleges is Architecture, Art, and Planning, with 503 (3.3%) students.
Several other universities have used Cornell as their model, including Stanford University, the University of Sydney in Australia, and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom; the last did so on the recommendation of one of its financiers, Andrew Carnegie, who was a Cornell Trustee.
The university also operat
Cornell University