Dale R. Corson
Dale Raymond Corson (April 5, 1914 – March 31, 2012) was an American physicist and academic administrator who was the eighth president of Cornell University. Early life Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1914, Corson received a B.A. degree from the College of Emporia in 1934, his M.A. degree from the University of Kansas in 1935, and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1938. Career Early career In 1946 Corson came to Cornell University as an assistant professor of physics and helped design the Cornell synchrotron. He was appointed associate professor of physics in 1947, became a full professor in 1956, was named chairman of the physics department in 1956, and became dean of the College of Engineering in 1959. Following the 1969 resignation of James A. Perkins, Corson became president of Cornell and served until 1977 after which he served for three years as chancellor. In 1979, he was elected by the Board of Trustees as president emeritus. Achievements at Cornell University Corson led the university through the final years of the Vietnam War and student activism, and through the economic recession of the 1970s. His role was to return the university to stability: to