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Jeffrey Sean Lehman, Professor of Law and Former President at Cornell University, is currently a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. and the President of the Joint Center for China-U.S. Law & Policy Studies at Peking University and Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Prof. Lehman served as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review and as law clerk to Chief Judge Frank M. Coffin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and to Associate Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. He practiced tax law in Washington, D.C., with Caplin & Drysdale.
Prof. Lehman taught law and public policy at the University of Michigan, specializing in the law and policy of the American welfare state, before becoming dean of the law school at the age of 37. Under his stewardship, the school launched successful initiatives in legal writing, public service, clinical education, and transnational law. He also served as a public spokesperson in defense of the law school’s moderate approach to affirmative action in admissions, an approach that was vindicated by the US Supreme Court’s decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. In recognition of his work on the Grutter case, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., honored Prof. Lehman with its National Equal Justice Award. During his last two years as dean, Prof. Lehman also served as President of the American Law Deans Association.
During his tenure as the 11th president of Cornell University, Prof. Lehman drew the university community together to expand its role as a transnational institution and to marshal its resources in response to some of the most significant practical challenges facing humanity in the 21st century: life in the age of the genome, wisdom in the age of digital information, and sustainability in the age of development. Under his leadership, the university set new records for fundraising success and for applicant volume. Prof. Lehman also led Cornell to forge new ties with the top universities in China, as well as to establish new links in France, India, and Singapore.
In 2004, Prof. Lehman was named an honorary professor at China Agricultural University. In 2005, Peking University awarded Prof. Lehman an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of his service as a bridge between scholars in the United States and China. In 2006, Prof. Lehman was named an honorary professor at Xiamen University. Prof. Lehman is a member of the governing boards of Internet2 and Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America. He has also agreed to join the Board of Trustees of the Support Foundation for the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh.
Prof. Lehman holds an A.B. in mathematics from Cornell University, and M.P.P. and J.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. | 