Dale R. Corson became president in 1969, leading the university through the final years of the Vietnam War and student activism, and through the economic recession of the 1970s. His presidency returned the university to stability, to concentration on research, teaching, and scholarship. Corson brought together the state and endowed components of Cornell, forming one university that enjoyed public and private support, as envisioned by White and Cornell and articulated by Schurman. Significant support was provided for the research program at Arecibo, the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory, and the Nanofabrication Facility. He revitalized the Department of Geology, expanded the Division of Biological Sciences, and added new programs such as Medieval Studies. The Johnson Art Museum was completed. He encouraged such multi-disciplinary programs as Science, Technology, and Society, the Materials Science Center, environmental programs, radio physics, and space research.

The status of women on campus was greatly improved during the Corson presidency. A Women’s Studies Program was formally established in 1972. A Provost’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women was created and presented specific recommendations. The university’s policy statement on equal opportunity was changed to include sex among the proscribed criteria for admission to the university. New employment procedures were implemented, and increasing numbers of women were appointed to the faculty and to high administrative positions. He provided support for the Africana Studies and Research Center, which had come out of the black studies movement. President Corson recommended the formation of an Affirmative Action Advisory Board to monitor the status of women and minorities and to propose more effective procedures.