Frank H.T. Rhodes

Frank Harold Trevor Rhodes, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend passed away peacefully in Bonita Springs, Florida on February 3, 2020.

Frank was born in Warwickshire, England on October 29, 1926, to Gladys (nee Ford) and Harold Rhodes. After earning a PhD in geology at the University of Birmingham, Frank was awarded a Fulbright scholarship at the University of Illinois, where he met the love of his life, Rosa (nee Carlson). Together, they returned to England, where Frank taught at the University of Durham and the University of Wales, Swansea, where he also served as dean of the faculty of science. In 1968, Frank and his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was professor of geology at the University of Michigan. In 1971, he was named dean of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts and, from 1974-77, he served as Michigan’s vice president for academic affairs.

In 1977, Frank was inaugurated as Cornell University’s ninth president. During his eighteen-year tenure as Cornell’s president, he worked tirelessly to bolster student and faculty diversity, to strengthen financial aid and the university’s endowment, and to revitalize the focus on teaching and research, positioning Cornell as a beacon of reason, community, and transformation throughout the world. Nationally and internationally, he shaped policy on higher education while serving as chair of the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the National Commission on Minority Participation in Education and American Life. He was appointed to serve on the National Science Board for twelve years, which he also chaired. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, served as a trustee of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and was a member and past president of the American Philosophical Society. He was a life fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, a visiting fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, and an honorary fellow of Robinson College, Cambridge. Frank received 35 honorary degrees and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Bigsby Medal from the Geological Society and the Ian Campbell Medal of the American Geosciences Institute in recognition of singular performance in and contribution to the geoscience profession. He published widely in the fields of geology, paleontology, evolution, the history of science, and education. His books include, The Evolution of Life (1962), Language of the Earth (1981), The Creation of the Future: the Role of the American University (2001), Earth: A Tenant’s Manual (2012) and Origins: The Search for Our Prehistoric Past (2016).

Frank lent his guidance and counsel to the establishment of several new international universities of science and technology, including Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – HKUST (Hong Kong), Koç Üniversitesi (Turkey), and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology – KAUST, the first coeducational university in Saudi Arabia. In writing the charter for KAUST, he ensured that it would be “devoted to the quest for knowledge and its peaceful and useful application by a community of scholars, both men and women, coming together from all corners of the earth to this historic place.”Revered for his eloquence, wisdom, and scholarship, he was also beloved for his ability to connect at a most genuine and uplifting level with generations of faculty and staff, students and alumni. His extraordinary ability to remember names derived from his deep conviction that everyone was worthy of being remembered and treated with grace and kindness. As exceptional as he was from a distance, he was even more so up close: the most present, patient, thoughtful, and unconditionally loving husband to Rosa; father to Jennifer McKendree (John), Catherine DeMason (Marc), Penelope McDonald, and Deborah Rhodes (Ned Groves); grandfather to Sarah Inglis (Carlos Cordero), Kristen Inglis, Heather Inglis (Alex Ahlund), David Inglis, Robert DeMason (Michelle Mufich), Christine DeMason, Katarina McDonald, Trevor McDonald, Johanna McDonald, Caroline Groves, and Katharine Groves; great-grandfather to Evelyn DeMason; brother to Paul Rhodes and Judy Newman; and uncle to cherished nephews and nieces.May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back.  May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Funeral services will be private. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

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