The circumstances leading to Lehman’s resignation differed markedly from the recent fracas that grew around University President Lawrence H. Summers, whose leadership style came under fire after his Jan. 14 remarks on women and science.

Summers, who has repeatedly affirmed that he has no plans to resign, received a lack-of-confidence vote from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on March 15. The Harvard Corporation—the University’s seven-member governing body that has the sole power to remove the president—has consistently voiced its support for Summers throughout the crisis.

Lehman, in contrast, stood at odds with Cornell’s Board of Trustees, but received general approval from the university’s faculty.

Lehman described what he hoped his legacy at Cornell would be in a statement released after his resignation announcement.

“I’d like to be remembered as a president who brought the community together for a moment to think about what Cornell means for the world,” he wrote.

After he steps down, Lehman will return to work as a professor at Cornell’s law school, following a one-year sabbatical. He will also serve as a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

—Staff writer Daniel J. T. Schuker can be reached at dschuker@fas.harvard.edu.