She was the thirteenth Cornell president and first female president.

The Cornell Daily Sun reports.

Cornell’s President Elizabeth Garrett Dies at Age 52, Less Than One Year After Assuming Office

President Elizabeth Garrett died last night at her home in New York City after receiving treatment at Weill Cornell Medicine for colon cancer, the University announced this morning. The thirteenth Cornell president and first female president was 52.

“It is with utmost sadness that I write to inform you that our president, colleague and friend, Elizabeth Garrett, passed away late last evening after a brave battle with colon cancer,” the Chair of the Board of Trustees Robert Harrison ’76 wrote in an email to the Cornell community this morning. “There are few words to express the enormity of this loss.”

Harrison called Garrett a “remarkable human being” and a “vibrant and passionate leader” who he said impacted the lives of countless students, faculty members and friends.