About Cornell University Founded in 1865, Cornell University is a private, Ivy League university and the land-grant university for New York state. Since the opening of its first building, Morrill Hall, in 1868, Cornell has only continued to evolve and expand as an institution, in its pursuit to becoming an exemplary comprehensive research university for the 21st century. Often described as the first truly American university, Cornell has taken to heart the revolutionary spirit of its founders, along with their egalitarian and practical vision of higher education, as a way to embrace the responsibility bestowed upon its world-renowned faculty, passionate students, and dedicated staff to make contributions in all fields of knowledge in a manner that prioritizes public engagement