New York: Michigan law dean takes post at Cornell

Jeffrey Lehman, dean of the University of Michigan Law School, was appointed Saturday to become the next president of Cornell University.

Lehman, 46, will take over at the Ivy League school on July 1, replacing Hunter Rawlings III, who announced in March that he would step down as president to become a full-time professor in the department of classics.

“It is a great honor to assume the presidency of a university that is one of New York’s signal contributions to the world,” Lehman said in a statement.

He will be the 11th president and the first alumnus to lead Cornell.

Lehman graduated from Cornell in 1977 and earned law and public policy degrees from the University of Michigan.

Oklahoma: Pipeline agrees to pay state to drop lawsuits

California has agreed to drop all lawsuits accusing Williams Cos. Inc. of price gouging during the state’s energy crisis, while the energy company agreed to reduce the price of its long-term contracts.

The Tulsa-based company also agreed to pay California $150 million during eight years and provide it with six electric-generation turbines valued at $90 million. The company’s original 10-year, $4.3 billion contract will be cut about $1.4 billion under the settlement completed Friday.

“This is a significant milestone for us,” said Williams spokeswoman Julie Gentz.

Williams was among dozens of power suppliers the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission determined had overcharged California by $1.8 billion during the state’s power crisis two years ago. The settlement finalized Friday requires FERC approval, Williams said.