Ithaca, New York-based Cornell University’s president, Martha E. Pollack, announced on Thursday that she will retire on June 30, as the campus grapples with anti-Israel protests, much like schools across the nation.



Cornell University Board of Trustees Kraig H. Kayser said in a prepared statement that Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff will step in as interim president starting on July 1, at which time Pollack will be given the title of president emerita by the Cornell Board of Trustees. She will serve in the role for two years, as a search committee looks for the 15th president within six to nine months of the end of Kotlikoff’s term.

“Serving as the president of Cornell has been an amazing privilege; there are few roles that afford so much opportunity to make a positive difference in the world,” Pollack wrote in a statement announcing her departure. “After seven fruitful and gratifying years as Cornell’s president — capping a career in research and academia spanning five decades — I’m ready for a new chapter in my life. I greatly appreciate the continued support of our Board of Trustees and the many faculty, students, staff and alumni who have shared words of encouragement through my time as president, especially over the past academic year.”

Pollack is credited with helping to create the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, expanding the accessibility and affordability of a Cornell education, and launching the school’s first-ever theme year celebrating free and open expression and inquiry, among other things. Read more here: https://aiapkpro.com/cornell-university-presidents-retirement-prompts-speculation-after-tumultuous-year-this-is-related/