In a Surprise, Cornell's President Resigns

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: New York Times

May 9, 2024 Updated 4:28 p.m. ET


Martha E. Pollack, Cornell University’s president for the past seven years, announced in a surprise email on Thursday afternoon that she is resigning.

“I understand that there will be lots of speculation about my decision, so let me be as clear as I can: This decision is mine and mine alone,” she wrote in her email, addressed to “Cornellians.” “After seven fruitful and gratifying years as Cornell’s president — and after a career in research and academia spanning five decades — I’m ready for a new chapter in my life.”

Dr. Pollack, a computer scientist, said she would remain in office until July 1. In a separate announcement, Kraig H. Kayser, the chairman of Cornell’s board of trustees, said the board had asked the university provost, Michael I. Kotlikoff, to serve as interim president for two years. Dr. Kotlikoff was previously dean of Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, among other posts.

Dr. Pollack’s resignation means that four of the eight Ivy League universities — Harvard, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell — will now be in various stages of leadership transition, three of them with interim presidents already in charge or presidential searches underway. The presidents of Harvard and Penn resigned in the last six months, in part because of fallout over their testimony at a December congressional hearing investigating campus antisemitism.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/cornell-president-resigns-martha-pollack.html

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[dem4decades]

1. Well thank you for the Merlin app, i love it this time of year.

[mahina]

7. What is that?

Did it load onto your device without your ok?
Thank you.
E-cootie phobe

[dem4decades]

8. It's an app for your phone from Cornell, that listens and tells you what birds it hears.

This time of year it hears and let's you know, all of the birds that have returned.

It's wonderful.

[JohnSJ]

2. Nuts, I thought Cornell West was dropping out of his independent

run.

[Think. Again.]

3. Another victim of the rightwing assault on education in America, I suspect.

[jimfields33]

4. And the antisemitism that was shouted but not booed. Sadly nobody booed.

I think that was awful and led to this most likely.

[Think. Again.]

5. Yeah, people usually don't respond to ugly shouting in public, unless they're looking to get into a shouting match...

..or worse.

That's why the people who shout those kinds of things are called "instigators", they're hoping for a heated reaction. It's best not to fall for that trap.

[Mawspam2]

6. Gotta open up spots for all the wack-a-doodle Trumpers...

...when they get thrown out of Congress in November.

[PlutosHeart]

9. For a moment there I was confused

since this is exactly what is happening to a State University in MN. The President, who happens also to be a lesbian, (hmmmmmm) is also stepping down in fact a couple months early and there will be an interim there also. I had on first impression the thought that they wanted her gone because of her life choices. ☹️
Personally thought she did some amazing things and am sorry to see her go.

[malthaussen]

10. Seems like all these University Presidents are women...

... one might almost think some kind of systematic campaign was being conducted against female University Presidents. But that's absurd, right?

-- Mal

[Prairie Gates]

11. Pollack rather wisely concluding that she has no reason to deal with this sorta bullshit

On one side of the ledger, plenty of money for retirement, and plenty of nice places to travel to.

On the other side, fanatics, scoundrels, lunatics, and opportunists looking to pick her bones at any misstep.

She's pulling a Ray Patterson.

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