| Martha Pollack | |||||||||||||||
| Office: | 14th President of Cornell University | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start: | April 17, 2017 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End: | June 30, 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor: | Elizabeth Garrett | ||||||||||||||
| Successor: | Michael Kotlikoff (Interim) | ||||||||||||||
| Office1: | Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of Michigan | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start1: | 2013 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End1: | 2017 | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor1: | Philip J. Hanlon | ||||||||||||||
| Successor1: | Martin Philbert | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Martha Elizabeth Pollack | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 27 August 1958 | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse: | Ken Gottschlich | ||||||||||||||
| Education: | Dartmouth College (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MA, PhD) | ||||||||||||||
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Martha Elizabeth Pollack (born August 27, 1958)[1] is an American computer scientist who served as the 14th president of Cornell University from April 2017 to June 2024. From 2013 to 2017, she was the 14th provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan.[2]
Pollack's research specialty is artificial intelligence, where her contributions include works in planning, natural language processing, and activity recognition for cognitive assistance.[3] She also serves on the board of directors of IBM.[4]
Pollack was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on August 27, 1958. In 1979, she completed her undergraduate studies in linguistics at Dartmouth College.[3] She earned master's and doctoral degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, completing her Ph.D. in 1986 under joint supervision of Bonnie Webber and Barbara J. Grosz.[3] [5] Pollack is Jewish.[6]
Pollack worked at SRI International from 1985 to 1992. In 1991, shew was a IJCAI Computers and Thought Award recipient.[7] Since 1996, she has been a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Since 2012, she was a fellow at the Association for Computing Machinery and American Association for the Advancement of Science.[8] [9] [10] [11]
From 1991 to 2000, she was on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh. In 1997, she became program chair of the International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence.[3] [12]
In 2000, Pollack joined the faculty of the University of Michigan.[13] She became dean of the School of Information at the University of Michigan in 2007, Vice Provost of the university in 2010, and Provost in 2013.
From 2001 to 2005, she was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research[3] [14] and president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence from 2009 to 2010.[3] [15]
On November 14, 2016, the Board of Trustees of Cornell University announced that they had unanimously elected Pollack as Cornell University’s 14th president. Her presidency began April 17, 2017,[16] and she was inaugurated on August 25, 2017.[17] [18]
In 2022, Pollack was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[19] [20]
As Cornell president, Pollack made changes to Greek Life on campus, banning hard alcohol at fraternity and sorority events, suspending chapters suspected of hazing, and requiring a full-time live-in advisor for each fraternity and sorority house.[21] Following widespread criticism of Cornell's culture and lack of support for students with mental health needs, she introduced plans to improve mental health services on campus.[22] She rejected calls from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement for Cornell to boycott investments in Israel.[23]
In January 2024, Pollack came under scrutiny by Jason Smith, chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee for the university's response to anti-semitism.[24]
On May 9, 2024, she announced her decision to retire as Cornell University president, effective June 30, 2024.[25]