Martha Pollack | |
|---|---|
 Pollack in 2017 | |
| 14thPresident of Cornell University | |
| In office April 17, 2017 – June 30, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth Garrett |
| Succeeded by | Michael Kotlikoff (Interim) |
| Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of theUniversity of Michigan | |
| In office 2013–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Philip J. Hanlon |
| Succeeded by | Martin Philbert |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martha Elizabeth Pollack (1958-08-27)August 27, 1958 (age 66) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Spouse | Ken Gottschlich |
| Education | Dartmouth College (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MA,PhD) |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | Inferring domain plans in question-answering (1986) |
| Doctoral advisor | Bonnie Webber |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Artificial intelligence |
| Institutions | |
Martha Elizabeth Pollack (born August 27, 1958)[1] is an Americancomputer scientist who served as the14th president ofCornell University from April 2017 to June 2024. From 2013 to 2017, she was the 14th provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at theUniversity of Michigan.[2][3]
Pollack's research specialty isartificial intelligence, where her contributions include works inplanning,natural language processing, andactivity recognition forcognitive assistance.[2][4] She also serves on the board of directors ofIBM.[5]
Pollack was born inStamford, Connecticut, on August 27, 1958. In 1979, she completed her undergraduate studies inlinguistics atDartmouth College.[2] She earned master's and doctoral degrees in computer science from theUniversity of Pennsylvania, completing herPh.D. in 1986 under joint supervision ofBonnie Webber andBarbara J. Grosz.[2][6][7] Pollack isJewish.[8]
Pollack worked atSRI International from 1985 to 1992. In 1991, shew was aIJCAI Computers and Thought Award recipient.[2][9] Since 1996, she has been a fellow of theAssociation for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Since 2012, she was a fellow at theAssociation for Computing Machinery andAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science.[2][10][11][12][13]
From 1991 to 2000, she was on the faculty of theUniversity of Pittsburgh. In 1997, she became program chair of theInternational Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence.[2][14]
In 2000, Pollack joined the faculty of theUniversity of Michigan.[15] She became dean of theSchool of Information at the University of Michigan in 2007, Vice Provost of the university in 2010, and Provost in 2013.[2]
From 2001 to 2005, she was editor-in-chief of theJournal of Artificial Intelligence Research[2][16] and president of theAssociation for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence from 2009 to 2010.[2][17]
On November 14, 2016, the Board of Trustees ofCornell University announced that they had unanimously elected Pollack as Cornell University’s 14th president. Her presidency began April 17, 2017,[18] and she was inaugurated on August 25, 2017.[19][20]
In 2022, Pollack was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[21][22]
As Cornell president, Pollack made changes toGreek 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.[23] 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.[24] She rejected calls from theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement for Cornell toboycott investments in Israel.[25]
In January 2024, Pollack came under scrutiny byJason Smith, chairman of theU.S. House Ways and Means Committee for the university's response to anti-semitism.[26]
On May 9, 2024, she announced her decision to retire as Cornell University president, effective June 30, 2024.[27]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 14thPresident of Cornell University 2017 – present | Incumbent |
