Martha Pollack

The neutral encyclopedia of notable people
Revision as of 02:23, 25 February 2026 by Finley (talk | contribs) (Content engine: create biography for Martha Pollack (2242 words))
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)


Martha Pollack
BornMartha Elizabeth Pollack
27 08, 1958
BirthplaceStamford, Connecticut, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationComputer scientist, academic administrator
Known for14th President of Cornell University; artificial intelligence research
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (MA, PhD)
Spouse(s)Ken Gottschlich
AwardsACM Fellow, AAAI Fellow, AAAS Fellow

Martha Elizabeth Pollack (born August 27, 1958) is an American computer scientist and academic administrator who served as the 14th president of Cornell University from April 2017 to June 2024. Before her presidency at Cornell, she served as the 14th provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan from 2013 to 2017. A specialist in artificial intelligence, Pollack's research contributions span the fields of automated planning, natural language processing, and activity recognition for cognitive assistance. Her academic career has been recognized through fellowships in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to her roles in academia, Pollack has served on the board of directors of IBM since 2018.[1] Her tenure at Cornell was marked by significant institutional initiatives, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, and addressing campus tensions related to the Israel–Hamas conflict before her surprise resignation in May 2024.[2]

Early Life

Martha Elizabeth Pollack was born on August 27, 1958, in Stamford, Connecticut.[3] Details regarding her family background and upbringing in Connecticut are not extensively documented in publicly available sources. She went on to pursue higher education at Dartmouth College and later at the University of Pennsylvania, where she developed her interest in computer science and artificial intelligence.

Education

Pollack earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1979.[4] She then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she received both a Master of Arts degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Her doctoral dissertation, titled Inferring Domain Plans in Question-Answering, was completed in 1986 under the supervision of Bonnie Webber, a noted researcher in computational linguistics and natural language processing.[5] The dissertation explored the intersection of natural language understanding and plan inference, establishing a foundation for Pollack's subsequent research in artificial intelligence.

Career

Research in Artificial Intelligence

Pollack's research career focused on several subfields of artificial intelligence, including automated planning, natural language processing, and computational models of activity recognition designed to assist individuals with cognitive impairments.[3] Her work on plan inference in natural language understanding, which formed the basis of her doctoral dissertation, contributed to the theoretical underpinnings of how AI systems interpret and respond to human queries. She also conducted research on intelligent systems designed to help elderly individuals and those with cognitive disabilities manage their daily activities, an area of growing practical importance as populations age.

Throughout her academic career, Pollack held positions at several institutions. She was a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh before joining the University of Michigan, where she served in various capacities within the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Information.[3]

Pollack played significant roles in professional organizations and publications within the AI research community. She served as a program co-chair for the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) in 1997.[6] She was also involved with the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JAIR), contributing to its editorial leadership.[7] Additionally, she held leadership positions within the AAAI, serving among its past officers.[8]

University of Michigan

At the University of Michigan, Pollack rose through administrative ranks to become a central figure in the institution's academic governance. She served as vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs before being appointed as the 14th provost and executive vice president for academic affairs in 2013, succeeding Philip J. Hanlon.[3] As provost, Pollack was the chief academic officer of the university, responsible for overseeing academic programs, faculty affairs, and budgetary matters across the institution's schools and colleges.

During her tenure as provost, Pollack was involved in strategic planning efforts and in managing the academic operations of one of the largest public research universities in the United States. She served in this role until 2017, when she was succeeded by Martin Philbert upon her departure to assume the presidency of Cornell University.[3]

Presidency of Cornell University

Appointment and Inauguration

Pollack was selected as the 14th president of Cornell University following the death of Elizabeth Garrett, who had served only briefly before passing away from colon cancer in 2016. Pollack officially began her presidency on April 17, 2017.[9] Her inauguration took place on August 25, 2017, drawing thousands of attendees to the Ithaca campus.[10][11] As president, she became the leader of an institution that includes campuses in Ithaca, New York City (Cornell Tech and Weill Cornell Medicine), and international locations.

Greek Life Reforms

One of the significant policy initiatives during Pollack's presidency involved reforms to Cornell's Greek life system. In 2018, she introduced a series of changes aimed at addressing student safety concerns, including the implementation of an online scorecard system for Greek organizations and restrictions on hard alcohol at Greek life events.[12] Later that year, Pollack provided updates indicating that the Greek reforms were progressing as planned and also addressed mental health concerns on campus, an issue that had long been a focus of attention at the university.[13]

Institutional Positions on Divestment

During her tenure, Pollack addressed calls from student groups advocating for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. She rejected these calls, maintaining the university's position against BDS-related divestment.[14]

Campus Protests and Resignation

Pollack's final years as president were marked by significant campus turmoil. The broader wave of campus protests related to the Israel–Hamas conflict that swept through American universities in 2023 and 2024 affected Cornell as well. The university experienced encampment protests on its campus, and Pollack issued public statements in response to the demonstrations.[15] The period also saw reports of threats directed at Jewish students on campus, contributing to a challenging environment for university leadership.[16]

On May 9, 2024, Pollack announced her resignation in a surprise email to the Cornell community, stating that the seventh anniversary of her joining Cornell as president had recently passed and that the current academic year would be her last in the role.[9] Her resignation was effective June 30, 2024. The announcement came as the third departure of an Ivy League president since December 2023, following the resignations of the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, though the circumstances of each departure differed.[17] The New York Times described the announcement as a surprise.[2] She was succeeded by Michael Kotlikoff, who had been serving as Cornell's provost.

Following her departure, the Cornell president's historic residence known as "Robin Hill," which had been in use since its purchase by former President James Perkins in 1963, was listed for sale by the university in 2025 for $2.5 million.[18]

Corporate Board Service

In December 2018, IBM announced the election of Pollack to its board of directors. In the announcement, IBM noted her expertise in artificial intelligence and her leadership experience in higher education.[1] Her appointment to the board of one of the world's largest technology companies reflected the intersection of her academic research expertise in AI and her administrative leadership profile.

Post-Presidency Activities

Following her departure from Cornell, Pollack has continued to engage with issues at the intersection of higher education and technology. In April 2025, she spoke at Dartmouth College, her undergraduate alma mater, where she argued that universities should embrace developments in artificial intelligence rather than resist them, in order to maintain their relevance and competitiveness.[4]

Personal Life

Pollack is married to Ken Gottschlich.[3] The couple resided in Ithaca, New York, during Pollack's tenure as Cornell's president. Publicly available information regarding her personal life beyond her marriage is limited; Pollack has generally maintained a distinction between her public professional role and her private life.

Recognition

Pollack's contributions to artificial intelligence research and her service to the computing profession have been recognized through multiple honors and fellowships from leading scientific organizations.

She was elected a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), an honor reserved for individuals who have made sustained and significant contributions to the field of AI.[19] She was also named a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), one of the highest distinctions in the computing field.[20]

In 2011, Pollack was recognized with dual honors when she was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and received acknowledgment from the ACM.[21][22]

In 2022, Pollack was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies, which recognizes excellence across the sciences, humanities, arts, and public affairs.[23][24]

Legacy

Martha Pollack's career bridged the worlds of AI research and university leadership at a time when both fields were undergoing rapid transformation. Her research on plan inference, natural language processing, and cognitive assistance contributed to foundational areas of artificial intelligence, and her professional service through organizations such as the AAAI and IJCAI helped shape the direction of the field's scholarly community.

As an academic administrator, her provostship at the University of Michigan and her presidency at Cornell University placed her at the helm of two of the most prominent research universities in the United States. Her tenure at Cornell, spanning seven years, encompassed a period of substantial challenge for American higher education, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the campus protest movements of 2023–2024. Her departure was part of a broader pattern of presidential turnover at Ivy League institutions during this period.[17]

Following her presidency, Pollack has continued to advocate for the integration of artificial intelligence into higher education, arguing that universities must actively engage with emerging AI technologies rather than adopt defensive postures.[4] Her career trajectory — from AI researcher to university president to corporate board member — reflects the increasing centrality of computer science and artificial intelligence to institutional decision-making in both academic and corporate settings.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "IBM Elects Martha E. Pollack to its Board of Directors".IBM Newsroom.2018-12-11.https://newsroom.ibm.com/2018-12-11-IBM-Elects-Martha-E-Pollack-to-its-Board-of-Directors.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "In a Surprise, Cornell's President Resigns".The New York Times.2024-05-09.https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/cornell-president-resigns-martha-pollack.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Martha E. Pollack — Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs".University of Michigan Office of the Provost.https://web.archive.org/web/20170728125106/https://www.provost.umich.edu/about/m_pollack/m_pollack.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Former Cornell president Martha Pollack '79 urges universities to embrace artificial intelligence".The Dartmouth.2025-04-25.https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2025/04/former-cornell-president-martha-pollack-79-urges-universities-to-embrace-artificial-intelligence.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  5. ↑ "Martha E. Pollack — Curriculum Vitae".University of Michigan Office of the Provost.https://web.archive.org/web/20170728125106/https://www.provost.umich.edu/about/m_pollack/Pollack%20CV.pdf.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  6. ↑ "IJCAI-97 Official Information".International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence.http://www.ijcai.org/past/ijcai-97/#OFFICIAL.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  7. ↑ "JAIR History".Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research.https://web.archive.org/web/20180421110530/http://www.jair.org/history.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  8. ↑ "AAAI Past Officers".Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.http://www.aaai.org/Organization/past-officers.php.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Some news".Cornell University.2024-05-09.https://statements.cornell.edu/2024/20240509-some-news.cfm.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  10. ↑ "Thousands attend Cornell University's 14th presidential inauguration".Spectrum News.2017-08-25.http://www.twcnews.com/nys/binghamton/news/2017/08/25/thousands-attend-cornell-university-s-14th-presidential-inauguration-.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  11. ↑ "Martha Pollack inaugurated as Cornell's newest president".Ithaca Times.2017-08-25.http://www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/martha-pollack-inaugurated-as-cornell-s-newest-president/article_d815482c-895d-11e7-9956-c36052649e5e.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  12. ↑ "Online Scorecard, No Hard Alcohol Among Greek Life Reforms Introduced by Pollack".The Cornell Daily Sun.2018-05-04.https://cornellsun.com/2018/05/04/online-scorecard-no-hard-alcohol-among-greek-life-reforms-introduced-by-pollack/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  13. ↑ "Pollack Says Greek Reforms On Track, Addresses Mental Health on Campus".The Cornell Daily Sun.2018-11-13.https://cornellsun.com/2018/11/13/pollack-says-greek-reforms-on-track-addresses-mental-health-on-campus/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  14. ↑ "Cornell President Rejects BDS, Refuting Student Group's Push to Divest from Israel".Jewish News Syndicate.https://www.jns.org/cornell-president-rejects-bds-refuting-student-groups-push-to-divest-from-israel/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  15. ↑ "Cornell University encampment protest taken down".WENY News.2024-05-14.https://www.weny.com/news/ny-local/cornell-university-encampment-protest-taken-down/article_1aa8a115-ee32-5231-955e-6b53b15e9956.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  16. ↑ "Cornell University President Martha Pollack steps down after year of turmoil, threats to Jewish students".New York Post.2024-05-09.https://nypost.com/2024/05/09/us-news/cornell-university-president-martha-pollack-steps-down-after-year-of-turmoil-threats-to-jewish-students/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Cornell University's President Is Resigning, the Third Ivy-League Leader to Depart Since December".The Wall Street Journal.2024-05-09.https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/cornell-university-president-martha-pollack-retirement-13ff2f12.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  18. ↑ "Cornell Lists Historic 'Robin Hill' President's Property for Sale".The Cornell Daily Sun.2025-06-10.https://www.cornellsun.com/article/2025/06/cornell-lists-historic-robin-hill-president-s-property-for-sale.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  19. ↑ "AAAI Fellows List".Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.http://www.aaai.org/Awards/fellows-list.php.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  20. ↑ "ACM Award Winners — Martha Pollack".Association for Computing Machinery.http://awards.acm.org/award_winners/pollack_9212507.cfm.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  21. ↑ "Pollack Elected AAAS and ACM Fellow".University of Michigan Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.2011.http://www.eecs.umich.edu/eecs/about/articles/2011/Pollack-AAAS-ACM.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  22. ↑ "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows".American Association for the Advancement of Science.http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-members-elected-fellows.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  23. ↑ "Pollack, Pape Elected to Arts and Sciences Academy".Cornell University News.2022-04.https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/04/pollack-pape-elected-arts-and-sciences-academy.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  24. ↑ "New Members 2022".American Academy of Arts and Sciences.2022.https://www.amacad.org/new-members-2022.Retrieved 2026-02-24.

Retrieved from "https://biography.wiki/index.php?title=Martha_Pollack&oldid=3228"