President Pollack resigning

At the request of the Board of Trustees, Kotlikoff will serve a two-year term as interim president; the board will form a search committee to select Cornell’s 15th president six to nine months before Kotlikoff’s term ends.

President Pollack is 65 years old. It is a very difficult time to be a university president anywhere.

ice
President Pollack is 65 years old. It is a very difficult time to be a university president anywhere.

Yes, massive headaches across the board to have to deal with.

scoop85

ice
President Pollack is 65 years old. It is a very difficult time to be a university president anywhere.

Yes, massive headaches across the board to have to deal with.

Like being grilled by idiots in Congress.

Is a university president anything more than a fundraiser at this point?

Trotsky
Is a university president anything more than a fundraiser at this point?

A punching bag for right-wing Christo-fascists?

scoop85

ice
President Pollack is 65 years old. It is a very difficult time to be a university president anywhere.

Yes, massive headaches across the board to have to deal with.

"That's what the money is for."

President Pollack was very pro-active during the worst of COVID.

President Pollack was a very good administrator and despite the criticisms regarding the Israel - Hamas uprising I thought she handled it very well. On the other hand, as President she was not a great leader and was rarely seen on campus or among alumni. Many insiders said she ran her administration from her laptop and was not exactly a "people person" like Frank Rhodes or Hunter Rawlings. There is a big difference from being a good administrator and being a good leader. Martha Pollack had a great academic career and I wish her well as it's been a difficult time to be a college president in terms of the political turmoil. On the other hand, I think Cornell needs to focus more on hiring a great leader for our university who understands our culture and be a more positive influence among our students, staff, and alumni. Go Big Red!

I found it interesting that in all the years I have been on campus the Pres never one time actually tried to meet our depts in any kind of setting. Even if 3-4 times a yr you reached out you could actually present yourself to a few thousand just to act like you were in touch.

Local Motion
Many insiders said she ran her administration from her laptop and was not exactly a "people person" like Frank Rhodes or Hunter Rawlings.

Ents don't exactly grow on trees, as it were.

That being said, we should try our hardest to find one. Rhodes was the last visionary; I think Lehman was trying to be one, but the board had other ideas, sadly. The task is difficult: nothing about how academia is run these days cultivates visionaries nor tolerates heterodox thinking and transformational leadership amongst those who somehow mistakenly wander into administration.

Jeff Lehman was of my era – seventies grad – and he was of the right age, 46 when he took office in 2003, if you were looking for perfect twenty-year president. And he was a Cornellian. But Lehman's vision for Cornell, some thought, was a bit too ethereal to some segments of the Cornell community. There was the pragmatic issue of how-the-heck-do-we-fundraise off visions such as "Wisdom in the Age of the Genome.” If Lehman came on board five years ago it might have been "Wisdom in the Age of Crypto" and two years ago it could've been "Wisdom in the Age of AI."

Excellent Lehman-departure aftermath story by Scott Jaschik '85, editor of Inside Higher Education, who was back for his 20th reunion and sitting in on Lehman's state of the university reunion speech when Lehman dropped the bombshell: [www.insidehighered.com]

Stupid people can convince rich people to give them money, for stupid things.

Smart people can't convince rich people to give them money.

Extremely smart people can't be bothered by any of these assholes and spend their lives trying to stay away from them entirely.

Trotsky
Stupid people can convince rich people to give them money, for stupid things.

Smart people can't convince rich people to give them money.

Extremely smart people can't be bothered by any of these assholes and spend their lives trying to stay away from them entirely.

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