Cornell University president announces surprise resignation

Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack announced unexpectedly Thursday afternoon that she would resign from her post after seven years in office.

Saying she would remain president of the school until June 30, in an email to Cornell community members, Pollack said that the decision was "mine and mine alone," adding, "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."

The school is one of many across the country that has dealt with pro-Palestinian protests and encampments in recent weeks. In November, the U.S. Department of Education opened a civil rights investigation into alleged antisemitism and Islamophobia.

"It is only after extensive reflection that I have determined that this is the right decision. Indeed, I began deliberating about this last fall, and made the decision over the December break; but three times, as I was ready to act on it, I had to pause because of events on our and/or on other campuses," Pollack said. "There is so much more to Cornell than the current turmoil taking place at universities across the country right now, and I hope we do not lose sight of that. I came here with unbridled admiration for this university and for all it had achieved in its more than 150-year history, and with equally strong enthusiasm for what we could be going forward."

Cornell joins three other Ivy League schools that have seen recent resignations, following the ousters of former Harvard President Claudine Gay and former University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill, as well as the September resignation announcement of Yale University President Peter Salovey. Salovey will leave office in June after 11 years in office.

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According to school board of trustees Chairman Kraig Kayser, Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff will serve in the interim for two years. The search for a permanent president would not likely begin until six to nine months prior to the end of Kotlikoff's two-year interim term, Kayser said in an announcement.

An interim provost will be named prior to June 30.