In a shocking email sent on Thursday, Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack announced that she will be stepping down after seven years in office.
In recent years, the Ivy League has been the subject of two major controversies: its promotion of DEI by any means necessary and its failure to effectively combat antisemitism.
Background:
Ivy League school offers rock climbing classes for everyone but white students
Cornell Professor Was ‘Exhilarated by Hamas Attacks’, But Now He’s So Sorry.
Cornell students are told to avoid the kosher dining hall, and Jewish students have been reported to be afraid to leave their rooms.
It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?
Pollack may have been overwhelmed by the blowback. In a letter to “Cornellians,” Pollack wrote:
I know there will be a lot of speculation surrounding my decision. So let me be clear: this decision is mine, and mine alone.
I am ready to start a new chapter after seven years of fruitful and rewarding service as Cornell’s President. After a research and academic career spanning over five decades, I’m looking forward to a new phase in my life.
Some of these “elite universities” have had to face the consequences. UPenn president Liz Magill resigned in December 2023, after a disastrous testimony before Congress regarding the antisemitism that was rampant on campus. Harvard’s President Claudine Gay resigned in January, for the same reasons, along with allegations of plagiarism. Sally Kornbluth, MIT’s President, has somehow managed to remain in her post despite falling flat on her face at the same congressional hearing.
Pollack’s career is over:
Cornell President Martha Pollack has been slow to condemn the rampant anti-Semitism on Cornell’s campus and has failed to protect Jewish students from vile terrorist sympathizers.
Her resignation is no surprise as she lacks the courage to lead during these difficult times. https://t.co/SrZ9TvbXbO
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) May 9, 2024
William Jacobson is a clinical professor and director of the Securities Law Clinic. He was not sad to see Pollack leave:
My statement on resignation of @Cornell President: “Martha Pollack was the architect of Cornell’s disastrous race-focused DEI initiative that balkanized the campus, and inevitably led to targeting of Jewish and pro-Israel students. While I wish her well in her personal life, it…
— William A. Jacobson (@wajacobson) May 9, 2024
It is time to refocus on the dignity of every individual, without regard to their group identity, by the Cornell Trustees.
Very well said, Professor.
Jacobson is a vocal critic of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts at Cornell. He said that on December 23 campus antisemitism was a result of the “racialization” of education.
Pollack mentions only a few of the controversies in her letter. However, it is hard to believe that they did not play a major role in her decision. Why would anyone leave a well-paid, prestigious position when they are only 65 years old and can continue to milk it?
Many Ivy League Universities, if not all, have been teaching their students far-left progressive ideas for years. Now they are paying the price with their reputations on the line and their students turning out to be radical extremists.
The only person to blame is themselves.
