Cornell University President Martha Pollack, who survived a call to step down in January, will resign June 30, she announced Thursday in a statement posted on the school's website.
 
Pollack, who has served for seven years as president, said she decided to retire in December, but paused the decision three times due to events on the Cornell and other campuses.
 
"I understand that there will be lots of speculation about my decision, so let me be as clear as I can: This decision is mine and mine alone," Pollack said, adding that she was ready for a new chapter in life.
 
She said she was proud to have made progress on her goals of enhancing Cornell’s academic distinction, "educational verve" and civic responsibility. She cited the creation of the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, construction of a new academic building for the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, an expansion of student financial aid and more.
 
As she notes in her statement, Pollack's tenure has been marked by unexpected and turbulent events, which she said included "a global pandemic, a national racial reckoning, and a terrorist attack and subsequent war that has reverberated across our country and especially across higher education."

In January, the Cornell Board of Trustees voted unanimously to back Pollack after Jon Lindseth, a 1956 graduate of the school and former trustee, called for her resignation, citing a “headlong support for DEI policies” has come at the expense of the mission of the university, using the abbreviation for diversity, equity and inclusion.  

Prior to that in November, at a House Judiciary Committee hearing focused on free speech on college campuses, Amanda Silberstein, a Jewish student at Cornell University, said she had seen antisemitic tropes from classmates on social media, anti-Israel signage and graffiti on campus and a professor publicly justify Hamas’ attacks on Israel.

Cornell is one of the many universities and colleges across the nation with a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.

Pollack said there will be more to do over the coming months and years.

"Higher education has come under attack from many quarters, and our core values have faced enormous pressure. And yet, my faith in the positive role that universities like Cornell play in our society is stronger than ever," she said. "We change the lives of our students. We change the lives of the communities our graduates go into. We change the lives of the people who are affected by the research we do, the discoveries we make, and the art we create. We are not just educating students for their careers. We are educating them to be able to thrive in their lives and in our democracy."