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Dr. William L. Pollard Appointed President of Medgar Evers College, CUNY

 

Brooklyn, NEW YORK – Wednesday, June 24 - Dr. William L. Pollard, former President of the University of the District of Columbia, has been appointed as president of Medgar Evers College by the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York. During his 40-year career, which has included illustrious positions in the public and private higher education arenas, Dr. Pollard has worked to promote public universities, garnered millions of dollars in funding to support initiatives such as faculty recruitment, and fostered crucial ties with both alumni and the community at large.

 

“I am very excited about this opportunity to serve CUNY and Medgar Evers College,” said Dr. Pollard, of the new position. “I would be remiss if I did not say as well thanks to the students and the faculty of Medgar Evers College who spent a considerable amount of time helping me get oriented and raised the kind of questions that helped me to think through what we had before us. I could not leave without thanking Edison Jackson for leaving the institution in the shape that it is now in, allowing me to continue on this path.”

 

The appointment was made at the recommendation of Chancellor Matthew Goldstein on Monday, June 22, following a nationwide search for a successor to President Edison O. Jackson, who recently announced his retirement after 20 years of visionary leadership. The committee that selected Dr. Pollard was chaired by Board of Trustees Vice Chairperson Philip Berry, and comprised of trustees, faculty, students, alumni and a CUNY college president. Dr. Pollard was selected from a candidate pool that University officials described as among the highest quality in CUNY's history.

 

"Dr. Pollard has held virtually all the major positions in the academy, including faculty member, department chair, dean and college president. He brings to this important leadership post extraordinary experience, an exemplary record of promoting academic standards, and a commitment to student opportunity and success," stated Chairperson Benno Schmidt and Chancellor Matthew Goldstein in a joint statement.

Dr. Pollard’s appointment takes effect at a most propitious time, when the College is uniquely positioned to maximize its tremendous gains. The institution has seen record growth in enrollment, fast-paced campus expansion of facilities to include new, state-of-the-art buildings and the recruitment of award-winning faculty.

 

About Dr. William L. Pollard

Dr. Pollard served as vice president for the Office of Access and the Advancement of Public Black Colleges and Universities for the National Association for State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. In that post during 2007 - 2008, Dr. Pollard worked to promote public universities, especially the 1890s land grant institutions which provided for the education and training of African-Americans in the South. He was president of the University of the District of Columbia, the only public university in Washington, D.C. and the nation's only urban land grant university, from 2002 to 2007. Prior to that he was the dean and founder of the Syracuse University College of Human Services and Health Professions, where he was responsible for creating a new entity uniting the College of Nursing, College of Human Development and the School of Social Work.

As president of the University of the District of Columbia, Dr. Pollard established a student counseling center to provide academic and mental health counseling that is credited with significantly increasing student success and retention. Dr. Pollard was also instrumental in obtaining a $3 million allocation from former District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams that permitted the recruitment and hiring of new faculty in areas of greatest need. He also developed strong alumni and community involvement with the university.

 

Dr. Pollard began his tenure at Syracuse University in 1989, serving as dean of the Syracuse University School of Social Work for 10 years, where he led the School in its development of a student-centered program. He then became the founding dean of the School of Human Services and Health Professions until he left for the University of the District of Columbia in 2002. Prior to that, he served as dean and founder of the Grambling State University School of Social Work from 1984 to 1989. In 1976, Dr. Pollard joined the University of Pittsburgh, where he went on to be named the coordinator of the Community Organization Skills Set at the University.

 

Dr. Pollard has been an active member of the District of Columbia community. He served on the Board of Directors of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, was a member of the Leadership Greater Washington Class of 2006, and served on the advisory boards of the Federal City Council and the D.C. Board of Trade. Dr. Pollard was also a trustee at John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church in Washington, D.C. Nationally he is a member of the Board of Directors of American Humanics of Kansas City, a trustee at Livingstone College, and was an active member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

 

Dr. Pollard's many awards and honors include the Social Worker of the Year Award from the National Association of Social Workers, Central New York Chapter, recognition as co-founder of the Syracuse Onondaga Dialog on Race and the Citizen of the Year Award from Temple Adath Yeshurun. He has published numerous articles and papers in professional journals and lectured extensively on cultural and racial diversity in venues across the country.

 

Dr. Pollard received his doctorate in policy and planning from the University of Chicago School of Social Administration in 1976, where the members of his dissertation committee included the late John Hope Franklin, the brilliant historian and educator who, in 1956, became the first African-American department chair at a major college when he was named chairman of Brooklyn College's history department. Dr. Pollard's dissertation was entitled "Black Welfare Developments in the Southeast, 1890 – 1915." Dr. Pollard earned his M.S.W. from the University of North Carolina School of Social Work, and a B.A. from Shaw University. He is married to Merriette Chance Pollard and they have two sons, William L. Pollard II and Frederick Touissaint Pollard.

 

About Medgar Evers College

Medgar Evers College was established in 1969 and named for the martyred civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers. Located in central Brooklyn, the college offers high quality professional, career-oriented undergraduate degree programs in conjunction with a liberal arts education. With an enrollment of more than 6,300 students, an all-time high, Medgar Evers offers 18 baccalaureate degrees as well as seven associate degrees.