2025 Speeches (Documents)

Acceptance Speech of Robert E. Pollack, TANNENBAUM-WARNER AWARDEE

Pollack, Robert

In this speech, Robert E. Pollack reflects on his lifelong connection to Columbia University, beginning in 1957 as an undergraduate and continuing through his roles as professor, Dean of Columbia College, Director of The University Seminars, and now Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences. He emphasizes the enduring importance of the Core Curriculum in shaping the College’s educational mission and advocates for deeper faculty engagement from across the Arts and Sciences.

Pollack also honors the legacy of Robert Belknap, a formative mentor and former Director of The University Seminars, whose teaching and friendship exemplified the collaborative spirit of intellectual exchange that the Seminars were founded to promote. This speech captures not only a personal and institutional history but also a call to renew Columbia’s foundational commitments to dialogue, diversity, and undergraduate education.