Tessa Martinez Pollack has announced that she is stepping down as president of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio on March 1. Dr. Pollack has led the university since 2002 and was the institution’s first Latina president. But recently she came under criticism for her plan to eliminate a dozen degree programs including religious studies and Mexican American studies.
The university has total enrollments of about 2,600 students. Women make up more than 70 percent of the undergraduate student body. The school was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the Divine Providence, a group that maintains a presence on the university’s board of trustees.
Dr. Pollack is a graduate of the University of Texas. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an educational doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.