Katherine Weiss Pollak, Former CGS Vice Dean

Katherine Weiss Pollak, former vice dean at Penn, died at her home on September 18, at the age of 89.

Ms. Pollak was vice dean of the College of General Studies (now LPS) at Penn from 1976-1997. As vice dean, she developed a post-baccalaureate pre-med program for students who had chosen a medical career but had not taken the required undergraduate prerequisites. The program became a model for others in universities across the US.

She was born in New York City and graduated from Smith College in 1948. She was married for nearly 60 years to the Hon. Louis Pollak, a judge in the US Eastern District of PA Court and former dean of the Penn’s Law School, who died in 2012 (Almanac May 22, 2012).

She is survived by her five daughters, Sally, Susan, Nancy, Libby and Debby; seven grandchildren; and a sister.

Donations may be made in her honor to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, at www.naacpldf.org

Correction: In last week’s issue, the obituary for Norman Adler should have said he worked at Northeastern University, not Northwestern. In addition, Dr. Adler was Penn’s associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences during his time here.