The Otto and Gertrude K. Pollak Scholarship Fund was established by the late Otto and Gertrude (Trudie) Pollak in 1998.
Dr. Otto Pollak completed his Ph.D. in Sociology at Penn and was hired as an assistant professor in 1947. He was promoted to associate professor in 1952 and to full professor in 1957. Teaching and writing on social adjustment and aging, he published more than 80 articles before he became an emeritus professor in 1978, and continued to teach into his retirement years.
As a result of this generous gift, the department provides research grants and summer stipends to our graduate students through our “Pollak Fellows” program, and a lecture series on issues associated with professionalization, getting through graduate school, and the job market by our “Pollak Lecturers.” We are deeply grateful for this unique resource and the opportunities it provides for our graduate students.
Applications for the 2023 Pollak Summer Stipends and Research Awards are due by March 31, 2023. See here for the call for applications, and here for the list of 2022 reward recipients.