President & Chief Executive Officer
Request an Interview Follow on Twitter/XDr. Poliakoff became part of the ACTA team in March 2010 as the Vice President of Policy, and became ACTA's third president on July 1, 2016. He previously served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and research at the University of Colorado and in senior roles at the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Council on Teacher Quality, the American Academy for Liberal Education, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
He has taught at Georgetown University, George Washington University, Hillsdale College, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Wellesley College. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Yale University and went on to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. in classical studies. He has been a junior fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies, and his research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, and the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung. He is the author of numerous books and journal articles in classical studies and education policy and has received the American Philological Association's Excellence in Teaching Award and the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Distinguished Service to Education Award.
ACTA in the NewsCivic Education
“A 2024 survey found that 48 percent of college students believe the Constitution grants the president, rather than Congress, the power to declare war. Only 40 percent could correctly identify the term lengths for members of Congress when posed as a multiple-choice question, and 63 percent failed to identify John G. Roberts Jr. as the […]
ACTA in the NewsCivil Discourse
The protesters who blocked the car of Cornell’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, on April 30 seemed intent on gaining victim status. Despite all reasonable care on the president’s part, one was slightly bumped, prompting a predictable overreaction. Some of their foolish fellow students have taken their side and now call for Mr. Kotlikoff’s resignation. What is […]
ACTA in the NewsFreedom of Expression
As the University of Virginia (UVa) begins its search for a new president, it is imperative that the university require applicants to demonstrate their commitment to improving freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus. Change in this area is urgently needed. In 2022, Emma Camp, then a senior at UVa, described a campus culture of fear that led her and other students to self-censor — and even lie — to stay on the right side of peers and professors. While our organization, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), has documented policy improvements at UVa in the areas of free expression and institutional neutrality over the last few years, our new survey shows that UVa still struggles with the problems Emma described.
StatementFreedom of Expression
What happened to Charlie is part of a rise in political violence in our country that transcends higher education. But we must recognize that rising intolerance and willingness to endorse violence as a response to speech on our campuses is part of the alarming trend. America’s institutions of higher education must be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
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