In 1971 and 1972, Bollinger served as a law clerk to Judge
Wilfred Feinberg of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 1972 and 1973, he was a law clerk to Chief Justice
Warren Burger of the
Supreme Court of the United States. In 1973, Bollinger joined the faculty of the
University of Michigan Law School, becoming a
full professor in 1979, and dean of the school in 1987. In 1994, he was appointed
provost of
Dartmouth College, before returning to the
University of Michigan, where he served as 12th president from February 1, 1997, to December 31, 2001.
Columbia University president president
Richard N. Haass in 2008 Bollinger assumed his position as president of
Columbia University in June 2002. Bollinger lived in the Columbia President's House from February 2004 until the end of his tenure as president, after the building underwent a $23 million renovation. In November 2006, Bollinger was elected to the Board of Directors of the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a term lasting for three years. On October 19, 2010, the Board of Trustees announced through a university-wide email that Bollinger had agreed to continue as president for at least the next five years. Bollinger was the subject of criticism for his role in advocating the expansion of the university into the
Manhattanville neighborhood and the use of
eminent domain to help it seize property there. The Bollinger administration's expansion plans were criticized as fundamentally incompatible with the 197/a plan for development crafted by the community, and for failing to address the neighborhood's need to maintain affordable housing stock. Bollinger attempted to expand the international scope of the university, took frequent trips abroad and invited world leaders to its campus. Bollinger was criticized for taking a neutral public position on controversies regarding the Middle East Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) department. In 2013, Bollinger's total compensation was $4.6 million, making him the highest paid private college president in the United States. At a January 2021 rally during a student tuition strike protesting the university's tuition rates,
Young Democratic Socialists of America organizers cited as further evidence of alleged inequitable allocation of university resources the fact that Bollinger's salary had been frozen that year, while
Barnard College administration's salaries had been cut, including by 20 percent in the case of
Sian Beilock, Barnard College's president. In February 2022, the
Columbia Daily Spectator reported that Bollinger had purchased an
Upper West Side apartment for $11.7 million. In 2008, his salary was $1.7 million. Bollinger's residence was the site of demonstrations in which his high salary was criticized as an example of the university's "inequitable allocation of resources."
World Leaders Forum Columbia invited
Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at the
World Leaders Forum on September 24, 2007. A number of local and national politicians denounced Columbia for hosting Ahmadinejad. Bollinger described the event as part of "Columbia's long-standing tradition of serving as a major forum for robust debate, especially on global issues." Bollinger released a statement outlining his introduction, explaining to the student body that the
free speech afforded to Ahmadinejad was for the sake of the students and the faculty rather than for the benefit of Ahmadinejad himself, whom Bollinger referred to as "exhibiting all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator." Bollinger was criticized by students at
Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, but praised by
Bob Kerrey who said that Bollinger "turned what could have been an embarrassment for higher education into something quite positive."
Federal Reserve Bank of New York In July 2010, he was appointed chair of the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York board of directors for 2011. Previously, he had served as deputy chair. ==Personal life==