Ora Pescovitz

Ora Hirsch Pescovitz is an American pediatric endocrinologist and academic administrator serving as the seventh president of Oakland University since July 2017. She previously held leadership positions at the Eli Lilly and Company and the University of Michigan. Pescovitz worked at the Indiana University for 21 years.

Early life and education Pescovitz was born on September 23, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois, to a Jewish family, with ties to the civil rights movement. Her mother was born in Poland and grew up in communist Russia during World War II. Her father was Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch, who was the founding director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and was actively involved in the civil rights struggle. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were drafted in his office. He marched in Selma with Martin Luther King Jr. and preached at Brown A.M.E Chapel. In 1979, she started her pediatrics residency at the University of Minnesota Hospitals and completed training at Children's National Medical Center. She completed a research fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Career Her research has primarily focused on understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms responsible for disorders of growth and puberty. In 2024, she donated $1.33 million to the Pescovitz Presidential Scholarship. This funding aims to enhance opportunities for deserving students, making higher education more accessible and supporting their academic journeys. Pescovitz serves as the chair of the board of directors for the Horizon League.

In a new American Enterprise Institute report ranking 446 college presidents who served between 2000 and 2023, Oakland University's president, Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, was ranked 37th overall. Pescovitz's ranking jumps to 11th when taking into account that she is one of only 134 of the ranked presidents who are currently still in their presidential roles.

Personal life Pescovitz was married Mark Pescovitz who was a transplant surgeon at Indiana University. She has three children. Pescovitz is currently partnered with Daniel Walsh, a cardiologist at the Corewell Health.