Thomas Clark Pollock (1902-1988) served New York University in a number of capacities. From 1941 to 1943 and 1944 to 1947, he was Professor of Education and Chairman of the Department of English Education. He was Professor of English and Dean of the Washington Square College of Arts and Science 1947 to 1962. From 1951 to 1952 he took a leave of absence from his deanship to become acting Provost of the University. During that period he also served as Chief Administrator of the College of Dentistry. From 1958 to 1959 he was Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science as well as Washington Square College. In 1962 he was appointed Vice President and Secretary of the University. In September 1967 he was appointed Archivist of the University, a position he held until March 1969. He retired from NYU in 1970.

Pollock was awarded honorary degrees from Muskingum College and the Universities of Brazil and Bahia.

He wrote several books, including The Philadelphia Theatre in the Eighteenth Century, The Teaching of English Grammar in the Secondary Schools of New Jersey, The Nature of Literature, A Theory of Meaning Analyzed, The English Language in American Education, and Thomas Wolfe at Washington Square (with Oscar Cargill). He was working on a 20th-century history of New York University at the time of his retirement. He died of pneumonia May 12, 1988, at the age of 86.