President Emeritus Joseph W. Polisi led The Juilliard School for thirty-four years (1984–2018), the longest presidential term in the history of the school. Upon stepping down from his distinguished tenure in June 2018, he became Chief China Officer, supervising overall development of The Tianjin Juilliard School, Juilliard's campus in Tianjin, China.

Born in New York City, Dr. Polisi is an accomplished bassoonist who has performed as soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout the United States as well as in major New York City venues. He has written many scholarly and educational articles for professional journals, is a frequent speaker on arts and education issues, has produced several sound recordings primarily focusing on contemporary American music, and has recorded a solo album of twentieth-century bassoon music for Crystal Records. He is the author of three books. Amadeus Press published The Artist as Citizen (2005), a collection of his speeches and articles concerning the role of performing artists as leaders and communicators of human values; and  American Muse: The Life and Times of William Schuman (2008), the first full-length biography of the eminent composer and arts administrator. In 2016, Amadeus Press published a revised edition of The Artist as Citizen, and Beijing Normal University Press released a Chinese-language edition, titled The Artist as Leader, in China. His book, Beacon to the World: A History of Lincoln Center (2022), was published by Yale University Press. In 2026, People’s Music Publishing House published the book Cultural Dialogues and The Art of Music, for which he served as Editor-in-Chief.

Before coming to Juilliard, Dr. Polisi was dean of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, dean of faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, and executive officer of the Yale University School of Music. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale, as well as a degree in political science from the University of Connecticut and one in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.