Peter Salovey Named Provost of Yale University
Date: August 27, 2008
To: All Yale Faculty, Students & Staff
From: Richard C. Levin
Re: Announcement
To: The Yale Community
I am delighted to announce the appointment of Yale College Dean Peter Salovey Ph.D. ’86 as the University’s next Provost. He will assume office on October 1 when Andy Hamilton departs for a well-deserved sabbatical before beginning his term as Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Few in Yale’s history have been so well prepared to become Provost; Peter has spent his entire professional career at Yale, joining the faculty upon completion of his graduate work in the Department of Psychology. He has been a highly successful and much admired Dean of Yale College for the last four years; before that he was an innovative Dean of the Graduate School for a brief period, and a superb Chair of the Psychology Department, and, even earlier, both Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies. A prolific scholar who is a leader in the field of social psychology, Peter was a pioneer in characterizing “emotional intelligence,” a trait that he has in abundance. His numerous research collaborations with faculty in the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Management have provided Peter with greater exposure to the whole University than is typical for a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Peter is a recipient of both the William Clyde DeVane Medal for Distinguished Scholarship and Teaching in Yale College and the Lex Hixon ’63 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences.
During his five years as a dean, Peter has been a wise and dependable counselor to me on innumerable issues. He has excellent judgment about both policies and people, and a deep understanding of Yale. He has been a selfless and devoted contributor to the institution ever since serving as President of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate twenty-five years ago. As Dean of Yale College, Peter has successfully implemented nearly all of the recommendations of the Committee on Yale College Education, on which he served prior to becoming dean. He has presided over an era of rapid growth in international programs, and he has reorganized the operations of Yale College to accommodate these major changes in curriculum and international activities. He was a strong advocate for the major improvements in financial aid introduced last year. Peter and his wife, Marta Moret, have been a constant presence at undergraduate performances and events.
Within the next few days, I will announce the formation of a committee to advise me on the selection of the next Dean of Yale College. In the event that the new Dean is unable to assume his or her duties as early as October 1, I will ensure that we have an acting dean in place on that date.
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In contemplating the University’s academic priorities for the years ahead, Peter and I have agreed that it would be beneficial to recruit a distinguished faculty leader with proven administrative talent to work with us in leading the planning efforts for the new West Campus. Consequently, Peter and I are pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Michael Donoghue as Vice President for West Campus Planning and Program Development, effective October 1. Michael, the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, joined the Yale faculty in 2000, after serving as a Harvard faculty member and Director of the Harvard University Herbaria. He became chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2001, and this past December he completed a five-year term as Director of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. At the Peabody, he did a superb job of engaging faculty in the Museum’s programs, and he greatly expanded educational outreach to schoolchildren.
Michael is a distinguished evolutionary biologist, whose work has focused on the diversity and evolution of plant life. He has been a leader in the movement to reconstruct the entire Tree of Life using genetic evidence. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Michael’s background as both a leading scientist and a museum director makes him uniquely qualified for this newly created position. As Vice President for West Campus Planning and Program Development, Michael will be responsible for developing an overall blueprint for programmatic initiatives on the West Campus, working with faculty to develop specific details of new research programs and core facilities, and coordinating the program for library, museum, and other initiatives there. We also will look to him to ensure strong lines of communication with faculty in the development of the West Campus. Michael will participate in the weekly officer meetings in order to ensure the successful integration of the West Campus into the life of the University.
It is important to emphasize that Michael’s role is to lead and facilitate planning and program development. Once new programs are “up and running” on the West Campus, they will be governed through the normal academic channels, by deans and directors, and ultimately the provost. All ladder faculty appointments will be voted and approved through normal channels, and, while Michael will be given generous budget parameters and broad latitude to work with the faculty to imagine and develop innovative programs of great potential, the Provost (and President) will be responsible for the allocation of resources. I do not conceive of this new position as a permanent one; once the West Campus is a “going concern” it should not be necessary. Hence, Michael’s appointment is for a three-year term.
I know that you will all join me in welcoming these two distinguished scholars, teachers, and experienced academic leaders to their new positions.
Sincerely yours,
Richard C. Levin
