Dear University Life Colleagues,
I am writing to share an update about the University Life division. As many of you know, Kimberly Goff-Crews has served as secretary and vice president for student life at Yale since 2012, and in 2019 was tasked with leading university life. I am grateful that moving forward, she will expand her focus on her responsibilities as vice president for university life, which has become a vital role in our community.
Over time, Kim’s portfolio in university life has grown, and it is now being further prioritized. It includes institutional strategies related to equity and accessibility, Title IX, mental and spiritual health, and wellness, among other core facets of university and student life. Kim also oversees the conduct of official university events and traditions, including commencement, and has spearheaded institutional responses to address the wide range of needs in our community.
Under her leadership, the University Life Division has transformed into an increasingly essential campus resource. She brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni, and New Haven and other local leaders to build bridges, devise innovative solutions to emerging issues, and create opportunities to advance Yale’s mission.
When I assumed this office at Yale in 2024, I saw building on the work Kim leads as one of Yale’s most critical priorities. I asked Kim to expand her purview once more to develop additional ways for members of the Yale community, and students in particular, to engage in meaningful dialogue on campus. Last academic year, we launched Cultivating Conversation to help students, staff, and faculty engage across differences. That initiative has been so successful that it now includes the Cultivating Conversation Student Fellowship, the Cultivating Conversation Student Advisory Committee, staff workshops, community events, and deepening partnerships across the university, with plans to grow.
In addition, Kim, together with senior leaders across campus, has established community engagement objectives to enhance university life and to extend our impact through thoughtful capacity-building and collaboration. These efforts require an incredible investment of time and resources, and I am pleased that Kim will focus her attention on them for the foreseeable future.
I know that her work in university life will help to safeguard and cement Yale’s future, advancing our shared aim to create a civic-minded, respectful, and innovative environment for all. In the meantime, I will seek a successor to take on the duties of the secretary of the university.
The secretary will work in close collaboration with senior colleagues across the university, supporting the president and board of trustees in executing our responsibilities as the fiduciaries of the university. The secretary will also serve as a voting member of the Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee of the Yale Alumni Association Board of Governors to select Alumni Fellow candidates and plan and manage the meetings of the University Council. Kim has agreed to continue to serve as secretary until her successor is named and will remain involved in training and transition processes. She also will continue to oversee commencement and other official university events in her role in as vice president for university life.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Kim for her unwavering vision and leadership and to those at the University Life Division and across Yale’s campus who work in partnership with us to create a thriving community each and every day.
Sincerely,
Maurie
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor of the History of Art