A message from the 24th president of Yale University
May 29, 2024
Dear Members of the Yale Community,
When I stepped onto our campus as a graduate student in the Department of the History of Art thirty-five years ago, I was welcomed into a community that valued curiosity, connection, excellence, and impact. Faculty members, fellow students, staff, and alumni fostered curiosity, encouraged connections between people and academic disciplines, and challenged one another to not only excel in our fields, but also to apply our abilities in improving the world. Those qualities shaped my life and career as I became an educator and art historian and took on leadership roles at universities, and they are the reasons I am excited and eager to return to Yale and New Haven as the next president of our university.
I look forward to many things when I begin my service as Yale’s twenty-fourth president on July 1. At the top of the list is to reconnect with those I know and to meet so many more of you. You make this university what it is. The community environment that brought me to Yale was created by those who came before us and has been sustained and enriched by all of us. Our faculty members are not only international leaders in their own fields but also drive innovation in other academic disciplines and progress in other sectors. Our talented staff advance every aspect of our university and bring excellence to all they do. Similarly, our students excel in their studies, while also making Yale a richer community through their art making, advocacy, and deep engagement with the local community. So, it is no surprise that our alumni lead, serve, and solve challenges across the globe. Yale is all that we bring to this community, and I can’t wait to get to know you and our university better.
In the months ahead, I want to learn about your experiences, your work advancing Yale’s mission, the ways you engage with our vibrant community, and your aspirations for Yale and higher education in the future. There will be many opportunities for listening sessions and individual meetings, and I will be reaching out later in the summer to get those underway.
I also look forward to introducing my husband and two children to all that I love about our campus and home city. I know that they are excited to join me as I fall back into the routine of my youth and drop into all the art galleries and performances. We are especially excited to see the renovated Yale Peabody Museum. You will find us trying out pizza and all the great restaurants across the city and taking our dog, Angus, on long walks around campus and New Haven.
It has been three decades since I have called Yale and New Haven home, but I have had the good fortune to come back to our campus regularly, as a colleague, an alumna, and in recent years as a trustee. Over that time, I have seen Yale grow in incredible ways while maintaining the excellence and traditions that have been part of our university for over three centuries. Through immense challenges, under President Peter Salovey’s leadership, you have worked together to advance our mission of education, research, scholarship, preservation, and practice to improve the world. For that, I thank you and, especially, Peter. I am filling big shoes and am grateful to be stepping into the university at a time when the priorities are clear and the plan to achieve them is strong and bolstered by an excellent academic and administrative leadership team.
I also am grateful to the search committee and the trustees for the ways they involved the entire community in obtaining input during the search process, and I am committed to continuing that spirit of listening and collaboration as I step into the role. I thank the board of trustees for entrusting me with this responsibility.
Until we see one another on campus, I wish you a restful summer.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President-Elect
Yale University
A message from the 24th president of Yale University
Dear Members of the Yale Community,
When I stepped onto our campus as a graduate student in the Department of the History of Art thirty-five years ago, I was welcomed into a community that valued curiosity, connection, excellence, and impact. Faculty members, fellow students, staff, and alumni fostered curiosity, encouraged connections between people and academic disciplines, and challenged one another to not only excel in our fields, but also to apply our abilities in improving the world. Those qualities shaped my life and career as I became an educator and art historian and took on leadership roles at universities, and they are the reasons I am excited and eager to return to Yale and New Haven as the next president of our university.
I look forward to many things when I begin my service as Yale’s twenty-fourth president on July 1. At the top of the list is to reconnect with those I know and to meet so many more of you. You make this university what it is. The community environment that brought me to Yale was created by those who came before us and has been sustained and enriched by all of us. Our faculty members are not only international leaders in their own fields but also drive innovation in other academic disciplines and progress in other sectors. Our talented staff advance every aspect of our university and bring excellence to all they do. Similarly, our students excel in their studies, while also making Yale a richer community through their art making, advocacy, and deep engagement with the local community. So, it is no surprise that our alumni lead, serve, and solve challenges across the globe. Yale is all that we bring to this community, and I can’t wait to get to know you and our university better.
In the months ahead, I want to learn about your experiences, your work advancing Yale’s mission, the ways you engage with our vibrant community, and your aspirations for Yale and higher education in the future. There will be many opportunities for listening sessions and individual meetings, and I will be reaching out later in the summer to get those underway.
I also look forward to introducing my husband and two children to all that I love about our campus and home city. I know that they are excited to join me as I fall back into the routine of my youth and drop into all the art galleries and performances. We are especially excited to see the renovated Yale Peabody Museum. You will find us trying out pizza and all the great restaurants across the city and taking our dog, Angus, on long walks around campus and New Haven.
It has been three decades since I have called Yale and New Haven home, but I have had the good fortune to come back to our campus regularly, as a colleague, an alumna, and in recent years as a trustee. Over that time, I have seen Yale grow in incredible ways while maintaining the excellence and traditions that have been part of our university for over three centuries. Through immense challenges, under President Peter Salovey’s leadership, you have worked together to advance our mission of education, research, scholarship, preservation, and practice to improve the world. For that, I thank you and, especially, Peter. I am filling big shoes and am grateful to be stepping into the university at a time when the priorities are clear and the plan to achieve them is strong and bolstered by an excellent academic and administrative leadership team.
I also am grateful to the search committee and the trustees for the ways they involved the entire community in obtaining input during the search process, and I am committed to continuing that spirit of listening and collaboration as I step into the role. I thank the board of trustees for entrusting me with this responsibility.
Until we see one another on campus, I wish you a restful summer.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President-Elect
Yale University