Today, I begin my service as Yale’s twenty-fourth president, and this moment is at once a homecoming and the beginning of a new journey. When I look at our campus and home city, I am mindful of the remarkable students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors who have brought Yale to this point in its 323-year history. On a recent evening, I walked by Sterling Memorial Library, Yale Law School, the museums along Chapel Street, and the many other places where I studied, taught, and made life-long connections as a graduate student. I was flooded with gratitude for those opportunities and felt humbled by the trust placed in me as the next leader for Yale. I have accepted this honor with a full heart and a deep commitment to sustaining the traditions that affirm Yale’s mission as we move toward a future that brims with possibility.
This community has provided me with the foundation for what’s to come. So, I have begun my next Yale chapter by revisiting the relationships that shaped me here, and as I stated in my initial message, I am launching a series of meetings and visits—some more formal and others conversational—to hear directly from the many voices that make our community whole. What I learn from you in the coming months will build on the large amount of thoughtful input gathered by the Presidential Search Committee.
I am eager to engage with students. I will meet with those who served on the Presidential Search Student Advisory Council, which collected students’ hopes and expectations for the next president. In addition, I will meet with the leaders of the Yale College Council, Graduate Student Assembly, and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate to learn more about their work and how I may collaborate with them to invite input from as many students as possible. I will be making plans to meet with many other students in the coming months.
I also look forward to connecting with faculty and staff. Working with the deans, I will participate in faculty meetings at every school, Yale College, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. I will seek out the views of staff, meet with union leaders, and join staff meetings. Of course, we will have opportunities to see one another at athletic events and games, performances, and a wide array of other campus activities.
I am proud to be part of Yale’s exceptional alumni network around the globe. This community includes many dedicated leaders and volunteers who devote much time and energy to their alma mater, such as through the Yale Alumni Association, University Council, Yale Alumni Fund, and the For Humanity campaign. In addition to a busy campus schedule, I am eager to meet with alumni groups in the year ahead.
To gather input as quickly as possible from as many members of our community as possible, I encourage everyone to respond to this webform. I look forward to reviewing your comments on a range of topics, including what you see as urgent issues and challenges, how Yale should engage with other institutions around the globe, and what we should do to continue to improve the world through research, scholarship, preservation, and practice, and through our work to educate aspiring leaders.
I also ask for your thoughts on how we can strengthen the Yale community and foster a sense of belonging. That includes focusing on how students can learn and grow inside and outside the classroom; ensuring that the academic, research, and scholarly enterprise at Yale can flourish in an open and trusting environment; sustaining a welcoming and respectful workplace for our staff; and creating a community that enables alumni to connect with one another and our campus. At the same time, we must grow our relationships with our research and educational partners and the world outside of the Yale campus, and we must be good citizens to the communities where we work and live.
As my family and I settle into our new home, we are grateful for the outpouring of good wishes offered to us by our neighbors in New Haven and surrounding areas. I share President Peter Salovey’s aspiration to make Yale the most civically engaged university. And I am excited to build on the strong relationships our community has developed across our home city, including those with Mayor Justin Elicker, the Board of Alders, and the people and organizations that contribute to New Haven’s civic infrastructure. I am also eager to expand Yale’s relationships with local, regional, and national organizations that are poised to solve the world’s greatest challenges.
We have much to do to build on the exceptionally strong foundation established by all of you with President Salovey’s leadership. So, I look forward to having the opportunity to connect personally with you in the coming weeks and months, and I will reach out to you regularly with communication updates. When our paths cross on campus, please say hello. For now, though, please know how appreciative I am for your warm welcome and commitment to Yale as we work together to further its mission and impact.
Sincerely,
Maurie
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor in the Department of the History of Art
Yale University
Welcoming community input
Dear Members of the Yale Community,
Today, I begin my service as Yale’s twenty-fourth president, and this moment is at once a homecoming and the beginning of a new journey. When I look at our campus and home city, I am mindful of the remarkable students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors who have brought Yale to this point in its 323-year history. On a recent evening, I walked by Sterling Memorial Library, Yale Law School, the museums along Chapel Street, and the many other places where I studied, taught, and made life-long connections as a graduate student. I was flooded with gratitude for those opportunities and felt humbled by the trust placed in me as the next leader for Yale. I have accepted this honor with a full heart and a deep commitment to sustaining the traditions that affirm Yale’s mission as we move toward a future that brims with possibility.
This community has provided me with the foundation for what’s to come. So, I have begun my next Yale chapter by revisiting the relationships that shaped me here, and as I stated in my initial message, I am launching a series of meetings and visits—some more formal and others conversational—to hear directly from the many voices that make our community whole. What I learn from you in the coming months will build on the large amount of thoughtful input gathered by the Presidential Search Committee.
I am eager to engage with students. I will meet with those who served on the Presidential Search Student Advisory Council, which collected students’ hopes and expectations for the next president. In addition, I will meet with the leaders of the Yale College Council, Graduate Student Assembly, and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate to learn more about their work and how I may collaborate with them to invite input from as many students as possible. I will be making plans to meet with many other students in the coming months.
I also look forward to connecting with faculty and staff. Working with the deans, I will participate in faculty meetings at every school, Yale College, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. I will seek out the views of staff, meet with union leaders, and join staff meetings. Of course, we will have opportunities to see one another at athletic events and games, performances, and a wide array of other campus activities.
I am proud to be part of Yale’s exceptional alumni network around the globe. This community includes many dedicated leaders and volunteers who devote much time and energy to their alma mater, such as through the Yale Alumni Association, University Council, Yale Alumni Fund, and the For Humanity campaign. In addition to a busy campus schedule, I am eager to meet with alumni groups in the year ahead.
To gather input as quickly as possible from as many members of our community as possible, I encourage everyone to respond to this webform. I look forward to reviewing your comments on a range of topics, including what you see as urgent issues and challenges, how Yale should engage with other institutions around the globe, and what we should do to continue to improve the world through research, scholarship, preservation, and practice, and through our work to educate aspiring leaders.
I also ask for your thoughts on how we can strengthen the Yale community and foster a sense of belonging. That includes focusing on how students can learn and grow inside and outside the classroom; ensuring that the academic, research, and scholarly enterprise at Yale can flourish in an open and trusting environment; sustaining a welcoming and respectful workplace for our staff; and creating a community that enables alumni to connect with one another and our campus. At the same time, we must grow our relationships with our research and educational partners and the world outside of the Yale campus, and we must be good citizens to the communities where we work and live.
As my family and I settle into our new home, we are grateful for the outpouring of good wishes offered to us by our neighbors in New Haven and surrounding areas. I share President Peter Salovey’s aspiration to make Yale the most civically engaged university. And I am excited to build on the strong relationships our community has developed across our home city, including those with Mayor Justin Elicker, the Board of Alders, and the people and organizations that contribute to New Haven’s civic infrastructure. I am also eager to expand Yale’s relationships with local, regional, and national organizations that are poised to solve the world’s greatest challenges.
We have much to do to build on the exceptionally strong foundation established by all of you with President Salovey’s leadership. So, I look forward to having the opportunity to connect personally with you in the coming weeks and months, and I will reach out to you regularly with communication updates. When our paths cross on campus, please say hello. For now, though, please know how appreciative I am for your warm welcome and commitment to Yale as we work together to further its mission and impact.
Sincerely,
Maurie
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor in the Department of the History of Art
Yale University