Yale appoints Maurie McInnis as its first permanent female president
Yale University named Maurie McInnis as its new president Wednesday, the first woman to be selected for the top position in a non-interim capacity since the Ivy League school was founded in 1701.
McInnis, the president of Stony Brook University in New York, will join the flagship New Haven school on July 1 as the 24th president, taking over the reins from Peter Salovey who announced in August that the current school year would be his last after having led the school for over a decade. McInnis will be the first woman to lead Yale as a non-interim president in its 323-year history.
"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," McInnis said in a message to the Yale campus community. "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."
The announcement Wednesday comes after a monthslong search for Yale's next leader, which involved input from more than 2,000 people from across the campus community through individual meetings, listening sessions, and a student survey, Josh Bekenstein, senior trustee and chair of the presidential search committee, said in a statement on behalf of the board. Nearly 130 leaders were nominated to the search committee for the seat.
"A compelling leader, distinguished scholar, and devoted educator, she brings to the role a deep understanding of higher education and an unwavering commitment to our mission and academic priorities," Bekenstein said. "Her experience and accomplishments over the past three decades have prepared her to lead Yale in the years ahead."
Yale University has about 12,000 students enrolled between its undergraduate and graduate programs, and roughly 5,500 faculty members.
'Opportunity arose unexpectedly'
In a message to the Stony Brook community, McInnis said she will be stepping down in June and an interim president will be named soon while the university searches for its next permanent head.
"This opportunity arose unexpectedly. To a great extent, it is a direct result of the work that we have been doing at Stony Brook and the high regard nationally in which our university is held," she wrote.
McInnis was appointed as Stony Brook's president in 2020. She received her Ph.D. in Art History from Yale University in 1996 and serves on her alma mater's board of trustees. She has authored and edited several books on the politics of art and slavery in the nineteenth-century U.S. South, been involved in oversight of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility, and serves as the inaugural chair of the New York Climate Exchange.
Before joining Stony Brook, McInnis served in leadership roles at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia.
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Diversity in university leadership
As the first woman to join the ranks of Yale's non-interim presidents, McInnis told The New York Times that she was well aware of how she could serve "as a role model for other women aspiring to leadership positions."
"My deep commitment to advancing opportunities for students and for our prospective students is steadfast, certainly in my work at Stony Brook, and that will continue at Yale," she told the newspaper in an interview.
The historically male-dominated arena of college leadership has diversified more in recent years. But national data shows a gender gap persists even as women make up the majority of college students.
According to data released by the American Council on Education in 2023, women account for 1 in 3 college presidents; 72% of presidents identify as white; and the average age is around 60. Comparatively, women make up about 55% of undergraduate students and 60% of graduate students, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
White students comprise about 53% of the undergraduate population and 61% of graduate programs.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yale University names Maurie McInnis as its new president
