History and Traditions
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office, often referred to simply as the FAS Dean’s Office, was established in July 2014. The Dean of the FAS, Steven Wilkinson—Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies and Professor of Political Science and International Affairs—began his appointment as Dean in January 2025.
The FAS Dean’s Office was formed to create a dedicated home for the strategic vision, structure, and support of the FAS at Yale. A faculty committee led two key processes in the formation of the office: determining how it would be beneficial to the university, and the search for the inaugural Dean, Tamar Szabó Gendler, Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, who held the position from July 2014 through December 2024.
Gradually, the FAS Dean’s Office has absorbed several administrative processes previously managed by the Provost’s Office, the Dean of Yale College, and the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The office is now responsible for recruiting and retaining FAS faculty, overseeing the appointment and promotion processes for ladder and instructional faculty, approving faculty leave requests, and numerous other matters. The Dean’s Office team also helps manage the governance of FAS units, the allocation of lab and office space, and financial and staff resources for the FAS alongside partners in Yale’s operational units (i.e.: Facilities, Human Resources, Finance, IT, and others) and the Provost’s Office.
In addition to its administrative work, the FAS Dean’s Office supports faculty development, promotes faculty leadership, and fosters growth and collaboration within the FAS and the broader Yale community. Our Scholars as Leaders; Scholars as Learners initiative supports unique programs including Teaching Relief for Learning, which enables faculty to take a semester away from teaching to take Yale courses, and Faculty Academy, which allows faculty to enroll in brief courses taught by their peers. These and other offerings support the intellectual vibrancy and professional development of the FAS.
The office works closely with colleagues in the Provost’s Office, Yale College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and many others to support the FAS faculty in providing a world-class education for students, publishing field-leading research, and fostering the next generation of academic leadership.
The three divisions that make up the FAS—the sciences, social sciences, and humanities—are each represented in the FAS Dean’s Office by a divisional dean. These deans are faculty members in a department within their respective divisions, who work with the FAS Dean to secure resources, solve problems, and create strategic plans that enable their divisions to thrive.
As a relatively new administrative body, the FAS Dean’s Office is not only steeped in the centuries-old traditions of the University but also has the opportunity to create its own traditions and legacy. Some of these symbols and traditions are described below.
Coat of Arms
The Faculty of the Arts and Sciences’ coat of arms was designed by Tamar Gendler and University Printer John Gambell, University Printer in 2016. It uses traditional heraldic elements to symbolize the teaching and research mission of the FAS.
As FAS ladder faculty teach and train graduate students, the upper left quadrant refers to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences using Maltese crosses from the graduate school’s coat of arms, a reference to Wilbur Cross 1889 PhD, who was dean of the graduate school from 1916 to 1930. Diagonally opposite are ermine symbols drawn from the coat of arms of Yale College, as every FAS faculty member teaches undergraduate students.
The two remaining quadrants are occupied by the “Yale,” a goat-like mythical creature historically used in European heraldry as a marker of higher education. The Yale gets its name from the Hebrew word yael, meaning ibex. On the FAS coat of arms, it symbolizes the intellectual curiosity and inquiry of the FAS faculty in both the Arts and the Sciences.
Commencement and the FAS Mace
Several FAS symbols can be found each year at University Commencement. Since 1948, a faculty member or university leader serves as the senior marshal of the faculty and carries the University’s wooden and silver mace. Among the carved figures decorating the mace are two representing art and science, respectively.
In 2019, FAS Dean Tamar Gendler commissioned artist Howard Newman to create a ceremonial mace to represent the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at official university ceremonies. The design and creation of the FAS mace was supported by a gift from Patricia and Kenneth McKenna ’75 PhD ’78. It was first carried in the commencement processions in 2022 and will be carried each year by a distinguished member of the FAS faculty.
The mace is decorated with symbols that reflect FAS research and teaching: the popular ankylosaurus from the Peabody Museum’s Rudolph Zallinger mural, the Latin word for ‘truth,’ an LED bulb, the Sheffield School’s famous zeppelin window, and others. The head is filled with stones taken from the banks of the Quinnipiac River, giving the mace an unexpected sonic element and offering tribute to the indigenous inhabitants of the area where Yale now stands. Along the shaft of the mace, beginning just below the head, a series of metal bands will eventually bear the names of the successive Deans of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.