Announcement: FAS Dean of Social Science (February 16, 2021)
[This message announces that Alan Gerber will be stepping down from his role as FAS Dean of Social Science at the end of this academic or calendar year. We celebrate Alan’s achievements as Dean, and we look forward to engaging with the FAS community in seeking his successor.]
To: FAS Faculty
Cc: FAS Dean’s Office; FAS Steering; FAS Lead Administrators, Operations Managers, and Chair’s Assistants; Provost’s Office; President’s Office; University Cabinet
Dear FAS Colleagues,
I write with the bittersweet news that, after seven years of service, Alan Gerber will be stepping down from his role as the FAS Dean of Social Science at the end of this academic year or calendar year, returning to his role as a professor of Political Science, and director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS).
Alan has been a dedicated leader in our community since he began his faculty role at Yale in 1993. He began his position as FAS Divisional Director for the Social Sciences in 2013, and became the inaugural FAS Dean of Social Science in 2014. During his time in these roles, he has deftly steered scholarly priorities in the division. A champion of an inclusive vision for data-intensive social science, Alan has fortified the FAS’s strengths in this area by facilitating cross-departmental partnerships, including the launch of a certificate in data science and courses that have opened the field to a broader segment of our undergraduates, and by playing a key role in reconceptualizing the Department of Statistics and Data Science. During his Deanship, the number of majors in Statistics and Data Science has grown from single digits to over sixty each year. Alan also worked to improve research infrastructure across methodological approaches, forming a working group to identify and address gaps in research support for qualitative and mixed-methods research. In the FAS more broadly, he led the implementation committee for the revised Tenure and Appointments policy. He also served as chair of the provost’s Committee on Data Intensive Social Science, identifying challenges and opportunities across the university in this vital area.
On top of his decanal duties, Alan contributes leadership as the Director of the Center for the Study of American Politics, and, in 2020, was appointed Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS). At ISPS, Alan stewards research that aims to shape public policy. During the pandemic, he spearheaded the launch of COVID-19: ISPS and Yale Social Science, an online hub that connects faculty and facilitates collaborative research that aims to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. He also launched ISPS Democracy, a project which aims to further research and discussion of the critical social and political challenges facing democratic representation and policy making.
A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Alan has maintained an active and innovative research agenda while serving as Dean. In 2017, he published the award-winning book Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine (Princeton University Press) and the edited volume Governing in a Polarized Age: Elections, Parties, and Political Representation in America (Cambridge University Press), and he has authored and co-authored dozens of papers and articles on voter turnout, political campaigning, ballot secrecy, and other topics.
Drawing on recommendations from faculty leaders in the social science division and from the FAS Faculty Senate, I have appointed a faculty committee to advise me on appointing a successor to Alan as the FAS Dean of Social Sciences. I will share their names with you in a separate memo. I am look forward to engaging with the FAS community throughout this process.
While we may be able to find someone to serve as Alan’s successor, there is no one who can serve as his replacement. For seven years, he has been a brilliant leader of the social science division – visionary and practical, systematic and imaginative, rigorous and compassionate. The departments, the division, the FAS, the university, and the world are better for his leadership.
Sincerely,
Tamar
Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy
Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science