Larry Gladney to serve as FAS Dean of Science

Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Dean Tamar Gendler has announced that Larry Gladney will serve as the FAS Dean of Science for a 5-year term, effective July 1, 2022, pending formal approval by the Yale Corporation.

A member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Gladney is professor of physics and the Phyllis A. Wallace Dean of Diversity and Faculty Development. During the fall 2022 term, Gladney will hold dual roles as FAS Dean of Science and Dean of Diversity and Faculty Development.

A renowned physicist who works at the intersection of experimental particle physics and cosmology, Gladney has served as the inaugural Phyllis A. Wallace Dean of Diversity and Faculty Development in the FAS since 2019. Prior to joining the FAS faculty, Gladney was appointed as the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and associate dean for natural sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at Penn, he served terms as chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and chair of the Faculty Senate. He has also been a member of numerous panels and committees for the National Science Foundation, NASA, and other federal agencies. An advocate for equity in education, Gladney was the director and principal investigator of the Penn Science Teacher Institute and actively participates in science outreach. In the FAS, Larry has led efforts to increase faculty diversity through strategic approaches to recruitment and he has served on a number of university-wide committees, including the President’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and the Provost’s Council on Research.

Gladney’s research focuses on fundamental connections between matter, energy, space, and time, and explores the accelerated expansion of the universe. To that end, he is currently involved in mission planning for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which promises to lead to new understandings of the history of our universe. Gladney is a fellow of the American Physical Society, and he has led projects for the BaBAR Collaboration, Fermilab, and the Supernovae/Acceleration Probe simulation team, among many others.

“Larry Gladney is a bold, visionary scientific leader,” said Gendler. “His groundbreaking research has surfaced new knowledge about the history of the cosmos, and he brings the same innovative approach to his work with faculty. He is an exemplary university citizen who has had a profound impact on the culture of the FAS, and I am overjoyed at the prospect of continuing to work with him in his new capacity as FAS Dean of Science.”

Gladney succeeds Jeffrey Brock, the Zhao and Ji Professor of Mathematics who has served in dual roles as FAS dean of science and dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) since 2019. Brock will now assume a full-time role as dean of SEAS, which becomes a standalone school effective July 1. In his dual roles, Brock has led strategic planning efforts that have advanced the sciences not only in the FAS, but across the university. He and Gladney have worked together closely to build a culture of inclusivity in SEAS and the FAS Division of Science. This collaborative effort has had a palpable impact, particularly in the area of faculty recruitment. Gladney and Brock will continue to work together in the coming years to foster connections between SEAS and the FAS Division of Science.

“Larry has been an essential partner in creating an inclusive climate where scientific excellence can flourish,” said Brock. “I’m delighted that he will be leading the FAS Division of Science during this period of exciting growth, and I’m eager for our future work together.”

Gladney said: “I am pleased to be stepping into the role of FAS Dean of Science at this exciting moment for science and engineering at Yale. I’m looking forward to collaborating with faculty to enable the FAS Division of Science to continue to thrive, and to fostering our ongoing connections with SEAS.”

The FAS Dean of Science oversees the day-to-day well-being and mid- and long-term planning of the departments in the FAS Division of Science (Astronomy, Chemistry, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics, as well as Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology). The science dean also serves as a member of the FAS leadership team, and as a voting member of the committees that oversee the governance of the FAS, including the FAS Steering Committee and the Faculty Resource Committee. A full description of the position is available on the FAS website.