Search committee for Jonathan Edwards master named

A search committee for the next master of Jonathan Edwards College (JE) has been appointed, announced President Peter Salovey and Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway in a Feb. 16 email to the residential college community.

The current JE master, Penelope Laurans, will step down from that role on June 30.

Karla Neugebauer, professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and of cell biology and a fellow of the college, will chair the committee. Its members are: Susan Cahan, associate dean for the arts in Yale College; Jay Emerson, associate professor (adjunct) of statistics; Ayaska Fernando, associate director of undergraduate admissions; and Chinedum Osuji, associate professor of chemical engineering.

Five JE students have also been asked to join the committee: Cynthia Campos ’16, Russell Cohen ’17 , Denzell Jobson ’17, Rebecca Spaulding ’16, and Esther Soma ’16.

“We will rely heavily on the counsel of the entire Jonathan Edwards College community during this important search,” wrote Salovey and Holloway in the announcement. “The committee is eager to receive recommendations and suggestions from students, fellows, and staff, and we hope that you will communicate with them directly, either on the future of the college in general or on any thoughts you have about the future of the mastership.“

Detailed information about the search process for residential college masters can be found online at http://president.yale.edu/advisory-groups/search-process-residential-college-masters.

The President and Dean concluded, “We thank Master Laurans for her service to Jonathan Edwards, and we look forward to opportunities later in the academic year to celebrate the role she has played in the lives of all Spiders.”