Maurie McInnis appointed as the 24th president of Yale University | Lifestyle

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Maurie McInnis Makes History as First Female President of Yale University

In a groundbreaking announcement on Wednesday, Yale University named Maurie McInnis as its 24th president, making her the first woman to be appointed permanently to the prestigious position. The 58-year-old higher education leader and cultural historian currently serves as the president of Stony Brook University on Long Island in New York.

McInnis will succeed Peter Salovey, who is retiring after a decade of leading Yale and will be taking a faculty position at the Ivy League school in New Haven, Connecticut. The decision to appoint McInnis was met with unanimous approval from the school’s Board of Trustees.

Described as a “compelling leader, distinguished scholar, and devoted educator,” McInnis brings a wealth of experience to her new role. She has served as the president of Stony Brook University since 2020 and has held key leadership positions at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia.

Despite her impressive career, McInnis is no stranger to Yale. She has been a trustee at the university since 2022 and earned both her master’s degree and doctorate from Yale, where she studied art history. Her scholarly work has focused on the intersection of art and slavery in the southern United States during the 19th century.

In a statement following the announcement, McInnis expressed her excitement about the opportunity to lead Yale. She highlighted the university’s renowned faculty, talented staff, and exceptional students, emphasizing their contributions to the academic community and beyond.

McInnis plans to engage with the Yale community through listening sessions and individual meetings in the coming months. She will officially assume her new role on July 1, taking the helm of an institution with a storied history dating back to its founding in 1701.

While Yale and Stony Brook have both faced challenges related to student protests, McInnis did not address these issues directly in her initial comments. At Stony Brook, she emphasized the importance of upholding academic standards while respecting students’ rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.

The decision to appoint McInnis was met with praise from Yale’s search committee, which highlighted her academic leadership experience and scholarship. Jacqueline Goldsby, a professor at Yale, commended McInnis for her award-winning work in antebellum visual culture and her commitment to addressing climate change.

Yale has a long history of leadership by women, with Hanna Holborn Gray serving as the university’s first female leader in an acting capacity in the late 1970s. McInnis’s appointment as the first permanent female president marks a significant milestone in the university’s history.

As McInnis prepares to take on her new role, she is poised to lead Yale into a new era of academic excellence and innovation. Her deep understanding of higher education, commitment to scholarship, and dedication to the university’s mission make her a fitting choice to guide one of the world’s most prestigious institutions into the future.