Announcement of New Provost
May 13, 2009
Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:
I am very pleased to announce that I am appointing Dr. Claude
M. Steele as the new Provost of Columbia University, effective September 1,
2009. Dr. Steele is currently the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences
at Stanford University, where he has taught since
1991. He also currently serves as the Director of the Center for Advanced Study
in the Behavioral Sciences. Claude is widely recognized for his dedicated and
charismatic teaching, for his seminal scholarship, which has focused on
questions of identity, group stereotypes, and addictive behaviors, and for his
service to the academic community and beyond. He is a friend and colleague to
many in the Columbia
community, and it is a great moment to be able to welcome him here as Provost.
Let me note just a few of the highlights of Claude's
distinguished career. As a leader in the field of social psychology, he
currently holds memberships in the National Academy of Education, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the
National Academy of Sciences. He is the recipient of several fellowships and
prizes including the Senior Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology
in the Public Interest and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from
the American Psychological Association. His past leadership roles include
serving as the president of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, as
the president of the Western Psychological Association, as the chair of the
Executive Committee of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and as a
member of the board of directors of the American Psychological Society. His extensive
academic experience includes professorships on the faculties of the University of Michigan,
University of Washington,
the University of
Utah, and in his current
role at Stanford, where he has served as the chair of the Psychology
Department. Dr. Steele received his BA from Hiram
College and both his MA and PhD from Ohio State
University. He has
received honorary degrees from a number of prestigious universities, including
the University of Chicago, Yale, and Princeton.
Having earned the admiration of students and colleagues for
his excellence as a teacher, researcher, and department chair, Dr. Steele is an
ideal choice to succeed Provost Alan Brinkley,
whom I thank again for his tremendous contribution to the University. I also
want to thank all the members of the Advisory Committee for their care and
insights in the process leading to this new appointment.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Claude Steele as the 21st
Provost of Columbia University.
Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger
|