School Notes: Faculty of Arts & Sciences
July/August 2026

FAS dean appointments

FAS dean Steven Wilkinson recently appointed two faculty members to decanal positions in the FAS. Ronald Breaker, Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry, began his appointment as FAS dean of science on July 1. Breaker has a long track record of leadership in the FAS and service to Yale, and will help shape the future of the sciences in the FAS. 

Jennifer Gandhi, Howard Wang ’95 Professor of Global Affairs and Political Science, will begin her appointment as the Phyllis A. Wallace Dean of Faculty Development in January. Gandhi will lead and expand initiatives focused on faculty well-being and development and will also oversee training for FAS department and program chairs, faculty leaders, and FAS faculty as a whole. 

American studies professor awarded Carnegie Fellowship

Daniel HoSang, professor of American studies, received a Carnegie fellowship this spring to support his research into political polarization. HoSang was among 24 scholars awarded the prestigious annual fellowship, which includes a $200,000 research grant. 

HoSang’s project will examine how cynicism towards politics and institutions emerges from lived experiences of abandonment and structural failure rather than from rigid ideological commitments. His work will also identify local practices and initiatives that can counter cynicism, mitigate polarization, and help rebuild democratic trust. 

Faculty elected AAAS Fellows

Eight members of the FAS faculty were elected to the latest class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in recognition of their scholarly contributions across the arts, democracy, education, global affairs, and science. 

The new members include Leah Boustan (economics); Daphne A. Brooks (Black studies); Erika J. Edwards ’05PhD (ecology and evolutionary biology); Vanessa Ezenwa (ecology and evolutionary biology); Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (theater and performance studies); Lisa Lowe (American studies); Joanne Meyerowitz (history); and Gideon Yaffe (philosophy). Congratulations to all of our outstanding faculty on this achievement!