Campus & Community

New deputy provosts announced: Susan Gibbons and Richard Bribiescas

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Susan Gibbons and Richard Bribiescas

University Librarian Susan Gibbons and Professor Richard Bribiescas, chair of the Department of Anthropology, have been appointed as deputy provosts, announced Provost Benjamin Polak.

Gibbons will assume the post of deputy provost for libraries and scholarly communications, and Bribiescas will serve as deputy provost for faculty development and diversity.

Susan Gibbons

Gibbons, who will continue to serve in her primary role as university librarian, will also be responsible for some of Yale’s scholarly communication ventures, among them the Yale University Press. She will assume her new role on Jan. 1.

“The broad focus of the Library, which provides support and services for teaching, learning and research across all disciplines of Yale, provides her with a strategically diverse perspective,” said Polak. “Susan will bring important expertise and vision to her work in the Provost’s Office. She has been an exemplary administrator, with a visionary approach to the role of the Library in the academic and social fabric of Yale.  I am delighted that she will be joining us in this new role.

Gibbons joined Yale as the 16th university librarian in 2011. She received her B.A. in history from the University of Delaware, afterwards earning an M.A. in history and a master’s in library science from Indiana University. She also holds a professional M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Rochester. Prior to coming to Yale, she was vice provost and dean of the River Campus Libraries at the University of Rochester. While at Rochester, Gibbons was part of a research team that adapted ethnographic and anthropological methods to the study of libraries and library users. This growing suite of qualitative library assessment methods has been adopted by cultural heritage institutions globally and earned her an international standing in librarianship.

Richard Bribiescas

In announcing Bribiescas’ appointment, Polak noted, “The responsibility for faculty diversity and development has historically been part of a larger portfolio of one of the deputy provosts, and I wanted now to devote a deputy provost position fully to these important issues.”

“Rick is committed to the goals of achieving excellence and diversity among our faculty,” said Polak. “As deputy provost, he will have oversight for faculty development, including working with deans and others to identify, recruit, and promote outstanding faculty. He will provide support and advice to search, tenure, and appointments processes.” The Provost added that, while Bribiescas’ appointment will be official on Jan. 1, “Rick will begin to advise me on these matters immediately.”

Bribiescas joined the Yale faculty in 1998. He received his B.A. in anthropology and psychology (double major) from the University of California-Los Angeles, afterwards earning an A.M. and Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University. Prior to coming to Yale, he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Reproductive Endocrine Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His research focuses on the evolutionary biology and endocrinology of human and comparative life histories, including reproduction, aging, and metabolism. Along with other research initiatives, he is currently most engaged in a collaborative project with anthropologists at the University of Oregon and Queen’s College CUNY that investigates how cultural, social, ecological, and economic transitions among indigenous populations in Ecuador affect their health and well-being.