Lynn Cooley reappointed dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Lynn Cooley, the C. N. H. Long Professor of Genetics and Professor of Cell Biology and of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, has been reappointed to a third term as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), Yale President Peter Salovey announced this week. Her third five-year term will begin July 1.

The reappointment recognizes Cooley’s success over the past decade in leading the oldest graduate school in the country into a new era of distinction, Salovey wrote in a message to the GSAS community.

“Throughout the past decade, Dean Cooley has worked tirelessly to enhance the school’s academic environment for faculty, staff, and students,” Salovey wrote. “The Graduate Program Review initiative, which began in the 2015-16 academic year, is a testament to her dedication to fostering strong relationships between the graduate school and individual programs. This pioneering endeavor has facilitated communication and collaboration and empowered programs to excel in admissions, career outcomes, and curricular innovation.”

Under her leadership, Salovey noted, the graduate school “has seen remarkable expansions,” including a Ph.D. program in translational biomedicine; a Ph.D. program in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies; and a master’s degree program in personalized medicine and applied engineering. She has also fostered partnerships to advance multidisciplinary study in collaboration with the Wu Tsai Institute; Whitney Humanities Center; and Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration.

In the face of the COVD-19 pandemic, Cooley took proactive measures that focused on the safety and well-being of our graduate student community while simultaneously facilitating the continuation of learning, teaching, and research endeavors, the president added. Most notably, he said, she extended additional financial support to students whose research was delayed due to the pandemic.

“Dean Cooley’s unwavering commitment to students’ well-being also has led to the implementation of medical leave hardship awards to lessen the financial burden resulting from such leaves of absence, hiring the graduate school’s inaugural embedded mental health clinician, consistently increasing stipend support for Ph.D. students, expanding family support for students with children, and introducing relocation awards to incoming students to offset the cost of moving to New Haven,” Salovey said.

“These initiatives underscore her dedication to fostering an inclusive and supportive academic environment, which she also has advanced by expanding key pipeline programs such as the Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program and the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.”

Salovey also recognized Cooley’s pivotal role on the team that collaboratively navigated the graduate student unionization process and continues to spearhead many of the implementation efforts following the ratification of a contract. Throughout her tenure, he said, Cooley has acknowledged the important contributions of graduate students to the Yale campus and upheld the academic and research commitments of the university.

During the reappointment review process, Salovey said, colleagues from across the university said that the graduate school has been strengthened immeasurably by Cooley’s collaborative spirit and innovative approach, while others praised her “steadfast advocacy for the evolving needs of students and faculty members.”

“I would like to thank Dean Cooley for her contributions to the excellence of the graduate school and for her willingness to continue serving in this important role,” Salovey wrote.