Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 1, 2004|Volume 33, Number 5



BULLETIN HOME

VISITING ON CAMPUS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

IN THE NEWS

BULLETIN BOARD

CLASSIFIED ADS


SEARCH ARCHIVES

DEADLINES

DOWNLOAD FORMS

BULLETIN STAFF


PUBLIC AFFAIRS HOME

NEWS RELEASES

E-MAIL US


YALE HOME PAGE


Peter Salovey



As Yale College dean, Salovey will be 'voice on campus' on behalf of undergraduate education

This summer Peter Salovey moved from one Yale dean's office to another -- from the helm of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences to that of Yale College, where he succeeds Richard H. Brodhead, now president of Duke University.

Salovey, who has done groundbreaking work on human emotion and health psychology, holds a Ph.D. from Yale and has been a member of the faculty since 1986. He holds the Chris Argyris Professorship in the Department of Psychology and has appointments in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at the School of Medicine, the School of Management, and the Institution for Social and Policy Studies.

Now settled into the Dean's residence at 202 Prospect St. with his wife, Marta, an urban policy consultant, Salovey took some time from his busy schedule to talk with the Yale Bulletin & Calendar about his new post and his vision for the future of Yale College.


What do you see as the role of the dean of Yale College?

The dean's role is multidimensional. First and foremost, the dean of Yale College is the voice on campus on behalf of the quality of undergraduate education. One of Yale's core values is an outstanding liberal arts college experience in a research university environment. The dean insures that undergraduate education is always an institutional and faculty priority.

Second, the dean tries to be a force in students' lives for making the most of their years at Yale. This includes serving as a role model, speaking and teaching, and supporting student activities of all kinds.

A third aspect of the position, one that is different from many other universities, is that at Yale the dean of the Graduate School and the dean of the college are also, essentially, the co-deans of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, involving the deans in longer-term strategic planning. Yale aspires to "selective excellence," in President Levin's words, and the deans play an important role in helping to guide the building of academic areas and, more importantly, in overseeing the processes that lead to these choices.


What does it take to make a good dean?

This would be a better question to ask me at the end of my term than at the beginning.

I suspect there are multiple ways in which one can be a good dean, and various deans have approached the job in different ways. In terms of what I can offer, I am especially energized working on behalf of others; I have enormous enthusiasm about our University and our city. Of course, I have always been committed to undergraduate education. I suspect it is helpful to pick a handful of goals and try to stay on task. I think President Levin is a wonderful example of someone who, in his first year as president, articulated some very clear ideas, and he has led the campus in direction of those ideas for more than a decade.

Another quality that would serve a dean well, I suspect, is to enjoy working in groups, problem-solving with others and allowing them to share the credit for successes. I do not intend to close the door to my office and work by myself. I much prefer to work in teams. This attitude comes from running a lab -- that's the way I've always made progress on our programs of research.

One could not find a better role model for the part of the job that has to do with articulating a vision, inspiring others behind that vision and being a force to motivate people to examine their lives as undergraduates or as faculty members than Dick Brodhead. I'm certainly glad to be following someone who has been a

successful dean, because it means that I don't start my term by fixing something that's broken. One can instead ask: How can we make something that works well even better? How can we aspire to greatness? I felt the same way about Susan Hockfield when I followed her into the dean's office at the Graduate School.


What specific goals will you pursue?

One of the exciting aspects of beginning a term as dean in 2004 is the opportunity to embrace a widely shared vision of undergraduate education to which much of the Yale community has contributed over the last two years: the Committee on Yale College Education (CYCE) Report, an articulate and wise look at the future of Yale College.

Among the priorities highlighted in the report are improving science education, providing greater opportunities for international education -- including language study -- bringing the University's wonderful collections and the resources of its professional schools into closer contact with undergraduate teaching, enhancing arts education in the College and other initiatives no less important.

As one example, we need to be sure we offer educational experiences in the sciences at Yale that are as exciting as what is provided on the non-science side of the curriculum. We will need to develop courses that motivate undergraduates to become literate with respect to scientific thinking and quantitative reasoning so that they can have a deep understanding of the scientific and technological aspects of our world. For students already engaged with science, we need to be sure our more advanced courses and labs also reinforce these proclivities.


Is it harder to teach the sciences than the humanities and social sciences?

I believe there are some specific challenges to undergraduate science education -- some of these are general concerns and some, unique to Yale. One constraint is the need to offer an appropriate set of courses for students planning careers in medicine. However, these courses should not define what it means to study science, especially in the early years, in college.

Another challenge is how to teach scientific and quantitative courses to students whose technical backgrounds in these areas vary considerably. At Yale, we have added obstacles: Students perceive science courses as requiring more effort, and they believe that they have to get up earlier, walk farther and put more hours of study into the course. They also think that the probability of getting an A is lower. All of these barriers are addressable, of course, and some may not be real.


Why is international education important?

Without exposure to other cultures, students are not well prepared for the 21st century. International education -- in one form or another -- can be one of the most important aspects of college.

We need to promote international study in a special way, however: I don't see us building islands of "Yaleness" in other cultures and calling that an international experience, for example. We want to join forces with universities abroad and offer joint educational programs, summer internships and other opportunities for overseas study. We might want to combine educational programs with work opportunities, and we absolutely have to make sure that these choices are available to students regardless of their financial backgrounds. Students shouldn't be discouraged from participating in these programs because they are unaffordable.

A relevant part of international education concerns language study. When the new distribution requirements are implemented, no student will be able to place out of further study of a foreign language. Every student will have to take his or her understanding of a foreign language one step further. We call this the "Distance Traveled" idea -- however far you've already traveled, when you come to Yale we expect you to travel further on down the road. Students who come to Yale proficient in a foreign language will be encouraged to take literature courses in that language or to begin the study of yet another language, or take a "language across the curriculum" course, which means, for example, a course about the sociology of China, with a section taught in Chinese.


How do the University's resources figure into the future of Yale College?

Another aspect of the CYCE Report involves placing Yale's extraordinary collections and professional schools -- including our professional schools in the arts -- in closer reach of undergraduates. These resources include everything from the collections in libraries, museums and galleries; to faculty in music, drama, art and architecture; to research and scholarly opportunities in health, management, environmental studies or law. These fields, and others I didn't mention, can play a greater role in Yale College education. This may mean the creation of new programs and majors, and some cross-teaching by faculty in the professional schools and the College.


Do you envision Yale College expanding its size under your term as dean?

Believe me, I am very sensitive to how competitive it now is to be admitted for study in Yale College. For every applicant we delight, nine others are disappointed (and their parents telephone me). And so there is always a question about whether we want to make this opportunity available to more than 1,300 or so students each year. However, we also have to ask ourselves whether one of the aspects of Yale College that makes it a unique experience in higher education is attributable to its current size. In my view, the priorities for the near term should be developing the new programs and improving existing ones as described in the CYCE report.


How will being dean change your life?

Given that some of our life will be centered at 202 Prospect St., I suspect Marta and I will enjoy more ice hockey than has been the case in the past! We have always taken great pleasure in student social, artistic and athletic events, and I suspect we'll be doing a lot more of that. Because I'm moving from one decanal position to another, the transition will be a little more seamless this time than it was when I moved from chairing the psychology department to the Graduate School a year and a half ago.


Do you plan to continue your research and teaching?

As dean of the Graduate School, I returned to the lab one day a week. I hope to maintain that schedule so that my post-docs and graduate students receive some attention from me, and together we move our research collaborations forward. I've done much of my undergraduate teaching in large classes. Future teaching may more likely be in small seminars. Perhaps it's time to offer a freshman seminar rather than "Introductory Psychology."


What are you currently studying in the lab?

We have two major programs of research. The first focuses on measuring emotional competencies and looking at individual strengths and weaknesses in this domain to see if they account for outcomes that are important in academic settings as well as in workplaces and social relationships. The second line of work considers the principles of persuasion and social influence generated in the field of social psychology and applies them to developing more effective health communications strategies. We look at motivating behaviors relevant to preventing cancer and AIDS.

-- By Gila Reinstein


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale boasts three MacArthur Fellows

YSN receives $2.5M grant for research center

As Yale College dean, Salovey will be 'voice on campus' . . .

Reunion focuses on law education in an era of globalization

Satirists rarely reformers, says scholar of genre

Conference looks at influence of Henry Fielding

New database to help link women mentors and mentees

Estonian librarian learns about American system as Yale intern

Exhibit features modernist furniture of the Depression era

City-Wide Open Studios festival celebrates its seventh year

Talks will explore century-long evolution of psychoanalysis

Renewed support will promote center's goal of improving care for elderly

Surgeon earns award for studies on link between aging and tumor growth

Campus Notes

Yale Books in Brief


Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News

Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines

Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home