Richard C Levin

Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Economics and Professor of Management

Biography

Richard C. Levin, Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Economics, has been Yale’s President since 1993. He received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1968 and studied politics and philosophy at Oxford University, where he earned a B.Litt. degree. He received his Ph.D. from Yale in 1974 and joined the Yale faculty. Before becoming president, he chaired the economics department and served as dean of Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In August, Mr. Levin announced that he will step down as President of the University at the end of the current academic year, his twentieth year of service.

Exciting ventures to improve the University locally, nationally, and internationally have been a hallmark of Mr. Levin’s presidency. Close to home, his goals have included improving the campus infrastructure, and the University has invested over $5 billion in the renovation and construction of its facilities. Strengthening connections to the City of New Haven has led to innovative partnerships that have advanced economic development and encouraged home ownership in the City. In fall 2010, Yale joined with the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven and the City to announce New Haven Promise, a visionary scholarship and support program for city residents who graduate from a public school in the city and attend college in Connecticut. In mid-June 2007, the University purchased the Bayer HealthCare complex, a property with over 500,000 square feet of state-of-the-art research space, as well as office buildings, warehouses and other facilities.

Launching and enhancing international initiatives has been another priority. All Yale undergraduates now have the opportunity to study or participate in internships abroad. Several years ago, need-based financial aid became available for all international students in Yale College as it has been for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Mr. Levin has established numerous educational and research partnerships in China and India. On March 31, 2011, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Yale announced that Yale-NUS College would be established in Singapore, providing a new model of liberal arts education for Asia.

Mr. Levin is recognized as an advocate and leader of the role of higher education in local and global sustainable development. He established an Office of Sustainability in 2005, and that year endorsed an aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target and strategy for the University.

Mr. Levin serves on President Obama’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology. He is a trustee of the Hewlett Foundation, a director of ClimateWorks, American Express, and C3, and a member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. He served on a bipartisan commission to recommend improvements in the nation’s intelligence capabilities and he co-chaired a major review of the nation’s patent system for the National Academy of Sciences. President Levin holds honorary degrees from Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, Peking, Tokyo, and Waseda universities and Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Richard Levin and his wife, Jane, have lived in New Haven throughout their more than 40 years at Yale. They have four children and seven grandchildren.