Richard S. Schottenfeld, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Head of Yale’s Davenport College, will be appointed Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry at Howard University College of Medicine beginning in September 2017.
Schottenfeld, who has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale since 1984, is noted for his work in clinical research, program development, and medical education aimed at improving the accessibility and effectiveness of medical treatments for substance use disorders.
“After working almost all my professional life at Yale, I am thrilled by this opportunity to develop and strengthen education and training, clinical research, and clinical programs in psychiatry at the Howard University College of Medicine,” Schottenfeld said. “I am particularly excited because of the College of Medicine’s historic mission of preparing physicians and other health care professionals to serve the underserved (with a focus on the education of disadvantaged students), improving public health, and discovering new knowledge through research.”
While at Yale, Schottenfeld served as Director of the Substance Abuse Treatment Unit at the Connecticut Mental Health Center and CEO of the APT Foundation. He was the founding Director of the Addiction Psychiatry Residency Training Program and Director of the NIDA-funded post-doctoral drug abuse clinical research training program at Yale. His clinical research and program development helped lay the groundwork for expansion of medical treatments for substance use disorders beyond specialty programs into Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and other general medical settings in the United States and internationally, including Malaysia and Iran.
Richard has been an important contributor to the Yale Psychiatry community for over 30 years. He has emerged as a local, national, and international leader in the field of substance abuse education, treatment and research
John Krystal, MD, Chair, Yale Department of Psychiatry
In addition to his work in Yale Medical School, Schottenfeld has served as Head of Davenport College since 2001.
“Richard has been an important contributor to the Yale Psychiatry community for over 30 years. He has emerged as a local, national, and international leader in the field of substance abuse education, treatment and research,” said John Krystal, MD, Chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry. “Richard is a valued friend and colleague. I am sad that he will be leaving our community. However, I am thrilled that he will have the opportunity to lead the Howard Department of Psychiatry. At Yale, we develop leaders, and Richard joins the long list of psychiatry chairs to emerge from our Department.”
Schottenfeld completed residency training in Psychiatry and the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale before joining the Yale Psychiatry Department faculty. He received his BA in English Literature and MD from Yale, completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York City, and then worked as a General Practitioner in Wyoming before returning to Yale for his Psychiatry residency.