To the University of Rochester Community:
It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce that David S. Figlio, currently the Orrington Lunt Professor of Education and Social Policy and Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, will join the University of Rochester on July 1, 2022 as our new Provost.
David is a fellow of the National Academy of Education, and an internationally renowned expert in policy design, the link between health and education, and higher education practice, among many areas of scholarly interest. An economist by training, he is also a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
David and I worked together when I was Dean of Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and he was Director of Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research. He is a respected scholar whose academic work has generated real societal impact. He is an outstanding teacher at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is also a collaborative, creative administrator and colleague. You can learn more about him here.
David’s appointment is the result of a careful and exhaustive search by the dedicated members of the Provost Search Committee, which was chaired by Mark Taubman, CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center and Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and supported by the executive search firm Isaacson Miller. The committee left no stone unturned to identify an outstanding candidate pool, and I am grateful for their efforts. It has resulted in a terrific outcome!
But my greatest thanks must go to Sarah Peyre, who has served – and will continue to serve for the spring semester – as Interim Provost. Sarah has dedicated herself completely to the role. She has been tireless in leading our strategic planning efforts and our COVID-19 response. She has supported and advocated for our faculty in ways large and small. She has also been a wise and supportive adviser to me. I am happy that I will be able to rely on her thoughtful guidance and counsel until June 30 – and hopefully after that when she returns to her role as Dean of the Warner School. I would also like to offer my sincerest thanks to the Warner School for “loaning” Sarah to the Provost’s Office during this time of transition.
David’s appointment is wonderful news for me and for the University of Rochester. He will bring his intellect and energy, and his collegiality and creativity to the Provost’s role. I know he is excited to join the University of Rochester at this time of great opportunity and optimism. There will be opportunities to get to know David in the next few months, and even more when he arrives this summer. But in the meantime, I hope you will join me in welcoming David to the University of Rochester.
Meliora,
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor