Former Yale president, psychology professor and Stanford alumnus Peter Salovey ’80 began a five-year appointment to Stanford’s Board of Trustees on Dec. 1.
Salovey served as Yale’s president from 2013 to 2024 and the institution’s provost from 2008 to 2013. Since joining Yale’s faculty in 1986, Salovey also served as dean of Yale College, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Chair of Yale’s psychology department. He was succeeded as Yale’s president by art historian Maurie McInnis in July.
“Having stepped down from the [Yale] presidency last summer, I was delighted that Stanford asked me to be a trustee as I believe my experiences at Yale, as well as my education at Stanford, allow me to provide a different perspective on the issues facing Stanford and higher education more generally,” Salovey wrote in an email to The Daily.
Salovey received his B.A. in psychology and a coterminal M.A. in sociology from Stanford in 1980. At Yale, he completed his M.S., M.Phil and Ph.D, focusing his research on the connections between emotion, health communication and health behavior.
According to Salovey, his position as a board member focuses on University governance rather than day-to-day management. As a trustee, Salovey will focus his efforts on strategy, helping to manage risks to the University’s well-being and oversee University processes in tandem with the president.
“Most of the issues that I dealt with at Yale are similar to the ones that are challenging for Stanford, even though these are different universities with different personalities,” Salovey wrote. “Our country’s very best research universities are all concerned with the public’s trust in our research and educational missions, funding for cutting-edge research and scholarship, an education that motivates critical thinking and engaged citizens and… remaining accessible and affordable to talented students.”
Board Chair and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang ’90 M.S. ’90 said he was “delighted” to welcome Salovey to the board. Salovey brings a “tremendous depth of leadership experience” that will “be invaluable to the board’s work,” Yang added.
Salovey wrote that he hopes to work closely with University president Jonathan Levin ’94 throughout his time as a trustee, supporting Levin’s leadership from the beginning of his tenure. Levin’s father, economist Rick Levin, served as Yale president for 20 years and directly preceded Salovey.
“I very much enjoy remaining engaged in important issues facing higher education and, particularly, Stanford, and I have been thrilled to get to know my fellow trustees,” Salovey wrote. “I love the idea of supporting Jon Levin’s presidency right from the start. My goal as a trustee is to assist our new president in making Stanford that absolute best version of itself that it could possibly be.”