Maurie McInnis is the 24th president of Yale University and a professor in the Department of the History of Art. A cultural historian and author of five books, she has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, anthologies and exhibition catalogs.
McInnis assumed the presidency on July 1, 2024, after previously serving as president of Stony Brook University. Earlier in her career, she held senior leadership positions at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia. She began her academic career at Yale as a graduate student and has spent more than three decades in higher education as a scholar, teacher and administrator.
Since taking office, McInnis said she has engaged faculty, students, staff and alumni in discussions about Yale’s priorities, including expanding educational opportunities for students, strengthening the university’s research impact and fostering open dialogue across diverse viewpoints. She has also emphasized strengthening Yale’s relationship with its home city of New Haven, including launching initiatives such as a fellowship program for local teachers.
Yale is also collaborating with the University of Connecticut to build a quantum research corridor aimed at positioning the state as a national hub for quantum technology.
More recently, McInnis has overseen cost-saving measures following a federal increase in the tax on university endowment investment income. Yale estimates the higher tax will cost the university about $280 million annually. In response, administrators have reduced non-salary expenses, slowed some construction projects and reduced the workforce while continuing to prioritize academic investments.
Among those priorities is a long-term effort to expand Yale’s physical sciences and engineering programs through new faculty hires and updated research facilities.