After a rigorous selection process involving input from faculty and consultations with the FAS Dean’s Office the Sociology Department is delighted to announce that Grace Kao will be the next Chair of Sociology. Her appointment starts July 1. Phil Smith, who has been Chair for the past three years, will be stepping down and spending sabbatical time in Oxford, UK, working on a book on the history of Durkheimian thought.
Phil says: “My time as Chair was exciting and rewarding in equal measure. Through the role I came to know so many wonderful scholars, some at Yale in cognate disciplines and others in the US Sociology community. I was impressed by the volume of goodwill that is out there for us. A benefit of the position is that you can discover a little more about how a complex organization like Yale operates. As Chair you get to see behind the curtain in ways that are not possible for a regular faculty member. I’m certain Grace is going to represent our Department with distinction and do an amazing job as the we move forward”.