Hockfield looks to bring new attitude to HGS

By Melissa DePetris

LIZ OLINER/YH New Graduate School Dean Susan Hockfield said she wanted to create a more 'friendly and supportive environment' and improve the school's relationship with Yale College.

President Richard Levin, GRD '74, named medical school professor Susan Hockfield the next Dean of Yale's Graduate School on Thurs., Apr. 9. In an interview with The Herald this week, Hockfield revealed her goals, her vision for the future of the school, and the ways she feels she can best serve its dynamic and evolving community.

Yale Herald: What are your immediate plans for the graduate school, and what will be your top priorities as Dean?

Susan Hockfield: This is a new job for me, so I still have an enormous amount to learn about the needs of the school, and I believe my priorities will evolve. However, my major goal is to facilitate graduate education and programs.

YH: Could you describe what characteristics you believe qualify you for your job and why you feel Levin selected you over the other candidates for this position?

SH: I certainly can't read the president's mind, but I think there are many activities and programs that I have participated in during my time at Yale that qualify me. I have been very involved in graduate education, and I am absolutely committed to fostering and helping graduate students progress through graduate teacher training to become scholars and scientists. I was Director of Graduate Studies in neurobiology for eight years, and I served on the Executive Committee for the graduate school and a number of sub-committees that examine the relationships among the different graduate programs in the biological and biomedical sciences at Yale. Outside of Yale, I have also been involved in education in professional societies, graduate training, and post-doctoral training.... None of these things are covert and I am sure they were all brought to the attention of the president during his decision process.

YH: Frank Ruddle, chair of the selection committee, mentioned that in particular, Yale was looking for a candidate well-equipped to implement "necessary changes" to the school. Do you feel that you are qualified to make major changes to the graduate school?

SH: The major change I want to see is really one of attitude. The graduate school should facilitate programs. The departments and programs should be able to turn to the graduate school to support their activities. I would like to create a more friendly and supportive environment. During [current Graduate School Dean Thomas] Appelquist's term, the administration clearly demonstrated enthusiastic support for graduate training. I don't see this as change; I see it as a continuation of policies that have already begun, though many people may be unaware of these changes.

YH: Could you name some of these changes that have in part gone unrecognized?

SH: There has been a substantial increase in the funding of stipends for students in the humanities and social sciences. I think this is a major change that is wonderful. The graduate school has also concentrated on career services and training, finding different job opportunities for students. The McDougal Center is another. One of the difficulties of graduate training that I remember acutely is that the student has just come from an undergraduate environment where there are all kinds of social structures and all kinds of opportunities to talk to other students who may be majoring in other fields. Then students come to graduate school and the environment is completely different. There are no social structures that allow them to feel like part of the community and that is a shame. So I am hoping to use the McDougal Center to strengthen the feeling of community among the graduate students.

YH: If you were to assess the graduate school right now, what would you say were its strengths and weaknesses, and how would you approach the creation of solutions to some of these weaknesses?

SH: I believe that one of the really great strengths of Yale is its faculty and the high level of scholarship that exists throughout this university. Graduate education is about scholarship, and I think Yale is really almost unparalleled in being a wonderfully rich environment for graduate education. I think we don't give ourselves enough credit for it sometimes, and it's not appreciated enough, what a wonderful place Yale is for study.

In terms of weaknesses, I think the graduate school could be [made into a more united community], through a lot of the programs that have already begun, such as the McDougal Center for Graduate Life, the new efforts in teacher training, and career services. There are so many new initiatives in place at the graduate school right now that serve not to substitute for things that go on in the academic departments but to foster and facilitate them. I want to continue that kind of activity.

YH: The members of the selection committee also mentioned that they sought a candidate with a scientific background to balance out the humanities and social science trainings of the President and the Provost. How do you feel being a neurobiologist will influence your policies and your general perspective?

SH: I don't think being a neurobiologist is important for policies or for outlook. However, the Dean of the graduate school has two roles--one of overseeing activities that go on in the graduate school, and the other to work with the Dean of the College and the Provost on faculty appointments and promotions. I think that it is important to have a scientist in those ranks, who understands the rigors and the challenges of being a scientist. I am hoping that my perspective will be somewhat different from those of the other senior members of the Administration and that it will help.

YH: Will you implement, change, or enforce any current policies regarding women, minorities, and tenure? Will you try to increase the number of tenured professors at Yale who are female or minorities?

SH: I am absolutely committed to a level playing field. I would not be in the position where I am today if opportunities had not been open to me. I think it is very important that all people here, whether they are undergraduates, graduate students, or faculty, should be seen first as scholars. There cannot be any question about this.

YH: How do you feel about GESO's past and current demands, including last year's grade strike?

SH: I agree completely with the position the administration has taken again and again. I feel very strongly that a union is not an appropriate vehicle for communication between the graduate students and the administration.

YH: There has long been a near-adversarial attitude between the students in GESO and the administration. How do you plan to bridge this gap? Do you have any ideas for possible alternative outlets for students to express their concerns and demands?

SH: There is no alternative to open and direct communication between graduate students and faculty. Any way that I can facilitate this communication, I will do so. The educational mission and goals that bring graduate students and faculty together are the goals that we have to pursue. It is a great privilege to be a scholar and I consider it to be a great privilege to be a student going into a life of scholarship.

YH: Will you do anything to change the relationship between the graduate school and Yale College? How do you perceive this relationship?

SH: I want to promote that relationship. Graduate students are a central element of the community and I am not sure how to more fully incorporate them into the life of the university, but I am looking for ways. I think many grad students feel disenfranchised, and they should not. I will be exploring this with the faculty and the residential colleges.

YH: What do you feel is unique about a Yale Graduate School education?

SH: Speaking from my own experience of being a scholar at Yale compared to elsewhere, Yale offers many more opportunities for collaboration even with people outside of one's own area. Yale is the most collegial place I have ever been. I think the many opportunities for interdisciplinary study are wonderfully rich. Faculty here are overwhelming in their praise for the interactive nature of Yale study. I have never found a closed door at Yale.

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