More news of Yale people

Megan Varner

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Appointed

The Reverend Dr. Gabrielle Rachael Thomas (left) has been chosen as the next dean and president of Berkeley Divinity School, an Episcopal seminary affiliated with Yale Divinity School. Thomas is currently a tenured associate professor at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. Before that, she was a lecturer in early Christianity and Anglican studies at YDS from 2019 to 2021. Thomas takes office on July 1, succeeding Andrew McGowan, who is stepping down after 12 years. Thomas will also serve as an associate dean of YDS and on its faculty. 

The Yale Board of Trustees has selected two new successor trustees for six-year terms. Derek Chang ’89 is president and CEO of Liberty Media, the global mass media company based in Colorado. He holds an MBA from Stanford. Philippe Costeletos ’87 is founder of the London-based private investment firm Stemar Capital Partners; he received an MBA from Columbia. The Board of Trustees, formally known as the Yale Corporation, consists of ten successor trustees chosen by the board and six trustees elected by the alumni. The president of the university and the governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut are ex officio members.

The deans of three of Yale’s professional schools have been appointed to new terms beginning July 1. Deborah Berke will enter her third five-year term as dean of the School of Architecture, as will Indy Burke at the School of the Environment. Kymberly Pinder ’95PhD will begin her second term at the School of Art. 

Honored

Three Yalies will study at the University of Cambridge this fall as Gates Cambridge Scholars. They are among 26 Gates Cambridge Scholars from the US this year. Tenzin Dhondup ’26, who grew up in New Haven and at the Hunsur Tibetan Refugee Settlement in India, will pursue an MPhil degree in population health sciences. Lily Jackson ’26, from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, will pursue an MPhil in archeological research. Anna Rullan Buxo ’22, currently a math teacher in her hometown, San Juan, Puerto Rico, will pursue a PhD in chemistry. The full scholarships for study at Cambridge are offered to outstanding students who are “committed to improving the lives of others.”