Faculty Excellence

An exceptional faculty can attract the talented students and scholars who make discovery happen.

Curiosity-driven science. Data-driven social science. Foundational humanist examination. Faculty members at Yale are focused on fundamental discoveries that shape their fields—and ultimately, our lives. Equally important, they excel in student instruction as well as research. Even senior faculty members devote time to teaching, and in every discipline, students are mentored by true intellectual leaders.

Across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and Yale’s thirteen professional schools, we are privileged to count many of the finest scholars in the world, and we remain deeply committed to substantial, ongoing investments in their work.

Every year, Yale competes with peer institutions to hire and retain the most accomplished faculty. Your giving can make a difference by funding areas that faculty care about: onboarding, supplemental research funding, pedagogy, technology, and more.

• Deans need resources to onboard new faculty hires. Sign-on funding includes moving costs, travel funds, laboratory setup, and salary supplements, along with professional opportunities for spouses and partners.
• Competitive hiring packages include start-up funds to purchase equipment, hire technical personnel, and fund initial research activities.
• Rising faculty look for opportunities for career growth and recognition. Funding for specialized programs like the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Tsai CITY, and Yale Ventures demonstrate Yale’s commitment to excellence and advancement.
• The most direct way to support Yale’s distinguished faculty is through the establishment of endowed chairs, or professorships, which year after year supply a substantial and reliable flow of funds for teaching and research activities. When a current or newly recruited faculty member is appointed to a named chair, it signals Yale’s high regard for that scholar as well as a lasting commitment to their area of expertise.

In 1756, Philip Livingston created the first professorship at Yale, endowing a chair in divinity. Since then, we have come to depend on current-use gifts, contributions to the endowment, and endowment growth to provide ample funding for faculty needs.

Today, we face new headwinds. Beginning July 2026, an 8 percent annual federal tax on investment income has placed significant pressure on Yale’s operating budget. At the same time, federal funding agencies have reduced their support of faculty research. Together, these changes mean that Yale has fewer resources available to hire faculty, retain them, and recognize their many contributions.

Your support is vital. Giving to secure faculty excellence—through the annual fund, a dean’s resource fund, or the endowment—signals your support of our faculty and their essential work.