Dear colleagues,
I write to share that Lawrence Bobo, Dean of Social Science and the W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences, will be taking a personal leave for the spring 2025 term. I look forward to welcoming him back as dean for the fall 2025 term.
We are very fortunate that David Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, has agreed to serve as interim dean during Larry’s absence. David brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as dean of the Division of Social Science from 2003 to 2008.
An economist with secondary appointments at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, David’s work explores questions regarding the factors that influence our health and how to improve health through them, as well as how to move towards a better health system. He has authored three books, including Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation, in addition to many book chapters and papers. His recent work has focused on the cause of the opioid crisis, the economic costs of COVID and long COVID, and how the returns to medical care compare to spending on medicine.
David is currently a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He also has a distinguished record of public service, having served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council during the Clinton administration and advised several presidential campaigns. He is a commissioner of the Health Policy Commission in Massachusetts.
Through our work together on the Tenure-Track Review Committee in 2021, I came to appreciate David’s sound judgement, wise counsel, and deep commitment to the social sciences. I want to thank David for answering the call to serve the Division and the FAS. I look forward to working with him this spring.
Sincerely,
Hopi
Hopi Hoekstra
Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
C. Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences
Xiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences