About Dean Hoekstra

Dean Hopi Hoekstra

FAS Dean Hopi Hoekstra

Hopi Hoekstra, a pathbreaking scholar of the life sciences, has led the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since August 1, 2023.

Dean Hoekstra, the Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the C. Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences, and theXiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences, has been a member of the Harvard faculty since 2007. Her research focuses on evolutionary genetics, with emphasis on the traits that enable mammals to adapt to changing natural environments. Her work integrates laboratory techniques with experiments in the field, and bridges such areas as ecology, evolution, behavior, genetics and genomics, and neurobiology. A Howard Hughes Medical Institution Investigator from 2013 until her appointment as dean, she is also a member of the Broad Institute. Her research has been recognized with the National Academy of Sciences’ Lounsbery Award and the American Society of Mammalogists’ Merriam Award, among other honors. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Philosophical Society.  

Dean Hoekstra’s extensive teaching portfolio includes her role as course head and longtime instructor in Life Sciences 1b, one of Harvard College’s foundational science courses, which attracts hundreds of students each year.  She also has a strong record of mentoring undergraduates who conduct research in her laboratory, many of whom have published papers, attended research conferences, and then pursued graduate school, medical school, or other science careers. She is a devoted mentor to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows—through her lab and as co-chair of a monthly seminar series on evolutionary genomics for scholars from Harvard and neighboring institutions. Her teaching has been honored with a Harvard College Professorship and the Fannie Cox Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching. This spring she was appointed the C.Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences, recognizing her outstanding contributions to teaching and research in the FAS.

Prior to becoming dean, Hoekstra was deeply engaged in many salient issues facing the FAS and the University. In 2020-21, she chaired the FAS Tenure Track Review Committee, drawing colleagues from across the FAS into important study of the Faculty’s future. From 2016 through 2021, she served on the FAS Committee on Appointments and Promotions, which addresses senior academic appointments across the FAS’s diverse disciplines. In 2017-18, she was asked to serve on the University-wide faculty advisory committee for the presidential search. For parts of the past decade, she has also been a member of the FAS Faculty Council, the Provost’s Academic Leadership Forum, the University-wide Steering Committee on Life Sciences, the faculty steering committee for the Harvard Brain Science Initiative, and the Provost’s Advisory Committee. Additionally, she served as vice president and then president of Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa Society. In leadership positions of several scientific societies, she has advocated for promoting women faculty and improving equity and inclusion in the sciences. She has presented dozens of named and public lectures nationwide and abroad, served as a member of numerous advisory councils and editorial boards, and recently chaired the National Academy of Sciences’ section on evolutionary biology.

Contact

Phone: 617-495-1566
Email: fasdean@fas.harvard.edu

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