Scott A. Strobel

Scott Strobel is Yale University’s provost and Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry (MB&B). As chief academic and chief budgetary officer, he is responsible for advancing Yale’s academic and research priorities and stewarding university resources to support current and future generations of faculty, students, and staff. He assumed the role of provost in 2020.

 

As provost, Strobel leads strategic planning to further Yale’s academic mission, including initiatives that transcend school and disciplinary boundaries. He also oversees the university budget process as well as curriculum and educational policy, working closely with the university’s deans to lead the faculty in their pursuit of research and teaching excellence. In addition, Strobel guides campus planning efforts that strengthen the university’s academic strategy, creating infrastructure that enables students and scholars to excel in research, scholarship, teaching, and learning. 

 

Strobel joined the Yale faculty in 1995 and served as chair of the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from 2006 to 2009. From 2011 to 2019, he was vice president for west campus planning and program development and orchestrated the evolution of Yale’s West Campus, now home to the Yale School of Nursing, state-of-the-art core facilities, space for the university’s collections, and numerous research institutes and centers. In July 2014, Strobel assumed additional responsibility as the inaugural deputy provost for teaching and learning, guiding the creation of the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning to support students and faculty across campus. Later, he chaired the University Science Strategy Committee, charged by the president and provost with developing a ten-year strategic plan for the sciences and engineering at Yale. In 2019, as vice provost for science initiatives, he initiated the plan’s implementation, which he continues to oversee in his role as provost. 

 

Strobel’s research group explores the chemical basis of RNA function and the role of the fluoride ion channel in cellular fluoride detoxification. As a professor of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), he instituted a program to explore microbial and chemical diversity in the world’s rainforests as a means to inspire undergraduate students in the sciences. He continues to lead students and others on trips to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

 

Strobel has received the Dylan Hixon Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences, the Graduate Mentoring Award in the Sciences, and the Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for Meritorious Service to the University. He received a B.A. in biochemistry from Brigham Young University and earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, where he studied under Peter B. Dervan.