Heather Tookes, a professor of finance at the Yale School of Management (SOM), has been named the university's inaugural vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, Provost Scott Strobel announced this week.
Beginning Sept. 1, Tookes will lead the efforts of colleagues in the provost's office who support faculty and academic affairs, each of whom will continue to direct their existing portfolios. Tookes will provide strategic, university-wide leadership for programs and services that enable Yale faculty to advance exceptional research, scholarship, and teaching.
In addition to serving as vice provost, Tookes will continue to conduct research and teach, Strobel wrote in a message to colleagues.
In this inaugural role, Tookes will work closely with campus partners, including the deans of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools, to oversee faculty workforce planning and faculty development and support programs outside the Yale School of Medicine. She will also provide leadership on matters related to academic policies and procedures, faculty mentorship and community, and faculty data stewardship and strategic reporting.
In his message, Strobel emphasized Tookes' experience in faculty affairs and her engagement as a university citizen. From 2022 to 2025, Tookes was deputy dean for faculty at SOM, overseeing faculty recruitment, retention, promotion, and development. She has also served as a faculty member of the university's Budget Advisory Group and Gift and Grant Risk Assessment Committee and as chair of the President's Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility.
"In these roles, Heather has advised university leaders on a wide range of issues affecting different schools and units, as well as Yale more broadly. Her experience and commitment to thinking across the institution will serve her well in advancing priorities that support faculty excellence," Strobel wrote.
Tookes, who joined Yale in 2004, is an accomplished scholar whose research focuses on how market liquidity, leverage, and trading frictions impact firms and financial markets. She has published many papers, served on editorial boards, and received numerous teaching awards. She currently serves as a trustee of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
"It is an honor to serve my faculty colleagues and Yale in this way," said Tookes. "After 22 years at Yale, I am amazed every day by our faculty and the impact of their work, which inspires students in the classroom and improves our understanding of the world around us."
"Policies, programs, and structures are often silent supports that help faculty thrive," she added. "As I step into this role, I am eager to learn as much as I can from stakeholders across campus about what faculty need to do their best work. I welcome the opportunity to bring additional faculty perspective to the provost's office, work with the dedicated faculty affairs team to strengthen the infrastructure that supports our colleagues, and help Yale sustain excellence in this rapidly changing world."
In his message, Strobel praised Tookes' commitment to shared governance, academic excellence, and community engagement. "I am grateful that she will leverage her many experiences to expand and improve the resources, programs, and operations that support the faculty experience," he wrote.
Strobel also thanked members of the search advisory committee as well as colleagues in the provost's office whose work will continue to shape and strengthen faculty affairs under Tookes' leadership.
