Yale Appoints Richard Levin as President

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale University announced Thursday that graduate school dean Richard C. Levin has been appointed as the university’s 22nd president.

Levin will take over July 1 from acting President Howard Lamar, who filled in after the resignation last June of Benno C. Schmidt.

“I love this place. I’ve been here for 23 years as a student and faculty member. I couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Levin, 46, who becomes the first Jewish president of the school.

Levin will face some formidable tasks, including bringing costs under control as the 292-year-old university faces growing budget deficits. He said his priorities are balancing the budget, improving the physical condition of the campus and obtaining increased public funding for the sciences.

Levin, a graduate of Stanford University, received his doctorate from Yale in 1974 and began teaching there the same year. After five years as chairman of the economics department, he was named graduate school dean a year ago.