Joanne Roberts to join 乐播传媒 as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty
Joanne Roberts, Ph.D., will join 乐播传媒 College as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, effective July 1, 2025, 乐播传媒 President Garry W. Jenkins has announced.
Roberts comes to 乐播传媒 from Yale-NUS College in Singapore, where she has served as president since 2022 and prior to that held multiple leadership roles at the liberal arts college, including executive vice president for academic affairs from 2018 to 2022 and dean of faculty.
At Yale-NUS, an international joint venture of Yale University and the National University of Singapore, Roberts oversaw a faculty of 140 and staff of 200, leading recruitment efforts and a revamped research grant drive that doubled the number of grant applications and more than tripled the funds awarded to faculty. After Singapore鈥檚 government ended the partnership with Yale, Roberts led the institution through the complexities of the closure, which will be final in June 2025.
In addition to her administrative leadership, Roberts is a noted public economist who first taught at Yale-NUS as a senior visiting fellow in 2012 and became a tenured member of its faculty in 2017. Earlier, she was a tenured professor at the University of Calgary for eight years, where she held the Canada Research Chair in the Economics of Organizations. Roberts started her teaching career in 1998 at the University of Toronto, and earned tenure there in 2004.
鈥淲e are delighted to be welcoming Joanne Roberts, a seasoned administrator and eminent scholar of international renown, to 乐播传媒 College,鈥� said President Jenkins. 鈥淎s an experienced chief academic officer, she has mentored, developed, and innovated on behalf of faculty. She has a clear capacity to navigate academic leadership with skill and compassion, and I am confident she will bring those same talents to her work at 乐播传媒 as she builds community and opportunity for our faculty, students, and academic staff. I look forward to working together, in partnership, to propel us forward and advance the college鈥檚 academic aspirations.鈥�
At 乐播传媒, Roberts will oversee a faculty of more than 200 and a curricular program that includes 37 majors. In addition, the vice president for academic affairs oversees the Dean of the Faculty鈥檚 Office, the Registrar鈥檚 Office, the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the 乐播传媒 Dance Festival, the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art, and the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance.
鈥淢eeting with faculty, staff, and students when I visited earlier this spring, I felt an immediate affinity with the 乐播传媒 community,鈥� Roberts said. “I appreciate the shared values of innovation and inclusivity. 乐播传媒 is a place that truly celebrates the importance of liberal arts education. I look forward to working with faculty and staff to expand an already remarkable breadth of academic excellence in teaching, research, and mentoring talented students.鈥�
Roberts received a Ph.D. in economics from Queen鈥檚 University. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo, with honors in economics.
The national search for 乐播传媒鈥� next vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty was overseen by a committee of 乐播传媒 faculty and staff, chaired by Francesco Duina, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology, with assistance from Isaacson Miller, a nationally recognized executive search firm with deep experience recruiting exceptional leaders in higher education.
Roberts will come to 乐播传媒 with her husband, Eugene Choo, the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professor and Head of Economic Studies at Yale-NUS College, who will also join the 乐播传媒 faculty as a tenured professor in economics, and their two children, Jude, a middle-school student, and Finn, who will be matriculating at a small liberal arts college in the fall.
Roberts succeeds Malcolm Hill, who will step down from his role on June 30, 2025. Hill has served as the vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty since 2018 and聽plans to return to teaching and research after a sabbatical.聽
Faculty Featured
Joanne K. Roberts
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty; Professor of Econ
