Dr. Claude M. Steele Named Columbia University Provost

Dr. Claude M. Steele Named Columbia University Provost: Columbia University has announced the appointment of Dr. Claude M. Steele as the University’s 21st provost to be effective Sept. 1, 2009. Known for developing the theory of stereotype threat in psychology, Steele will move to Columbia from Stanford University, where he has been a psychology professor since 1991. He currently holds the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences and is director of Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Steele will succeed Dr. Alan Brinkley, a historian and Columbia’s current provost. Brinkley will take a year-long academic leave before returning to full-time teaching and research at Columbia.