David Post

Background

About David Post

I am a field biologist and academic leader. I am an award winning field biologist with decades of experience studying the ecology and evolution of aquatic (and some terrestrial) ecosystems around the globe. My research addressed long-standing questions about food web structure and dynamics, the role of animals in moving nutrients and organic matter across the landscape, the use of stable isotopes in ecology and evolutionary biology, and the impact of reciprocal interactions between ecology and contemporary evolution on communities and ecosystems. My research resides within and address topics across conservation and environmental change. As an academic leader, I have extensive experience leading faculty, staff teams, programs, and institutions through some of the most difficult crises in higher education. I have summarized some of my experience in a guide to crisis leadership: Most recently, as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Yale-NUS College, I supported a community in crisis after it was announced that Yale-NUS College would close in 2025. In addition to overseeing and managed all aspects of faculty and academic affairs, I worked with my academic team and staff across the College to plan and implement the systematic closing of Yale-NUS. I developed and implemented a strategic plan for transferring 140 faculty into 9 Schools and 25 academic units at the National University of Singapore (NUS). I also coordinated the transition of over 50 staff into new roles at NUS and beyond. As part of these faculty and staff transitions to NUS, I worked with NUS to maintain critical campus services - such as the library, information technology, and science labs - through several service level agreements. With my team, I planned and maintained the College curriculum as enrolment and staffing declined, providing the Yale-NUS students with the quality and diversity of courses they expected when they matriculated. With careful planning, we were able to maintain the educational experience of students while balancing the career needs and aspirations of the faculty and staff. I am proud of what the faculty and staff of Yale-NUS College accomplished under such challenging conditions and grateful for the opportunity to lead and serve the community.