New heads of college named at Davenport, Jonathan Edwards

President Peter Salovey and Dean of Yale College Marvin Chun on Thursday announced the appointment of Anjelica Gonzalez, associate professor of biomedical engineering and faculty director of Tsai CITY, as the next head of Davenport College, and Paul North, professor of Germanic languages and literatures, as the next head of Jonathan Edwards College.

They begin five-year terms on July 1, continuing Yale’s storied tradition of close-knit, residential college life that enriches the student experience both academically and socially.

“These are exciting moments,” Salovey said after introducing Gonzalez to students in the Davenport dining hall. “I know how important a head of college is in the life of Yale students. They are role models and inspirations. They set the academic agenda for the college.”

Anjelica Gonzalez

A pioneering scientist in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, Gonzalez joined Yale in 2007 with a vision for a research laboratory that contributes to both engineering and medicine. She was drawn to Yale’s reputation for encouraging multidisciplinary collaborations and for helping faculty members bring discoveries to communities that need them. And when she’s not conducting cutting-edge science, she finds time to sew her own clothes and coach Little League baseball.

Gonzalez succeeds John Fabian Witt, a professor of law and of history who has served as Davenport’s head since 2017.

Gonzalez’s research focuses on the development of materials that mimic human organs. Bringing together experimental methods and expertise from organic chemistry, molecular biology, mathematics, computational modeling, and image analysis, she develops engineered scaffolds to better understand healthy and diseased states of biological systems. She and her team also use the biomimetic materials they make to study how drugs and other medical interventions can reverse tissue damage caused by environmental pollutants, inflammation, and diseases.

“She encourages students to utilize all aspects of their life experiences and their hopes for the future to make discoveries and to contribute to their area of study — whether it is in engineering and the sciences or not,” Salovey and Chun said in a message to members of the Yale community Thursday, in advance of the live announcement at Davenport. “This is an approach that she follows in her own life. For example, she developed the idea for her startup company, PremieBreathe, by combining her experiences as a mother, her expertise as an engineer, and her aspirations to bring technological advancements to under-resourced families. The low-cost neonatal respiratory device she created is now in use in underserved communities around the world.”

Among her many accolades, Gonzalez has earned the Provost’s Teaching Award, the Biomedical Engineering Society Diversity Award, and the USAID/Gates Foundation DevelopmentxChange Investor Pitch Competition Award. In 2021, she received the inaugural Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Inclusion and Belonging. The National Institutes of Health, Biomedical Engineering Society, Microcirculation Society, American Society for Investigative Pathology, American Physiological Society, and Hartwell Foundation have also acknowledged her distinguished work.

A Las Vegas, Nevada, native who was the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree, Gonzalez received her B.S. in biological engineering from Utah State University and Ph.D. in computational biology from Baylor College of Medicine. She continued her education with post-doctoral work in the Leukocyte Biology and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Texas Children’s Hospital. In addition to being a prolific scientist, she has published articles in the popular press, including The New York Times.

Joining Gonzalez at Davenport are her 11-year-old twin sons, Alex and Jackson. The reigning Bethany-Woodbridge Little League champions are ready to defend their title. “And Professor Gonzalez looks forward to enlisting D’porters to scrimmage with her ferocious sluggers in the courtyard — if they can keep up,” Salovey and Chun said.

The sense of innovation that drives Gonzalez’s research also extends to her sartorial style, and she stands ready to teach students how to sew their own clothing or mend items in need of repair. She is also working on her violin skills and would welcome the opportunity to learn from students.

“I’m coming here with the hope I can become part of this already established community — and perhaps add a little bit of flavor,” Gonzalez said to students gathered at Davenport. “Everything I have, I’m offering to you.”

Paul North

Paul North, a renowned educator and scholar in European literature and philosophy — whose interests also include music and the culinary arts — is an expert at bringing together traditions of writing and thought to critique the concepts that organize society. His work informs understanding of how European imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism have shaped the world.

“Drawing on over two decades of experience in teaching, mentoring, scholarship, and research, he demonstrates to students how a shift in perspective can create the mental and emotional distance needed to confront complex challenges today,” Salovey and Chun wrote in their message about his appointment. “He also encourages students to develop their own critical positions on histories and concepts that influence their lives.”

North succeeds W. Mark Saltzman, a professor of engineering who has served as JE head since 2016.

North has published dozens of articles and book chapters and three critically acclaimed books: “Bizarre Privileged Items in the Universe: The Logic of Likeness,” “The Yield: Kafka’s Atheological Reformation,” and “The Problem of Distraction.” Honored by numerous organizations, North serves on the editorial board of the journal Diacritics, as series editor at Fordham University Press, as a reviewer for numerous publishers, and in leadership roles in many areas at Yale, including in the executive committee of the Humanities Program and in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Senate. His research has been supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and other organizations.

North grew up in Westchester County, New York. He earned his B.A. in English literature from SUNY Binghamton, M.A. in comparative literature from the CUNY Graduate Center, and Ph.D. in comparative literary studies from Northwestern University. When he was a graduate student, he met his partner, Carolina Baffi, while conducting research in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she spent her formative years.

Baffi will serve as the associate head of college. She earned her Ph.D. in Latin American literatures and cultures from Columbia University and is a lector in Yale’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Her area of specialty is twentieth-century Latin American literature. 

Joining them are their two children: Theo, 12, and Callie, 8. Deeply interested in computers, Theo is excited about finding friends who can talk technical specs and programming, while Callie, who is into taekwondo, is looking for sparring partners. They will be bringing their cats, Archie and Lou, who are very affectionate and hoping to get lots of attention.

North, Baffi, Theo, and Callie are voracious readers and are eager to discuss favorite books and authors with the JE community. “They also love to listen to music, but because each of them has distinct — and opposing — tastes, they are excited about the prospect of finding like-minded people at JE,” Salovey and Chun noted. “Although they may battle over the radio, they all have an appreciation for home-cooked meals. Professor North, especially, enjoys spending time in the kitchen, and he welcomes opportunities to share his recipes and learn new ones.”

“I have to say, I’m happy that my kids will hit some of their biggest milestones here, with you,” North told students gathered at the JE dining hall Thursday.

He also spoke of the joys and meaningfulness implicit in the act of people living together in a community. “We’re going to do this together, the hard times and the good times, sharing in this wonderful community,” he said.

A tradition continues

At a pair of in-person events announcing the appointments Thursday afternoon, Salovey and Chun welcomed the newest heads of college and their families, who met with key administrators, residential fellows, and staff members.

Salovey and Chun thanked outgoing heads Witt and Saltzman and associate JE head Christina Pavlak for their leadership, service, and commitment to students.

They also thanked the two search advisory committees. Members of the committee at Davenport were Reina Maruyama, professor of physics and astronomy (chair); Lincoln Caplan, Truman Capote visiting lecturer in law, senior research scholar in law, Davenport writing tutor; Jay Gitlin, senior lecturer of history and associate director of the Howard R. Lamar Center; Karin Gosselink, associate director of undergraduate writing and academic strategies; Patrick Chappel ’24; Simone Felton ’25; Yousra Omer ’22; and Adam Wassilchalk ’23. Members of the committee at JE were Themis Kyriakides, professor of pathology and biomedical engineering (chair); Sybil Alexandrov, senior lector II in Spanish and Portuguese; Sharon Chekijian, assistant professor of emergency medicine; Martha Munoz, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology; Nickolina Doran ’22; Michael Bochkur Dratver ’23; Allison Lee ’25; Anna Martinelli-Parker ’24; and Beza Tessema ’24.

North and his family stayed for supper. “Thanks for having us to your dining room,” he said to a round of hearty applause.

Gonzalez and her sons beamed throughout the introductions and remarks at Davenport. “This is such an honor,” she said.