Herbaria Head Leaves Tenured Position for Yale

In a rare departure of a tenured Faculty member, Michael J. Donoghue, director of the Harvard University Herbaria, will leave Harvard for a position at Yale University at the end of this academic year.

Donoghue, a professor of biology, began his tenure at Harvard in 1993, becoming director of the herbaria in 1995. He will join Yale's recently formed Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) in July as the Hutchinson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

The herbaria, located on Divinity Ave., houses libraries and a large collection of plant and fungal specimens.

Donoghue said he was attracted to Yale because he will be able to play an important role in the department's development. The EEB branched off of Yale's main biology department two years ago as part of an effort to "make Yale a leader in Environmental and Evolutionary Sciences," according to the EEB Web site.

"Yale represents a real chance and opportunity to build a program in the area of biodiversity," Donoghue said.

"I'm just getting a positive vibration about making that change and being involved in building that program."

Yale's ecology and evolutionary biology program is far less established than the one at Harvard, which has the largest collection of botanical specimens of any university, though Yale is making a concerted effort to improve its program.

"The resources to do empirical research [at Harvard] are much better than they are at Yale," said Professor of Biology and Curator of the Paleobotanical Collections in the Herbaria Andrew H. Knoll. "I think the attraction as it is to the Yale department is to be part of a new effort trying to get off the ground."

The Yale EEB department is scheduled to double in size over the next few years, and construction on a facility devoted to environmental and biodiversity studies is already underway, according to Donoghue.

In his new position, Donoghue said he will work closely with Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Part of his role will involve forming a link between those institutions and the EEB department, he said.

He will also be bringing several of his current projects with him. His recent work includes research in the origin of flowering plants and exploratory work on biodiversity in the eastern Himalayas.

"We are very excited about the prospect of Michael joining our faculty, and we think that we will have a productive relationship within the department," said Gunter P. Wagner, chair of the EEB department .

Donoghue's colleagues at Harvard said that he has been an exceptional leader at the herbaria and that he will be missed.

"He has been instrumental in rejuvenating one of Harvard's important biological assets," Knoll said. "He has also done great service as a teacher and has contributed to the general intellectual climate."

Donoghue's presence at Harvard also "increased the visibility of the herbaria in the international community," said Associate Professor of Biology David A. Baum.

Harvard has not yet named a new director for its herbaria. A departmental committee that has been formed to plan the next five years of development will likely play a role in any new appointments, Knoll said.

While Donoghue's departure does not create an immediate need for a replacement, it does "press on the department's need to articulate a larger plan, with attention to the herbarium," Knoll said.

Donoghue said he is also excited about the title of his position, named for the famed ecologist and evolutionary biologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson.

"I actually consider myself very honored because Hutchinson was always a hero of mine." Donoghue said. "He was someone I looked up to and admired."

More importantly, he said he looks forward to developing the program at Yale, with a special focus on biodiversity.

"The more we can do to have excellence in the area of biodiversity, the better," he said. "I hope in a few years, I can look back on this and say Yale has gotten much better in this area."