David Nirenberg

"David Nirenberg sees connections everywhere. As a professor of medieval history, he charted the relatedness of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought in different eras. As a dean at the University of Chicago Divinity School, he championed a program to promote collaborative ideas across the university."

On September 19, 2022, Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg delivered remarks as 281 new and returning scholars arrived on campus, from postdoctoral fellows at the beginning of their research careers to distinguished senior academics, in order to celebrate the formal start of the 2022–23 academic year.

The 2022–23 academic year sees new Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg welcome new and returning Members from 36 countries, representing approximately 107 academic institutions worldwide.

On May 26, 2022, IAS celebrated the establishment of the Gopal Prasad Professorship, in recognition of prolific mathematician and six-time IAS Member Gopal Prasad.

On May 20, 2022, IAS celebrated Founders Day in recognition of  Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld, the brother and sister who founded and endowed IAS on May 20, 1930. The event was held on campus, beginning with a toast led by Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg.

The Institute is proud to announce the creation of the Gopal Prasad Professorship in recognition of prolific mathematician and six-time Member of IAS, Gopal Prasad. The professorship, endowed with a gift from the Prasad family, ensures that future...

As we witness with horror the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, I want to express my sympathy for all who are suffering, and to reiterate the support of the Institute for Advanced Study for its Scholars, Staff, and Friends whose lives have been touched. From the outbreak of the war, the IAS community has rallied to offer logistical assistance to scholars and their families affected by the violence. I am grateful to the Institute staff and our legal services for the expertise they have provided. Please know that we are available in any case of need.

Suzanne Conklin Akbari, Professor in the School of Historical Studies, has been elected to the Medieval Academy of America’s Fellows Class of 2022. The highest honor granted by the academy, it is bestowed upon scholars “who have made notable lifelong contributions to Medieval Studies through their scholarship, teaching, and service.”

Robbert Dijkgraaf, IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor (2012–22), was sworn in by King Willem-Alexander on January 10, 2022, as Minister of Education, Culture and Science, joining the fourth cabinet of Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

*Update (01/14/22): David Nirenberg to become IAS Director on February 1, 2022

The Institute for Advanced Study has appointed David Nirenberg as its 10th Director and Leon Levy Professor, effective July 1, 2022*. Currently dean of the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and professor of medieval history, Nirenberg will assume leadership of one of the world’s preeminent centers for theoretical research in the sciences and humanities.