Alexandra Day to Lead Strategic Initiatives at IAS

The Institute for Advanced Study has appointed Alexandra Day as its first Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives, Programming, and Partnerships. Day has extended the reach and engagement of some of the nation’s leading educational and cultural institutions, and currently serves as Deputy Vice President for Alumni Engagement at Princeton University. She will begin at IAS on February 15, 2023.

“We are fortunate to have gained Alex’s collaboration in shaping opportunities for the Institute’s scholars to share and test ideas and in building paths for those ideas to reach the audiences that can benefit from them,” stated David Nirenberg, IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor. “Alex has repeatedly demonstrated her abilities to develop new partnerships, design innovative programming, and generate communicative engagement, while at the same time proving a careful steward of institutional values.”

At a time when discussions around knowledge, science, and society are increasingly politicized, the Institute—an independent science and humanities organization with a 92-year tradition of fostering discovery, protecting intellectual freedom, and providing refuge for scholars at risk—has both the reputation and experience to provide a credible harbor for free and honest intellectual exchange. Building on this legacy, Day will seek to engage partners and audiences in programs that convene leaders from academia, industry, governments, and external communities to support the Institute’s core activities and new initiatives.

“It is a privilege to join the Institute for Advanced Study at this moment in its history, working in concert with its world-renowned scholars and visionary leadership to advance independent inquiry and the vibrant exchange of ideas,” said Day. “As we look to amplify the Institute’s flagship initiatives, expand programmatic offerings, and deepen the engagement of the IAS community, we can begin to broaden access to the transformative power of discovery and creative inspiration. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help sustain the Institute’s distinctive strengths and standing as a global center for generating and sharing knowledge.”

In the role of Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives, Programming, and Partnerships, Day will also lead the Institute’s Communications and Events teams, developing an integrated strategy to bolster institutional messaging and broaden engagement with diverse audiences.

As senior alumni affairs officer and a member of the president’s cabinet at Princeton University, Day has spearheaded engagement activities for nearly 100,000 global alumni, while providing leadership across a range of institutional programs from public relations and content strategy to events and fundraising.

Day, the former Vice President for Public Affairs at Juilliard, has also held roles at corporate and nonprofit institutions in Europe and the U.S., including the International Herald Tribune, IMG Artists, and Universal Music. At Juilliard, where she served as spokesperson and a member of senior staff, her work centered on audience development, institutional storytelling, reputation management, and deepening engagement with a diverse community of academics, alumni, arts patrons, and prospective students. As VP, she led the school’s marketing, communications, editorial, digital, and creative services functions, including advertising campaigns for 700-plus annual performances, admissions, continuing education, and the Juilliard Store.

Day was Director of Public Relations at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she oversaw communications strategy, creative content, and special initiatives including the award-winning Second City Guide to the Opera. Previously she held posts as Director of Communications for soprano Renée Fleming and Special Projects Manager at the Metropolitan Opera.

Day earned her A.B. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University.

About the Institute
The Institute for Advanced Study has served the world as one of the leading independent centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry since its establishment in 1930, advancing the frontiers of knowledge across the sciences and humanities. From the work of founding IAS faculty such as Albert Einstein and John von Neumann to that of the foremost thinkers of the present, the IAS is dedicated to enabling curiosity-driven exploration and fundamental discovery.

Each year, the Institute welcomes more than 200 of the world’s most promising post-doctoral researchers and scholars who are selected and mentored by a permanent Faculty, each of whom are preeminent leaders in their fields. Among present and past Faculty and Members there have been 35 Nobel Laureates, 44 of the 62 Fields Medalists, and 22 of the 25 Abel Prize Laureates, as well as many MacArthur Fellows and Wolf Prize winners.