David Post

I am an aquatic ecologist. My research tests long-standing questions about food web structure and dynamics, the influence of environmental change on community structure and ecosystem function, spatial linkages among ecosystem, and the importance of interactions between ecology and evolution for community and ecosystem processes. I also develop and apply stable isotope techniques to address questions across ecology and evolutionary biology. Many of the questions I address have a direct impact on the conservation and management of aquatic resources. Although I primarily work in aquatic ecosystems, I also study interactions and processes that link aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

I am also an academic leader. I was the final Dean of Faculty and Vice President (Academic Affairs) for Yale-NUS College in Singapore. I have extensive experience leading 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. 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 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.