Following is a statement Yale President Richard Levin released Monday to the university community announcing that John Pepper is stepping down as vice-president for finance and administration.
When John Pepper assumed the Vice Presidency for Finance and Administration on January 1, 2004, he told me that he was thrilled to have a chance to work with Yale’s talented managers and professionals, to strengthen labor-management relations, and to create an administrative support organization of the highest quality. He also told me that he expected to serve no more than a year, given his major commitments back home in Cincinnati.
We have been blessed to have had John Pepper’s leadership for these past two years. It is more time than he promised, and it has come at significant personal cost. For a decade prior to his coming back to Yale, John had led the effort to create the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. The Freedom Center opened more than a year ago, and, as hoped, it has been very successful in attracting visitors. But it has become increasingly apparent that John’s substantial involvement is needed if the Center’s future is to be secured.
Thus, effective January 1, John will be returning to Cincinnati to become CEO of the Freedom Center. Forewarned, I have been searching for a successor for several months. But John has set such a high standard that I have not yet found a person to fill the position. I am very grateful that Bruce Alexander, Vice President and Director of New Haven and State Affairs, has once again agreed to take on added responsibility as interim Vice President for Finance and Administration while the search continues. John has agreed to help, as needed, on a part-time basis during the transition.
It is difficult to find words adequate to capture all that John Pepper has given to Yale as an exemplary graduate, as a devoted alumnus and Fellow of the Corporation, and as a transformational leader of thousands of Yale employees who provide administrative support for faculty and students in their quest for knowledge. John has taught us to appreciate that everyone in our community makes an important contribution, and that we should aspire to excellence, not just in teaching and research, but in all the services that the University delivers in support of teaching and research.
By initiating and supporting task forces and working groups throughout the University, John has encouraged us to re-think how we might improve the way we do our work. And he has collaborated with the leadership of our labor unions to develop a new model for the cooperative study and adoption of best practices. We have already seen substantial benefits from this work, and we will see more. The Officers and I are deeply committed to continuing the process of self-examination and self-improvement that John has begun. We will not slacken in our commitment during this transition period, and I assure you that John’s successor will be thoroughly committed to continuing these efforts. I want all Yale employees to come to see this University as a place where they can develop their skills and capabilities, find opportunities to advance, and build meaningful and satisfying careers.
I know that I speak for everyone who has worked closely with John these past two years when I say that it has been a rare privilege to have him as a colleague. Invariably modest yet entirely secure in his own identity, John is a person of complete integrity and deep caring, and a perpetual student always seeking to learn. He is driven to serve, to lead, and to grow. Personally and professionally, he is an inspiration.
I know that you will join me in wishing John Pepper well as this devoted son of Yale moves on to the next stage of his career.
Sincerely yours,
Richard C. Levin