Karin Öberg named senior vice provost for faculty

Karin Öberg, renowned scholar in the field of astrochemistry, has been named Harvard’s next senior vice provost for faculty, the University announced Friday.

“Karin is a widely admired faculty member whose excellent judgment and efforts to nurture academic excellence have already made a difference at Harvard,” said Harvard President Alan M. Garber. “I am eager for even more members of our community to benefit from her experience and skills. I have no doubt that she will excel in her new position.”

“I am delighted that Karin has agreed to take on the role of senior vice provost for faculty,” said University Provost John Manning. “She is a brilliant scientist, a dedicated teacher, a respected academic leader, and an exemplary institutional contributor. Her deep commitment to academic excellence and broad range of interests will serve her well, and I look forward to working closely with her in her new role.”

As senior vice provost for faculty, Öberg will serve as Harvard’s central leader for faculty affairs, coordinating University-wide efforts to recruit and retain outstanding scholars, help advance their research and teaching, and support their work-life balance. In collaboration with the Schools, deans, and relevant offices, the senior vice provost for faculty also coordinates the review of academic appointments. Öberg succeeds current senior vice provost Judith D. Singer, who will retire from her role in the Provost’s Office later this spring to return to teaching after 18 years of service.

“I believe that a flourishing faculty, free to pursue academic excellence, is at the heart of Harvard’s mission,” said Öberg. “I am deeply honored and excited at the opportunity to serve the University and support the next generation of scholars in this new role.”

As professor of astronomy and Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences, Öberg studies how chemistry influences the formation and composition of young planets that are taking shape in the swirling disks of dust and gas around young stars. Her research group engages in novel laboratory experiments that simulate the exotic chemistry of space, performs complex astrochemical modeling, and pursues astronomical observations to better understand how chemical conditions shape planet formation and potential habitability.

She joined Harvard as a Hubble Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in 2009. In 2013, she joined the faculty of the astronomy department, and in 2016 was named Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor in Astronomy, to be promoted to full professor in 2017.

In addition to publishing more than 250 peer-reviewed journal articles in her field, Öberg has also been the recipient of many honors and awards, including the Packard Fellowship, the American Astronomical Society’s Newton Lacy Pierce Prize, and a Simons Investigator Award in Astrophysics. She was also invited to deliver the Max Planck Society’s Harnack Lecture. She has long made efforts to share her research with the public through events and media, and she is a prominent voice in global conversations, both within and beyond academia, on the intersection of science and religion.

In addition to her research and teaching, Öberg has a strong record of service to the Harvard community. Within the astronomy department, she has served as director of undergraduate studies. Within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, she served on the Faculty Council and currently sits on the Committee on Appointments and Promotions. She has contributed to University-wide efforts around academic culture and dialogue through her service on the Open Inquiry and Constructive Dialogue Working Group. She also serves on the University Faculty Advisory Council.

Outside of Harvard, Öberg has served on the governing board of Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile since 2018 and served as its chair from 2019 to 2020. From 2020 to 2022, she served as a trustee of Associated Universities, Inc., a nonprofit that partners with federal agencies to plan, build, and operate large-scale scientific facilities. Since 2021, she has served as a trustee of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an international theological institute based in Rome, taking on the role of vice chair in 2025.

She holds a B.Sc. in chemistry from Caltech and a Ph.D. in astronomy from Leiden University.

Öberg will begin her new role on July 1.