Caltech, a Science Powerhouse, Hires a Communicator as Its New President - The New York Times

Ray Jayawardhana, the incoming president, is an astrophysicist, but leaders at the California Institute of Technology also praised his credentials as a communicator at a time when science is under attack.

The California Institute of Technology, one of the most selective research universities in the nation, named Ray Jayawardhana, an astrophysicist, as its new president on Tuesday.

The appointment comes as American science is under threat and much of the public has lost confidence in higher education. Caltech leaders chose Dr. Jayawardhana, the 54-year-old provost of Johns Hopkins University, in part because of his experience in communicating with the public.

The Trump administration has argued that universities have become beholden to “woke” politics, and has sought to tighten the purse strings of federal grants to force universities to adopt his preferred political changes.

Many university leaders worry the political winds have shifted against them partly because they have struggled to explain why the research emerging from their labs matters for the rest of the country.

Beyond attacks from the Trump administration, members of the search committee worried about a reduced societal commitment to science. “A president who’s able to communicate is going to be important,” said Jonas Zmuidzinas, a physics professor and chair of the search committee, “and that’s one of the reasons why Ray stood out.”

As provost, Dr. Jayawardhana is the top academic officer of Johns Hopkins University, another research powerhouse. He is a prolific author of scientific papers, but he has also written several science books, including one for children, and made frequent media appearances. At Johns Hopkins, he started a fellowship program to help professors communicate their science.

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