Alison F. Richard

Alison Richard is a Senior Research Scientist, Anthropology; Franklin Muzzy Crosby Professor Emerita of the Human Environment; and Former Provost of Yale University. Richard has studied the ecology and social behavior of wild primates in Africa, Central America, and the Himalayan foothills, but is most widely known for her research on lemurs in Madagascar. Her most recent book, The Sloth Lemur's Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present, is a far-reaching account of Madagascar past and present. For over forty years, she has worked to help conserve the island’s unique natural heritage and enhance socio-economic opportunities for people living in and around forests in the southwest.  

Richard previously served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. During her tenure, she led several major changes in University policy, reorganized management of the University’s endowment, expanded Cambridge’s global partnerships, and launched and completed a billion-pound fund-raising campaign. For her accomplishments, she was awarded a DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) for her services to Higher Education. 

Richard is a trustee of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation. She chairs the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the Leadership Council of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, and serves on the Advisory Board of Arcadia. Richard received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology at Cambridge University, and her doctorate from London University.