Posted Thursday Dec. 13 University President Richard Levin announced Wednesday the reappointment of Yale School of Architecture Dean Robert Stern for his third consecutive five-year term, effective July 1, 2008.

“I am really thrilled to have the confidence of the President, the Corporation, the school, and the many other people I know who were asked whether this would be appropriate,” Stern said in an interview with the News this morning.

Since the beginning of Stern’s tenure as dean in 1998, the School of Architecture has received critical acclaim as a primary center for architectural discourse and innovation, Levin said in the Office of Public Affairs release. He said he has seen remarkable “energy, leadership, and organization” in Stern’s decade at Yale.

“He has raised the profile of the School and strengthened its national and international reputation,” Levin said.

Stern is largely responsible for attracting several new architectural scholars and innovators to the Yale campus, Levin noted. Under Stern’s guidance, such renowned architects as Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Richard Rogers have held faculty appointments at Yale.

Stern’s role will be especially crucial in the development of the landmark reopening of the Art and Architecture building, currently undergoing renovation and slated to reopen in fall 2008 as the Rudolph Building after its architect Paul Rudolph. Stern said he is looking forward to facilitating this historic transition, but he has other innovative ideas for the University’s world of architecture.

“We are also going to embark on new initiatives that have to do with sustainability and with architectural research, probably in the form of a new Ph.D. program,” he said.

Looking to the future, Stern said he will maintain the “ongoing dialogue between resident faculty, visitors from around the world, and to continue to make Yale the center for architectural discourse.”

In late August, the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation announced that Stern will design the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Widely considered the leading expert on New York architecture and architectural history, Stern founded and still maintains a practice at the New York firm of Robert A.M. Stern Architects.