Maier said that Benhabib's eventual replacement as Social Studies chair might already hold the post.
"People are very happy with the job that [Professor of Government and acting chair] Grzegorz Ekiert has done this year," Maier said.
Benhabib received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale and taught there between 1977 and 1979. She is currently on sabbatical at the Russell Sage Foundation, a social science research institute in New York.
Yale Political Science Chair Ian Shapiro, who could not be reached for comment last night, told the Yale Daily News he was thrilled by Benhabib's decision.
"It's not every day you get somebody to jump ship from Harvard," he said. "It will, among other things, make Yale the top place in political philosophy."