NEW HAVEN — Yale has named Peter Salovey, its provost and a renowned scholar in the field of psychology, as the university’s new president.

He replaces Richard Levin, who announced in August he would step down at the end of the academic year after 20 years leading the Ivy League university. Salovey, who was appointed provost in 2008, will become Yale’s 23rd president, effective June 30.

Salovey was instrumental in academic innovation and change at Yale, officials said. He was credited with providing more international opportunities for undergraduates, launching freshman seminars, enhancing writing intensive courses, and instituting rigorous courses that introduced science topics to non-science majors.