Yale University

Class News

Bill Morse ’64 describes 2021 YAA Assembly and YAF Convocation

January 31, 2020

Bill Morse, our Class Delegate to the Yale Alumni Association (YAA), posted a Vimeo link to the 22 programs in the 2021 YAA Assembly and Yale Alumni Fund (YAF) Convocation. Bill emailed: “I wasn’t able to attend all of these events, but the ones I attended were terrific.” Here are his personal favorites:

Bill reported:

Yale’s Convocation this fall included Class and Club Officers, Class Agents, the Alumni Fund Board, and Assembly Representatives.

First, I’d like to encourage everyone to listen to Tony Lavely’s great fifteen-minute presentation at the Assembly on our Class of ‘64 Zoom reunions and webinars, on how to plan, organize, promote and effectively produce them. These Zoom reunions have gotten considerable attention, including “What a fantastic event!” from Peter Salovey. Other classes are initiating similar Zoom events. By reconnecting and bringing us together, these Zoom reunions will strengthen alumni spirit.

The Convocation’s opening event, presented on Zoom, was: “For Humanity: The Yale Campaign.” Target figure: $7 Billion. This is a comprehensive campaign; all parts of Yale will benefit. The focus will be not just about Yale, but about what Yale and its mission should be “for the greater good of the world in which we live.” It’s not centered on academic disciplines, but on broad areas of inquiry. To quote trustee Josh Beckenstein, “We are facing urgent, existential challenges, from climate change to global health crises. Yale has the ability and the responsibility to address these challenges.” Quoting another Campaign director, Lei Shang (SOM ’02), “It’s our responsibility to bring together the brightest minds from around the globe to collaborate on the biggest challenges of today.”

Themes that came up during the Assembly included interdisciplinary studies, collaboration between professional schools, challenges the world faces and the multidimensional education needed to face them. I particularly liked “Joint Degrees Making an Impact: a Conversation with Yale Deans.” Tamar Gendler, Dean of Arts and Sciences, introducing these deans, stated “Yale College is surrounded by a bouquet of professional schools. This allows our students to take deep fundamental ideas and figure out how they can transform the world.” Dean Indy Burke (Environment), Kerwin Charles (SOM), Greg Sterling (Divinity), and Sten Vermund (Public Health) articulated the rationale for joint degrees, and how Yale students and faculty, embedded in a much larger community of learning, drawing expertise from multiple disciplines, magnify their potential to transform the world. Indy Burke: “Most challenges require multiple solutions as well as collaboration.” Her school (Environment) offers thirteen joint degrees. It’s much the same story with the other schools. Yale’s success in facilitating joint programs and degrees empowers our alumni and distinguishes Yale from other universities.

The inaugural Dean of the Yale Jackson School, Jim Levinsohn, noted that this is the only school at Yale to ask on its application: “Have you committed one year to national service?” The school will open next year. Currently, in the Jackson Institute, there are seventy-five majors, and students apply during sophomore year. It’s extremely selective. Undergraduates currently fill 2000 seats in courses offered by Jackson. The Institute “borrows” faculty from different departments at Yale. The Jackson School will have its own faculty of 30.

The school will be organized around contemporary global challenges, not around academic departments. Levinsohn spoke of four pillars:

  1. International security and diplomacy
  2. International economics
  3. International development (social, political, economic)
  4. Global public good:(climate, health)

Levinsohn foresees interdisciplinary work tightly integrated with Law, SOM, Environment, and Health. One third of the faculty will be academic. The others will be senior fellows (e.g., David Brooks) and policy professionals, (e.g., John Kerry, Stan McChrystal). The school will be intentionally small and Lewinsohn’s goal is to be tuition-free (like Princeton), and “best in class." That means that students admitted to Jackson and the other top schools will favor Jackson. Jackson’s goal is to be most applicants’ first choice. The obvious rivals are Harvard (Kennedy) and Princeton. Size and tuition will be our advantage over Harvard. Size and joint programs with Yale’s professional schools will be our advantage over Princeton.

I particularly liked the video presentation of the Tobin Center for Economic Policy, by Professor Steve Barry and Dave Wilkinson. Professor Barry made a great comment on how the data revolution impacts the world: “Google’s research is pragmatic and profit oriented. Google wants you to buy blue socks. We (Yale’s Tobin Center) want to build a better world.” Dave Wilkinson summarized their approach this way: “We have the data to move the needle on every policy.” Data can show us what works best. It allows us to target our resources. “Why does this matter? What works? Our goal: to make it work for more people.” The Tobin Center, now focused primarily on international questions and policies, and on tools and methodology, now intends to focus more on domestic policies.

Diversity and inclusion were major themes of this Assembly. Today, in the world of computer science, only 20% are women (compared to 50% in medicine). An excellent program, entitled “Diversity in Computer Science” was presented by women graduates. They discussed their experiences and the importance of diversity (greater creativity, as well as a sense of belonging) and what Yale needs to do to address this issue.

In “A Conversation with Yale Trustees,” priorities were summarized:

  1. Pre-eminence in data science, science, social science, and humanities
  2. Diversity and inclusion

The point was made that the individual trustees have no agenda. There are sixteen trustees (It’s a small board, and a diverse group), ten successor trustees, six alumni fellows. All equal. Alumni fellows are first nominated by a committee, in consideration of past service to Yale, past life experience, and how they might potentially contribute. Then they are elected by the alumni. Two of the successor trustees were former alumni fellows. Their fiduciary role is essential. All are nonpartisan, beholden to no group. The basic question trustees ask, approaching any issue, is: What is best for Yale?

The Yale Fall 2021 Assembly is all online. There are more than twenty videos. Zoom has brought alumni together, connecting us in new ways with one another and with what’s happening at Yale.

In addition to Tony and Bill, other classmates attending were Kai Lassen ’64, YAF Board of Directors, and Ward Wickwire ’64, Chair of YAF Class Agents.