Thursday, September 19th and Friday, September 20th, the Sterling Memorial Library will be featuring When the Walls Came Tumbling Down: Coeducation in Yale College, in honor of the “50 Women at Yale 150” year-long event. This year marks the 50th anniversary of woman being admitted to Yale College and the 150th anniversary of women being admitted to any college within the University as a whole.

As described by the exhibitors:

Co-curators Michael Lotstein and Carly Sheehan will give a tour of the new exhibit on the 1969 transition to co-education at Yale College.

This exhibit highlights the academic, logistical, and social challenges faced by the first women undergraduates at Yale.
In September 1969, the first undergraduate women arrived at Yale College—230 women matriculated in the Class of 1973, 151 transfer students joined the Class of 1972, and 194 transfer students joined the Class of 1971.

The coeducation of Yale College was the culminating event in the century-long journey of women students at Yale. The journey began in 1869 with the admission of Alice and Susan Silliman, daughters of chemistry professor Benjamin Silliman, Jr. ’37, into the newly established School of the Fine Arts.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of coeducation in Yale College, the display includes photographs, memorabilia, university records, and the students’ own words from their replies to questionnaires and surveys, and from written accounts of their experiences.

Location:

Sterling Memorial Library

Memorabilia Room

120 High Street, New Haven, CT 06511

“Welcome to Yale!”  I had many opportunities to say these words this weekend. On Saturday, Dean of Yale College Marvin Chun and I joined the Yale College Class of 2023, Eli Whitney students, transfer students, visiting international students, and their loved ones in an opening ceremony in Woolsey Hall. The many smiling faces I saw—and hundreds of hands I shook—told me that a new academic year has begun.

We are at Yale to create a culture of curiosity—this is the message I shared with the newest members of the Yale community. Curiosity is essential to fulfilling Yale’s mission—to solving great challenges and achieving our greatest ambitions for ourselves and our society. And it all begins with asking questions.

Asking questions: what could be easier? But in fact, asking a question means admitting what we do not know. It can be a humbling experience. And for many Yale students who are used to answering questions—correctly!—it can be an even greater challenge. But on Saturday, I asked students to “have more questions than answers; admit to being puzzled or confused; be willing to say, ‘I don’t know…but I want to find out.’”

Our culture of curiosity begins in the classroom, of course, but it continues beyond it. In my remarks, I encouraged members of the Class of 2023 to take advantage of the many artistic, athletic, and cultural events on our campus. I urged them to attend talks by many different speakers, especially ones who do not share their views. I asked them to connect with peers who come from different backgrounds or different points on the political spectrum. All these activities provide opportunities to ask questions about ourselves and our complex world.

In his remarks, Dean Chun demonstrated to the audience how alike we are to one another in that we all experience the world differently, and he encouraged the incoming students to embrace the full range of ideas and viewpoints that they will encounter in their studies.

Yale’s culture of curiosity empowers us to seek out complicated problems and unknown corners of the universe. This work demands humility and patience, but the payoff is invaluable. Today, as in the past, Yalies are making spectacular discoveries, launching new businesses, leading with integrity, and advancing the common good. By asking questions, we are helping to fulfill our mission to improve the world today and for future generations.

I am confident our newest students will contribute in extraordinary ways to Yale. And as we begin another academic year, I ask you to join me in nurturing a culture of curiosity here at Yale, in our communities, and in the world. What questions will we ask, and answer, together?

Sincerely,

Peter Salovey
President
Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology
Yale University

The July/August edition of the Yale Alumni Magazine featured a letter from President Peter Salovey, which discussed the new Jackson School, a former Institute of Global Affairs that has been transformed into its own school within Yale University. Additionally, he writes about the Yale Africa Initiative, the Yale Institute of Global Health, and other international initiatives.

To read more, follow the link to the Alumni Magazine’s publication here.

A native of Scotland, Wilkinson received his first degree (in history) from the University of Edinburgh. He earned his M.A. in history at Duke University, where he also began his teaching career. He then taught at the University of Chicago, where he chaired the university’s interdisciplinary Committee on Southern Asian Studies, before coming to Yale in 2009.

Vanessa Kerry

Dr. Vanessa Kerry (MD, Msc) graduated with honors from Yale University and Harvard Medical School, and completed her Internal Medicine residency and Critical Care Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She earned her Master’s in Health Policy, Planning, and Financing from the London Schools of Economics and of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is the co-founder and the CEO of Seed Global Health, which has helped train over 16,000 health professionals in five countries in Africa. Dr. Kerry is also a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and serves as the Associate Director of Partnerships and Global Initiatives at MGH Global Health. She directs the Global Public Policy and Social Change program in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School developing research and training on health system protection in crisis. Dr. Kerry has a number of prominent publications and has been featured on various media outlets. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Social Entrepreneur.

At Yale, Dr. Kerry will teach an undergraduate seminar on the politics of global health.

Francisco (Paco) Palmieri

Francisco (Paco) Palmieri served as the Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs from January 2017 to October 2018, where he led the State Department’s efforts to advance U.S. foreign policy goals in the region.  He managed the successful 2018 Summit of the Americas in Peru, U.S. engagement with the Lima Group unifying 15 Western Hemisphere democracies in a multilateral diplomatic response to the crisis in Venezuela, the reorientation of U.S. foreign assistance in support of the Colombia peace process, the formulation and adoption of a new comprehensive U.S. political and economic Caribbean 2020 strategy for the Caribbean, the launch of the renegotiation of the 50-year old Columbia River Treaty with Canada, and the multi-agency response to the ongoing migration challenges emanating from Central America. He also was responsible for the daily management of the Bureau’s 53 overseas U.S. diplomatic missions, 12,000 employees, and implementation of the Hemisphere’s $1.58 billion foreign assistance and $290 million operating budgets.

Palmieri served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary from January 2016 to January 2017 and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central America and the Caribbean from January 2014 to January 2016. In this role, he was the principal U.S. negotiator on the Alliance for Prosperity plan adopted by El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Palmieri also served as the Director of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs’ Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in 2011-2012.

At Yale, Palmieri will teach a graduate seminar on democracy, human rights, and U.S. diplomacy in Latin America.

John Podesta

John Podesta served as Chair of Hillary for America. Prior to joining Hillary Clinton’s campaign, he served as Counselor to President Barack Obama.

In 2008, he served as co-chair of President Obama’s transition team, where he coordinated the priorities of the incoming administration’s agenda, oversaw the development of its policies, and spearheaded its appointments of major cabinet secretaries and political appointees.

He is the former Chair of the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.  Prior to founding the Center in 2003, Podesta served as White House Chief of Staff to President William J. Clinton.

He also recently served on the President’s Global Development Council and the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Additionally, Podesta has held numerous positions on Capitol Hill, including counselor to Democratic Leader Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (1995-1996).

At Yale, Podesta will teach a seminar on decision-making in the White House.