Assembly LVII : The Performing Arts at Yale
Executive Summary
Saturday Morning

Report from the Board of Governors

Maureen Doran, Chair of the AYA Board of Governors, opened the session and reported on the following:

• Special Interest Group Alumni. In an effort to be more supportive of new alumni organizations and interests, the Board of Governors organized a task force in 1999 to assess the needs of special interest alumni groups such as the singing groups, ethnic and gender identity groups, athletes and others. This past June, the Board acted to make this task force into a standing committee. The committee will continue to work with the special interest groups on such projects as the Glee Club Alumni Chorus’s upcoming European Tour. The Committee is finding new ways to contact and encourage special interest alumni to participate in the AYA. Ideally new at-large delegates will emerge from this process to diversify the membership of the Assembly and to represent various interests among alumni.

• Online Resources. From alumni directories to online courses, the AYA is planning to expand its online services, recently hiring Grace Profatilov as Assistant Director of Communications. Some of the things alumni can expect to see include revisions to the web site, web-site-building tool kits, an online alumni directory, support services for class, club and G&P volunteer leaders, and other new services. Also, Yale has joined with Oxford, Princeton and Stanford to create the University Alliance for Lifelong Learning, a non-profit venture providing on-line courses and interactive seminars for its combined alumni. Jeff Brenzel, Executive Director of the AYA, has been deeply involved in the development of the Alliance, and President Levin will serve as the first Chair of its Board of Directors. Ms. Doran urged the delegates to take advantage of the educational online programs as they are offered through this program.

• The Spring Assembly will take place on April 20 and 21.Yale and the AYA will host “300 Years of Creativity and Discovery: An Alumni Leadership Reunion.” The University plans to bring together 1,500 alumni leaders and their guests, including the AYA Assembly, the Corporation, the University Council, the Alumni Fund, the Development Board, Yale College Class officers, Yale Club Presidents, the heads of the Graduate and Professional Alumni Associations and other alumni leaders who have been conspicuous in their support of Yale. There will be special programs prepared by Yale’s most prominent faculty and featuring appearances by former President Bush and other Yale celebrities. “Save the date” notices for this event will be sent soon.

In the question and answer period, delegates asked President Levin whether the online courses would be for credit, how they would handle the problem of slow download time for the online course, and re-establishing ROTC on campus. One delegate brought up the idea of Yale having a national community service project as part of its Tercentennial celebration to commemorate its service to the nation.