Thursday, October 24 -
Saturday, October 26, 2002
Assembly Chair Marc B. Lockhart '84

Chair's Welcome

"What will a Yale College student need to know upon graduation, and how can Yale ensure that its undergraduates are provided with the best preparation for the future?"

This fall, the AYA will present an Assembly that examines the Yale College curriculum in collaboration with the Yale College Dean's Office. Today's curriculum may or may not resemble the one you experienced as an undergraduate, but this is your opportunity to reflect on how you might have constructed your own undergraduate experience or how you would suggest that Yale students do so today.

Last year President Levin appointed Dean Brodhead to chair the first full review of the Yale College curriculum undertaken in three decades. Special attention is being paid to the physical sciences, social/international studies, the humanities, and the arts. Dean Brodhead's large working group has consulted broadly with faculty, students and administrators, and the Fall Assembly will provide alumni representatives with an opportunity to learn about the review and to participate in it directly.

During the Fall Assembly, Dean Brodhead and key committee members will brief us on their progress to date, lead us through an exercise in choosing the "ideal" course of study for ourselves, then ask us to reflect in open forum on the principles and practices we believe should guide an undergraduate course of study at Yale. Never let it be said that Yale alumni declined to bestow their accumulated life wisdom on those who follow them!

As you will note, this Assembly provides a unique opportunity for alumni to participate in the large-scale effort being made to formulate the College's future academic direction. I wholeheartedly invite you to join us in New Haven and let your voice be heard at this special gathering.

--Marc B. Lockhart '84
  Chair, Assembly LXI