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Assembly
LXI: The Undergraduate Curriculum at Yale
Thursday, October 24 - Saturday,
October 26, 2002
Assembly Chair Marc B. Lockhart '84
Executive Summary
Presidential University
Update
Following his remarks, Mr. Boyle introduced President
Richard C. Levin '74 PhD, who welcomed the delegates and
reported on the following matters of interest to alumni:
- Yale School of Medicine's new medical research center will open
in March. The 136,600 square feet of laboratory and office space
will increase lab space at the Medical school by 25%. Yale is
also currently recruiting some of the best clinical specialists.
Although the University's research is already rated at the top
national level, it has not yet developed a similar reputation
for its clinical practices and hopes to do so through these new
efforts.
- The School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has undergone
large-scale changes since Gus Speth '64, '69 LLB became Dean of
the school in 1999. He has helped the school to develop a vision
for understanding and managing the environment worldwide and for
integrating environmental, economic and developmental concerns
in the formation of public policy. Every student at the school
now takes an internship in a developing country during his or
her studies. Dean Speth has also worked hard to build greater
contact with Yale College. Since his arrival, classes created
by FES faculty for undergraduates have increased from four to
fifteen.
- A new facility is also being built for the School of Forestry
and Environmental Studies. It is a "green" building
which will use recycled materials in its construction and be highly
energy efficient. The school is also working hard to inculcate
a greater sense of environmental responsibility among all students
on campus.
- Faculty recruiting has seen an increase of 16 new senior professors,
8 of which were women. Currently 20% of the tenured faculty are
women and 40% of the junior faculty are women.
- Labor negotiations continue, though with disappointing results.
The University made an effort to reach out to union leaders in
an effort to avoid the confrontations that have surrounded past
contract negotiations. By April 2001, most of the major issues
seem to have been resolved. Unfortunately, contracts still have
not been agreed upon at this point, primarily due to the union's
interest in a broader agenda that includes seeing that employees
at Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Graduate Employees and Students
Organization (GESO) also form labor unions. For more details about
the labor negotiations, please visit http://www.yale.edu/opa/labor/rl_letter_20020829.html.
In the question and answer period, delegates
asked President Levin about the accreditation process concerning
the medical school, the controversy over the armed forces recruiting
on campus, and the Yale College curriculum review.
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