The topic of this my first AYA assembly was of great personal interest as I have spent much of my life associated with higher education. On balance the combination of panels, presentations, "Faculty Teas" and special events added up to a stimulating and informative weekend. Openness and candor as well as warmth and receptivity to alumni observations marked the splendid cast of Yale faculty, administrators and staff who participated.

Despite the full calendar of events, there was ample time as well to visit some of the dramatic changes and additions to the campus. The spectacular new gym at the Payne Whitney was crowded with pickup basketball games late Saturday afternoon. The re-installed permanent collection at the Center for British Art captured my imagination with its novel display of works by topics such as formal portraits, conversations, the sporting life and romantic landscapes. Sessions were held in the recently renovated Lindsey-Chittenden. None of us would recognize L-C 101 as it is today with the brilliant Tiffany windows and delightful paint restoration. The transformation of a courtyard at Sterling Library into the new music library is simply stunning and extremely functional with numerous listening booths (which were full of students). Friday's dreary rain gave way to brilliant sunshine on Saturday and Sunday and the campus looked terrific.

Faculty: Views from the Administration

None work harder than the best at maintaining their position of excellence. And that can be said of Yale as the provost, deans and department chairs continually strive to recruit and retain the finest available scholars and teachers. Provost Alison Richard shared several examples of this ongoing endeavor. During the current year, 12 senior faculty have been promoted or recruited. Four came from the ranks of the junior faculty. Five are women, two people of color. She noted as well that Yale had a number of what she characterized as "silent victories". These were successful efforts to retain current Yale faculty who had been aggressively recruited by other universities. Only 2 of 14 chose to leave New Haven. Some elected to remain at Yale despite extravagant compensation offers and other inducements from competing schools. On matters of equity, she noted that there are two areas that Yale considers non-negotiable; namely teaching loads and leave policies. And that underscored what she and President Levin, among others, identified as one of Yale's brightest attractions to world class scholars - the extraordinary depth and quality of Yale students.

Yale's recruitment of minority faculty remains short of every one's goals. The reasons are many and some difficult to overcome. For example, in recent years the number of students of color going on to graduate school has declined significantly as they have chosen instead to pursue other career paths. The competition for this diminished pool has become even more intense.

The provost also commented on Yale's targeted approach to both renew and rebuild departments. She cited recent successful efforts to renew a history department that had experienced the retirement of several prominent members. Specific steps have been taken to rebuild engineering (starting with the appointment of D. Alan Bromley as dean) and Sociology where two renowned scholars have been recruited as the core of a rejuvenated program. Aggressive measures have been taken as well to bolster the reputation and attractiveness of the School of Management which has joined the fold of virtually all other business schools by now offering an MBA. (Apparently distinctive and different isn't always a successful path to pursue.)

Tenure policies enter into this equation of excellence and renewal as well. By design, Yale strives for a tenure ratio of 55 to 60 percent, ensuring a reasonable level of turnover and renewal. This compares to a number of schools where up to 85 percent of the faculty hold tenure. With no mandatory retirement age, an academic career today can span five decades.

This may be little solace to junior faculty at Yale where only 1 in 8 receive tenure. The percentage is lowest in the humanities (15%) and highest in the sciences where a third or more receive tenure. On the positive side, Yale's junior faculty are viewed as extremely attractive candidates by most other colleges in the country and are actively pursued.

Some of the challenges Yale faces in recruiting faculty emerged in other sessions. While the job market for new Ph.D.'s is dismal from their perspective, the competition remains keen for the most talented. In seeking to land one professor, the university often finds itself in the position of trying to place a spouse as well. And in many cases both are academics. Yale's location is a distinct disadvantage compared to universities located in urban areas having a greater number of colleges, universities and professional opportunities.

Faculty, graduate students & undergraduate teaching

The roles of faculty and graduate students in the teaching of undergraduates have boiled to the surface at campuses throughout the country this year. Recently much of the attention has focused on New Haven where the GESO has waged a spirited and public campaign for recognition. It appears to be a topic with multiple concerns and plenty of shared blame. In response to recent published allegations by the graduate student association that tenured faculty only teach 30 percent of Yale College classes, the administration has solid, believable evidence that this is not the case. President Levin stated that T.A.'s are the primary instructors in but 7 percent of Yale College courses and most of these are introductory level language courses. A number of courses follow the format we all remember. A professor offers three hours per week of lectures, supplemented by one or two hours of sections conducted by T.A.'s. The GESO accounting gets somewhat distorted at this point. If, for example, Jonathan Spence's course on China has 20 sections, the GESO scorecard would record Professor Spence 1 class; graduate students, 20.

Problems and challenges exist. Some faculty who addressed the subject felt that the university was not entirely honest in its approach and should acknowledge that in many instances graduates students in fact represent a reservoir of cheap talent constrained by a very poor job market. Students (and the administration) pointed to the unavailability of qualified T.A.'s for some popular or required courses, citing a graduate student in art as a section leader in an economics course.

Faculty: Perceptions of Junior & Senior Faculty

Those of you who persist in thinking that the life of a professor is a life of ease would have gained a different perspective had you joined me at a small group conversation with two faculty members. Bryan Wolf, chairman of American Studies, and Elizabeth Dillon, assistant professor of Women's Studies and English, shared their thoughts on the rewards and challenges of the life of a professor at Yale today. While some tensions between teaching and research exist for both, they also viewed this as a creative tension that contributed to both their classroom and scholarly activities. Once again, the quality and caliber of Yale undergraduates contributes significantly to the positive aspects of these experiences. Like many of us, the faculty face the pressure of time, responsibilities and expectations, creating high levels of stress and challenge. Elizabeth shared her calendar for the week: grading and commenting on 2 senior essays, individual conferences with 25 students (it was reading week - a time of term papers and studying for exams), reading a student's Ph.D. thesis, attending 4 committee meetings, and chairing a colloquia. And I am certain I didn't write fast enough to capture everything on her list. Notice that there was no time dedicated to her own scholarship that week. Elizabeth is also the mother of two young children and in addition to wanting to spend some time at home with her daughters, she was a volunteer for a fund raising event.

And that is a very important point. Most of today's faculty want a life outside of Yale. Many have families where both work full time. For young faculty, the economics are tenuous. Elizabeth spends 4/5 of her take home pay on childcare. She does free-lance reviewing and writing to bring in supplemental income. Her family intends to participate in Yale's employee housing program that provides significant incentives for those purchasing homes in designated New Haven neighborhoods. Of note, to date over 300 employees have purchased homes under this program.

Tenure is a major issue and she voiced her concerns that the academic community (and Yale in particular) does not take a woman scholar's biological clock into consideration with the schedule for tenure review.

If this brief report focuses on the observations of a young faculty member, Bryan Wolf endorsed most of Elizabeth's points. He underscored the importance many faculty today ascribe to life outside Yale. He noted that in many instances where both spouses were academics, eventually one had to choose an approach different from the traditional full-time academic career. He also thoughtfully commented on the difficulty Yale has in rethinking what a faculty career at Yale could look like. For all of the acknowledgments of the issues confronting faculty today, particularly in the junior ranks, the power of departments and the strictly hierarchical nature of the faculty place enormous constraints on efforts to change. My impression was that this is the way it is. Period. I hope I am proven wrong.

The conversational format, similar to College common room gatherings I recall so fondly, was very effective. And while both followed their assignments by speaking to the tensions and issues of a professor's life at Yale, they also underlined many of the most positive attributes that Yale offers its faculty. It was one of the weekend's highlights for me.

AYA & Communications

The Saturday morning AYA session was a spirited affair that addressed Yale's communications with alumni and external audiences. The delegates offered a number of pertinent criticisms and useful suggestions.

AYA Executive Director Jeff Brenzel '75 has assigned communications a high priority and intends to assemble the resources that will allow the AYA to take full advantage of technology to improve and increase communication with and among the alumni. The Yale web-site will be completely overhauled by this fall, offering easier access to what he described as a "revolving door" of information. In addition tools will be developed for use by clubs throughout the country. In response to a number of critical comments on the current E-mail program and directory, he noted that the university was exploring the creation of an on-line directory that would contain an appropriate level of security and privacy. Several pilot projects are under development, including the potential of "on-line courses".

Moving beyond the world of laptops, a number of people spoke to their perceptions of Yale's deficiencies in communications. For example, Hartford television stations offer the nearest access to satellite up-links, severely limiting the use of Yale faculty and other university spokespeople by the media. (Plans are afoot to build a TV studio on campus with the necessary equipment.) The recent publicity surrounding the GESO organizing efforts were cited as yet another example of the university's limited ability to respond effectively and publicly to issues that attract press attention. It is the old story that corrections to yesterday's page one article are buried in the second section. Several delegates took that as a cue to suggest that Yale needed more of a house organ than the independent Yale Alumni Magazine. An equal number, however, prefer the independent editorial voice of the magazine. Others felt that YAM should offer more stories on Yale people outside of New Haven than the class notes section. Perhaps the point was that Yale does not have a vehicle for communicating with its many constituencies. Indeed a number commented on the lack of a Yale message and that communications tended to be fragmented. This is where Yale will no doubt join the communications revolution at some point, taking advantage of the economies and access of the Internet.

A Visit with Members of the Corporation

In a small Woodbridge Hall session hosted by corporation members John Lee and Charles Ellis, we explored Yale, New Haven and communications. Both felt that the change in attitude of both university and city officials was significant and positive. Several of us commented that Yale should find the vehicles to effectively communicate these positive signs of change. In the absence of this information, many active alumni tend to deflect the "New Haven issue" when speaking with prospective students and others interested in Yale. To be in a position to speak pro-actively about the city and the university would mark a major shift.

Summer Intern

At the Saturday luncheon, Rick Luis, Conley Brooks, Jr. and I had the pleasure of meeting Anna Erickson '00 who will join us as the Community Service Summer Fellow. I hope many of you will have the chance to meet Anna during her stay in the Twin Cities.

The Splendors of Music at Yale

The weekend closed in a spectacular fashion. The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale, The Yale Camerata, and the Yale Glee Club filled Woolsey Hall with the magnificent sounds of Mendelssohn's Elijah.

Several facts and figures

You probably do not care to see even more evidence of how competitive the Yale admissions scene is today, but here are several examples:

• Yale College received 13,000 completed applications this year.
• The School of Management's applications were up 67% over the last five years.
• The graduate and professional schools remain impossibly competitive.
• The School of Art received 900 applications for 40 openings
• Drama admitted 17 students from a pool of 600 applicants.

Approximately 50% of Yale's undergraduates participate in some form of community activity in the greater New Haven area.