From the Assistant Dean for Admissions: Yale’s Convening Power

We see this ability, certainly, in visits from the many Yale and Yale SOM alumni who return to New Haven to give back to their alma mater, such as U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy MBA ’03, MD ’03, who was on campus recently to give a talk at Evans Hall, and Linda Mason MBA ’80, founder and chair of Bright Horizons, who will speak at SOM in December. Yale has a deep and loyal pool of alumni from which to draw in this regard.

But Yale’s convening power extends well beyond the Yale family. I was reminded of that just this past Friday, when I attended a conference in Zhang Auditorium organized by the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama’s senior advisor, gave the opening remarks. Senator Bill Cassidy gave the closing remarks. And on the program were attorney David Boies, Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Toby Cosgrove, super-agent and co-CEO of WME-IMG Ari Emanuel, movie producer Brian Grazer, and economist Diane Swonk. Where but Yale could such a distinguished group come together in one place? A visit from any one of them would notable anywhere else. But at Yale, they gladly shared the stage to discuss an issue of great importance. As I listened to them, I was struck not just by their words, but also by the university’s ability to bring them all together. It was truly a display of Yale’s convening power.