Former Dean Edward A. Snyder Honored with Named Space and Endowed Funds

By Ben Mattison

A group of Yale SOM faculty, staff, alumni, and friends have made a substantial gift to the school in honor of Edward A. Snyder, who completed his tenure as Indra K. Nooyi Dean of the Yale School of Management in June. In recognition of the gifts, Snyder, the William S. Beinecke Professor of Economics and Management, will be honored with the naming of the Snyder Forum in Edward P. Evans Hall and the creation of three endowed funds focused on his priorities as dean.

The Snyder Forum is a round, glass-walled room overlooking Whitney Avenue on the first floor of Evans Hall. A flexible space, it is used for teaching, dining, and events.

The gifts also support the creation of the Dean Edward A. Snyder Scholarship Fund, the Edward A. Snyder Fund for Cross-Campus Initiatives, and the Edward A. Snyder Fund for Global Initiatives. During his tenure as dean, Snyder successfully worked to increase scholarship support, strengthen Yale SOM’s connections across the Yale campus, and establish the school as the most distinctively global U.S. business school. Under his leadership, Yale SOM became a founding member of the Global Network for Advanced Management, a network of top business schools around the world.

Joel Getz, Yale SOM’s senior associate dean for development and alumni relations, said that the gifts demonstrate Snyder’s remarkable impact on Yale SOM.

“Group gifts in someone else’s honor almost never work,” he said, “but in this instance, not only did it succeed, it soared. This wellspring of generosity is an amazing testament to the affection our alumni and friends have towards Ted and his leadership, and the pride the community feels for the work Ted did over the past eight years.”

One of the donors to the collective effort was Indra K. Nooyi ’80, the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo and a frequent advisor to Yale SOM during Snyder’s tenure.

“SOM was well served by Ted Snyder,” she said. “He has been an outstanding leader and a wise, strategic steward of the Yale School of Management, lifting its ambitions, expanding its reach, and preparing today’s students for the complexities of running a business in the 21st century. He is leaving the school in great shape for his successor. I am delighted he will remain involved with the school in the years ahead. Thank you, Ted!”

Tobias J. Moskowitz, the Dean Takahashi ’80 B.A., ’83 M.P.P.M. Professor of Finance, also gave. He taught under Snyder’s leadership at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business before joining him at Yale.

“Having worked with Ted for many years at Chicago and then Yale, I always appreciated his support of faculty and research,” he said. “He was instrumental in launching initiatives that broadened the reach of faculty research and teaching globally and always emphasized the importance of bringing cutting-edge research to students, alums, and broader society. He was a great advocate for faculty and great partner with faculty.”

Kevin Ye ’04, the CEO of Salubris Pharmaceuticals, joined in the gift as well.

“Dean Snyder is one of the most successful deans in the history of business school education, Ye said. “He achieved his aspiration to make SOM to be more integrated with Yale, more global, and for its students to excel in an ever-more complex world. I am honored to have the opportunity to participate in the Ted Snyder initiative and am looking forward to see tremendous results from these programs.”

Ye added, “Thank you for all of your contributions to SOM, Ted!”