Yale SOM Case Studies Find a New Role Outside the Classroom

On June 11, 2026, six teams from Yale’s Emerge program presented an array of ideas to the leadership of the Yale Alumni Association (YAA). The presentations, held in the Greenberg Conference Center, tackled dilemmas that spanned a range of strategic and operational priorities for the YAA, from increasing alumni class dues revenue, to rationalizing the portfolio of virtual events, to strengthening the digital presence of Yale Alumni Magazine.

The afternoon-long program marked the culmination of a three-way partnership among Yale SOM’s Case Research and Development Team (CRDT), the Emerge program, which trains high-potential Yale managers over an eight-month cycle, and the Yale Alumni Association, which identified its most pressing strategic and operational issues.

By design, the exercise aimed to create a “win-win” for both Emerge participants and the YAA: providing valuable consulting for the YAA, while supplying indispensable training for the Emerge participants. The centerpiece of the efforts was large multi-media case study created and written by Yale SOM’s CRDT.

CRDT brings expertise in framing and describing management challenges. But this assignment brought a twist: here, the case was not used for MBA instruction, but to support internal consulting.

CRDT’s work centered on drafting multiple scoping statements, interviewing relevant stakeholders, and compiling data. The research was then packaged into an interactive website that included videos. Each Emerge team tackled a different dilemma outlined in the case study, developing evidence-based analyses.

In the resulting presentations, the central theme was the creative use of technology, reflecting a priority identified by YAA leadership during the scoping phase.

One team proposed a comprehensive Yale student-and-alumni app that would provide a dedicated communications channel for the YAA to promote and manage alumni events (including reunions), deliver personalized notifications, and support planning among specialized alumni groups. Another recommended adopting a more robust data management system—along with a full vetting of potential vendors—to improve tracking and feedback and enable calculations of return on mission (ROM) and return on investment (ROI). A third presenter captivated the audience with short-form, TikTok-style videos (including a crowd-pleasing cameo by Handsome Dan) designed to deliver visually engaging content for alumni as an alternative to the familiar, and often ignored, email channel.

To bring about this project, YAA leaders made themselves available to CRDT and Emerge teams. In return for the time commitment, the YAA gained fresh perspectives, fact-based analysis from an independent third party, and concrete recommendations.

The six-month process also created an opportunity to engage the full leadership team in sustained strategic reflection. “Participating in the Emerge program was incredibly helpful to the YAA leadership, particularly the case study learning model,” said YAA Executive Director Alison Cole ’99. “We had to think deeply about the challenges facing our organization and communicate them to individuals with little or no knowledge of our work. This helped greatly with our internal prioritizing and strategic planning.”

On the way in, Cole noted thinking “If we get one really good idea that we can use, all the work will have been worth it.” But the afternoon’s presentations provided far more than that. Cole noted that several of the recommendations would be implemented directly, while others led to new ideas from within her own team.

For Emerge participants, the consulting project served as the capstone to their program, requiring long hours for each team to analyze the problem and apply the management techniques taught in the program, while placing them in the shoes of other Yale decisionmakers. A useful experience as their careers at Yale progressed.

The YAA case study was not the first time CRDT has provided a Yale-based case study for internal consulting. In past years, CRDT has partnered with Yale’s Emerge program to support strategic decision-making for other groups, including Yale Health and Yale Athletics.

“The last few years working with Emerge has allowed us to refine the model—using our cases to provide learning and insight for colleagues in departments across Yale,” said CRDT project lead James Quinn MBA ’99. “We expect this will offer a model for other consulting projects in the Yale community.”

Emerge leaders reported that demand from Yale departments to participate as client organizations for future classes has been brisk. At present, participating departments incur no financial cost to participate.