Dean Kerwin Charles Visits Alumni Communities on the West Coast
In large and small gatherings across three cities, Charles highlighted the ways that alumni embody the school’s mission and called on them to help chart its future.
Earlier this month, Yale SOM Dean Kerwin K. Charles hit the road to visit SOM alumni communities up and down the West Coast. Over the course of a week, he visited San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle to discuss his pursuit of ambitious goals for the school’s development, the issues that matter most to alumni today, and the many opportunities for graduates to help advance SOM’s mission of educating leaders for business and society.
Charles said during a reception on the trip that his travels brought home for him the unique role alumni play in fostering that mission beyond Yale’s campus. “From its founding, this school has had a particular sense of what it seeks to do in the world, and the kinds of people it wishes to train and produce,” he said. “When I meet with alumni around the United States and the world, I see the embodiment of what we dreamt.”
Charles began his West Coast trip with an alumni reception in Seattle before heading south to host similar gatherings in San Francisco and Los Angeles, meet individually with alumni in each community, and attend The Broad Center at Yale SOM’s annual Forum. At the alumni receptions, Charles updated attendees about SOM’s plans for responding to increases in university endowment taxes taking effect this year; the status of efforts to expand scholarship access for current and future students; the development of joint-degree programs with other Yale schools; and his work with the Center for Inclusive Growth, a landmark partnership between Yale and New Haven that works to foster equitable development across the city.
“Whenever I talk to alumni, I’m struck by the connections they maintain with each other and with the school,” Charles said after the trip. “Our alums live out SOM’s mission in their own lives and work to ensure that future generations of students can benefit from it as well—and the school is immeasurably stronger for that commitment.”
Bruce Evans ’94, a veteran television executive who attended the Los Angeles event, said he appreciated Charles’ efforts to cultivate relationships with alumni.
“Having alums who want to do what they can to help the school is a vital piece of SOM’s future,” he said. “The fact that the commitment is made to make sure those relationships stay strong says a lot.”
Alums also brought their own topics to the discussion during the Q&A portion of each event. In Los Angeles, alumni advisory board member Jill Bauman ’87 encouraged peers to sign up for newly formed Professional Alumni Groups (PAGs), which connect alums working in AI, supply chain, sustainability, social impact, and entrepreneurship to foster cutting-edge, practical discussion across industries. “In less than a year, almost 20% of SOM alumni have engaged with a PAG, everyone from [the Charter Class] to current students,” Bauman said. “Check them out on SOM Connect.”
Nicole Bernardo ’25, a management consultant, welcomed the focus on the school’s enduring mission. “I particularly resonated with the conversations around business and society as someone who came from a social justice background, and I hope to see continued support for the ‘and society’ aspect of SOM,” she said.
For Tonya McIntyre ’23, a graduate of the Master’s in Public Education Management program and the executive director of student academic success at Amherst Regional Public Schools, alumni events simply provide an opportunity to reconnect with a formative and supportive community.
“There is a joy that happens for me when I’m really immersed in SOM,” McIntyre said.
