Video: Building a New School Together

The Historian’s Notebook: 50 Years of Business & Society is a blog series created in honor of SOM’s 50th anniversary. The series is written by Yale SOM’s resident historian, Michelle Spinelli. Reach out if you have an idea for a blog post, memories or photos to share, or an inquiry about SOM history.

One distinct aspect of Yale SOM’s history is the degree to which the school’s earliest students took ownership over the school’s development.

Students’ impact on the direction of the school was almost immediate. Within weeks, members of the Charter Class were working alongside faculty to create the school’s grading system, which ultimately favored collaboration over competition; instead of letter grades, students received a Proficient, Pass, or Fail.

As sitting members of key committees, often with full voting rights, the first SOMers influenced everything from the design of the school’s original campus to the composition of the next generation of students. On the admissions committee, student members had the power to vote yea or nay on any candidate, and they were not shy about exercising this right. In one case, a faculty member recalled, a student voted against an applicant who had a recommendation from the president of the United States because, the student said, the president’s letter was very short. “He probably didn't know him that well,” the student remarked about the applicant.

Early students also helped to shape the curriculum, course content, and even how classes were taught. “We were constantly giving feedback,” said one student. “They gave us the green light to do it, and we kept doing it.”

Linda Mason ’80 remembered “this sense that we’re building this school together. There were a lot of big expectations and a lot of excitement. It felt challenging and stimulating and fun.”