Inaugural Class of 2008-2009

Adam Blumenthal '89
Managing General Partner
Blue Wolf Capital Management

Laszlo Bock '99
Vice President, People Operations
Google, Inc.

Andrea Levere '83
President
Corporation for Enterprise Development

James Levitt '80
Director
Program on Conservation Innovation at the Harvard Forest, Harvard University

Elizabeth Thompson Serlemitsos '93
Chief Advisor
National AIDS Council, Zambia

The Donaldson Fellows Program for Yale SOM Alumni is named to honor SOM’s founding dean, William H. Donaldson, who also founded an investment bank, served as an under secretary of state, and led a major insurance corporation, the New York Stock Exchange, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (Read a short biography of William Donaldson.)

The program will recognize Yale SOM graduates whose personal and professional accomplishments embody the school’s mission to educate leaders for business and society. The Donaldson Fellows will be selected every year by a committee chaired by the Dean and comprised of SOM faculty, current students, and alumni. The selection will be based on nominations from members and friends of the SOM community, as well as self-nominations.

Criteria

In selecting the Donaldson Fellows, the committee will seek a wide range of experience, and a variety of industries, sectors, and years since graduation. The objective is to select alumni who exemplify what it is to live the Yale School of Management mission as expressed through the following themes: Leading and Managing Across Boundaries; Transforming Positive Values into Personal, Professional and Institutional Commitments; and Bringing Creativity and Discipline to Complex Management Problems. (Read more about these distinctive qualities of Yale SOM.)

Donaldson Fellows Seminar

Once selected, Donaldson Fellows take part in a seminar program at the school that will involve a series of presentations, student meetings, and other events. The first residency was held in October 2008. The next scheduled seminar is planned for the spring of 2010. Participation in the on-campus program is a requirement for all Donaldson Fellows.

Nominations

Nominations of Yale SOM alumni to be Donaldson Fellows for the Class of 2009-2010 will open in the fall of 2009.

Questions about the Donaldson Fellows Program can be directed to Associate Dean for Development & Alumni Relations Joel A. Getz.