Yale School of Management Marks 5,000th Graduate at 2006 Commencement

New Haven, Conn., May 22, 2006—Two hundred and fifteen graduates received their MBA degrees today at the commencement exercises for the Yale School of Management Class of 2006. This year’s class signifies a milestone in the history of the School: SOM matriculated its 5,000th graduate since its founding in 1976.

During the commencement ceremony, which took place at 12:30 p.m. in the Caulkins Courtyard, Seth Brown was recognized as the School’s 5,000th graduate as he received his diploma. All graduates received hats bearing “Yale School of Management Alumni 5,000” to commemorate the occasion.

In his commencement address, his first since becoming dean of the SOM last July, Dean Joel M. Podolny said, “With 5,000 alumni spread out around the world, SOM is truly coming into its own. Soon you will be receiving your Yale diplomas, and you will officially be part of the worldwide SOM alumni body. It is a group that is strong and growing, just as our School is strong and growing, and committed to taking a leadership role in the future of management education.”

In delivering the student address, Nick Brod discussed SOM’s mission of educating leaders for business and society and each graduates’ ability to enact positive change in both. He said, “We are taught in our first semester that change is a requirement of sustained capitalism, and that without creative destruction, stagnation or collapse sets in. I believe that each and every one of us has the ability to design, and to implement changes that will positively impact each and every one of the business and society changes that we will come to face in the coming years. And it is to these challenges that I raise my head and say we will be leaders of both business and society.”

The 215 graduates of the Yale School of Management Class of 2006 hail from 24 countries. They are going on to careers in countries around the world, including China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and the UK, with organizations that include Google, the Museum of Modern Art, Morgan Stanley, the Nature Conservancy, McKinsey, PepsiCo, Deloitte Consulting, Teach for America, Unilever, Merrill Lynch, the Global Environment Fund, Microsoft, and Lehman Brothers.