A Message to Alumni

from Dean's Desk, Alumni E-Newsletter
March 10, 2005

Dear Yale SOM Graduates,

Since the earliest days of the Yale School of Management, our alumni have lived out the mission of the school, distinguishing themselves throughout business and society. It is clear that, in this latest Alumni E-newsletter, the tradition continues.

Just recently, two of the employers named to Fortune’s prestigious list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” – Bright Horizons Family Solutions and CarMax – are companies founded and led by alumni – Linda Mason ’80 and Austin Ligon ’80, respectively. In addition, two of our alumni – Roger Brown ’82 and Daniel Weiss ’85 – have been appointed college presidents; Richard Perlmutter ’80 has been nominated for a Grammy Award (for the second time), and Curtis Chin ’90 has been appointed to the U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy.

Our alumni have also taken the initiative to help in many ways with December's devastating tsunamis. Bright Horizons has established a special employee contribution-matching fund with Mercy Corps, a leading international relief agency, also headed up by one of our alumni, CEO Neal Keny-Guyer ’82. Mercy Corps, whose tsunami relief efforts are centered in India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, is delivering aid to more than 250,000 survivors and working with local organizations and communities to ensure long-term assistance and economic recovery for families who have lost everything. Rebecca Martin ’99, currently on leave as Associate Director of the Program on Social Enterprise at Yale SOM, is in Sri Lanka with Mercy Corps assisting with the relief efforts.

It is particularly gratifying that this spirit of “giving back” is also reflected in the many ways that the school has received support from our alumni. Your willingness to share your time, expertise, resources, and your Yale SOM experience with others strengthens our programs, our students, and the greater School community.

Last year, over 1,000 former students devoted their time and energy to the school. You’ve interviewed prospective students, sponsored internships, mentored a student (or two), hosted on-site visits for students curious about your particular organizations. You’ve evaluated business proposals through the Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures program, supported the annual fund, and given a helping hand to the newest members of the alumni community through support of the Loan Forgiveness fund. Alumni have returned to campus to speak in classes and on panels, collaborated with students to co-sponsor professional conferences, brought companies here to recruit, and engaged faculty and other alumni through regional events.

Later this spring, we look forward to celebrating fifth, tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth anniversaries with alumni from the Classes of 2000, 1995, 1990, and 1985. The weekend’s program will include a conference of Yale global business leaders – “Yale, Business Leadership, and the Public Interest,” – co-sponsored with the Association of Yale Alumni. A number of Yale SOM alumni and faculty will be leading and presenting workshop sessions, and alumni have helped plan these celebrations with and for their classmates.

We are grateful for the many ways you contribute to the continuing development of the school, establish new standards of leadership, and positively impact the communities in which you live and work. We encourage you to be involved and engaged in as many ways with the school as your time will permit. These many contributions and interactions are essential to strengthening the sense of community at the school, and among its alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends.

Best regards,

Jeffrey E. Garten, Dean