Internship Fund to Hold 'Emerald City Auction' on April 15

For more than 30 years, the Internship Fund auction has been one of the premier events at Yale SOM. While its primary function is to raise money to help support students doing summer internships in the public and nonprofit sectors, the auction also allows students, faculty, and staff a chance for a fun evening right before the crush of spring finals.

Each year the auction is the biggest event for the Internship Fund. A major reason is the breadth of the over 150 items up for bid between the silent and live auctions. On April 15, students and faculty will congregate to bid on items that include a chance to own one of Professor Doug Rae’s signature bow ties; a stay in a luxury apartment in Singapore; flight and accommodations for two for the Sundance Film Festival; and two days and nights at a Guatemalan coffee farm and nature preserve owned and managed by two SOM alumni.

The Internship Fund raises about $150,000 each year, with roughly a quarter coming from the auction. The 2009 auction raised more than $44,000, the second most ever. This year’s theme is “There’s No Place Like SOM,” a reference to the Wizard of Oz, which the auction organizers see as a vehicle for expressing SOM’s core values. Each main character from the film represents a different trait: home, heart, brains, and courage. “Just as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion were in pursuit of those values in their journey along the Yellow Brick Road, so too are SOM students in pursuit of those values through their academics and their summer internships,” said Kimberly Bartlett, a Fund co-leader.

The silent part of the auction will take place in the SOM Hall of Mirrors through Thursday, April 15. This is the first year bids for the silent auction can be made only online. Bartlett said the silent auction was moved entirely online to make it easier for SOM stakeholders such as alumni and the families of students to participate. “Having the auction online allows students and others to bid at any time of the day or night from any location they please, thus facilitating greater participation,” she said.

The live auction will be held in Donaldson Commons, hosted by Cade Massey, assistant professor of organizational behavior.