"They stole our newsletter, and we could not be more pleased." -- Tom Taft, Yale SOM '85, President SOMAA

This first edition of the Global Alumni Network News and Events is one important manifestation of the partnership that has grown in recent years between the independent Alumni Association and the administration of the School itself. Two years ago we saw the need for a electronic newsletter geared to meet the interests and needs of the alumni, and board member, Randall Johnson, undertook the creation and implementation of that newsletter. We are very pleased that the Alumni Affairs office is taking over this effort from us, and see it as a perfect example of the Board identifying a need and the School responding effectively to it.

The recent changes in the School's approach to, and focus on, its alumni mirror many of the recommendations that the Board has made. We believe that by becoming an active and constructive partner with the School in a number of events and intiatives, we have been able to more successfully address the concerns of alumni that have been forwarded to us, and we see this pattern continuing in the future.

In the coming years the School will need to turn to the strength of its alumni body as part of its continuing progress toward becoming one of the top business schools nationally and internationally, and we see the Alumni Association as being in a position to help that process be a win/win situation for the alumni and the School.

The Alumni Affairs office recognizes that in order to benefit from significant and growing alumni involvement, it needs to be able to answer -- in a convincingly positive way -- the "What's in it for me?" question, and we believe that the Board can help make that happen.

If you have drifted away from SOM, I encourage you to become involved again, and if you have been involved, to become more involved. The stronger the School becomes, the more the education we all received will be valued.

I had the opportunity to meet with the incoming class during their orientation. I was expecting excellence and was still awe-struck by the individuals I met. This is a very impressive group of students, and the future of this School is bright. In my last letter in Focus On Alumni, I wrote of the School's DNA, as identified by Bill Donaldson, the School's first dean. That DNA is powerfully present in this new class.

The most pressing need for alumni assistance in the short term is to help recent graduates and this year's graduating class to find jobs. The Career Development Office is going to offer all of us many ways that we can help, and the Association and the Alumni Affairs office will be working to be sure that any investment in time and effort that you make will come back to
you in beneficial ways.

In future editions of this newsletter, we will be notifying you of current activities and initiatives that we are working on, and will be solicitating your feedback on issues that are brought to us. Please help us maintain the effectiveness of our independent position by joining the Association.

Thank you.

Thomas Taft '85