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We’re
on a roll. Think, for a moment, about the many universities visited by
the Yale Global
Alumni Leadership Exchange ‑ The Australian National University in
Australia;
Todai, Waseda, Kyoto, Ritsumeikan, and Doshisha, in Japan; Boğaziçi,
Koç,
Sabanci, Yaşar, and Bilkent in Turkey; Beida, Tsinghua, Fudan, Renmin,
Sun Yat
Sen and New Asia College in China. We have reached scores of additional
schools
through our World Alumni Leadership Conferences in Istanbul and
Beijing. Next
February we continue this remarkable run with exchanges in Israel.
What
a legacy we are creating! What a…tradition.
Yale
is at once a
tradition, a company of scholars, a society of friends.
George W. Pierson, Larned Professor of History
Professor
Pierson first cites Yale as a “tradition.” As sons and
daughters of Eli – especially alumni “ambassadors” ‑ we are steeped in
it. The
first class reunions were held 188 years ago in 1824 and continue to
this day.
Our first alumni “association” ‑ the Society of Yale Alumni ‑ was
started 185
years ago in 1827. The first regional Yale Club – in Cincinnati – was
formed
148 years ago in 1864. A relative newcomer, the AYA celebrates 40 years
next
year.
This
summer we will be traveling to the United Kingdom, arguably
the foundation of our Yale – and more broadly American ‑ collegiate
traditions
to add another chapter to the YaleGALE tradition. Yale modeled its
residential
college life after Oxford and Cambridge. Many of our student
“traditions” are
rooted in the UK, from athletic ‑ rowing, baseball (from cricket),
football
(from rugby), golf and many more, to music – glee clubs, to oratory –
debate
teams, and to political unions – the Tory Party et al. Think of
Master’s Teas!
The Elizabethan Club! Mory’s Pub! Heck, even our buildings are designed
to look
like Cambridge!
We’ll
travel to the University
of Edinburgh, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site and the sixth oldest university in the United Kingdom, to
University of
Cambridge the second oldest (and the first university in
most world rankings),
and to University
College London, the oldest institution of higher learning
in
London. We’ll learn of their alumni traditions while we share ours.
Each
university will have their alumni leaders on campus to meet with us. In
particular, YaleGALE has been invited to share the 5th
annual
Cambridge Alumni Day on July 7 when their alumni leadership comes back
to
campus to further develop their programs – does it sound familiar?
Maybe we
will get some new ideas for our Assembly!
Our
YaleGALE program is planned for June 30 - July 11, 2012 (and we hope
you can
join us June 27 – June 30 at Henley to cheer on the Yale crew team and
see some
more of England). The details of our program are not finalized yet
although we
know we will be in Edinburgh July 1 – July 4, make a quick stop in
Wrexham in
Wales at St. Giles Church to visit the birth place of our very
own Elihu
Yale, be in Cambridge July 5 – July 8 and then spend the last three
days in
London. This will be a remarkable occasion for us, not only to discuss
how and
why we engage as Yale volunteer leaders, but also to learn about the
culture in
the UK today and make new friends.
Once again, we will discuss the benefits and the possibilities for
broader
alumni initiatives with our partnering institutions. If you have
volunteered for
Yale, you may be asked to sit on a panel with fellow Yale alumni or
participate
in other ways to share your experiences of volunteering at Yale -
experiences
such as reunions, class dinners, mini-reunions, club activities, AYA
assemblies, AYA board meetings, Alumni Fund programs, shared interest
group
activities - any and all such ways you have contributed your time and
talent.
In this alumni exchange we have the opportunity to transform the scope
and
breadth of alumni collaborations, and to share our gifts with the rest
of the
world. Please consider joining us - and helping us lead - this historic
exchange. Please use the link at the left to apply.
We
will have orientation and training for the program in New Haven on
Saturday, April 28 starting at 1 pm. You will receive details after you
register for the program.
Cheers!
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