Tomorrow, Yale employees from around the university will gather for our annual Staff Appreciation Day on Old Campus. Hundreds will enjoy the festivities—food, drink, and special displays celebrating our amazing staff.
In my 36th year at Yale, I am more grateful than ever for the thousands of men and women who make this university run. In recent months, we have celebrated the opening of Yale’s Center for Teaching and Learning, new teaching laboratories in the Sterling Chemistry Lab, and the Wright Physics Laboratory. These facilities are vital to the university priorities and academic investments I announced last fall. At each ribbon-cutting ceremony, I thought of the countless staff members who contribute to these major undertakings. So much of their work happens “behind the scenes,” but their efforts are deeply appreciated.
What can Yale offer in return? If you are a member of our staff, please consider making Yale an important part of your life, not just your career!
Outside of working hours, I love visiting our world-class art museums (for free!) and cheering on the Bulldogs at a football game or other sporting events. Families learn about dinosaurs, earthquakes, and more from Yale professors at Science on Saturdays and the Peabody Museum. On Tuesday nights, you can admire the stars with our astronomers at the Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium. With more free time, I would be a regular at the free movies and lectures hosted by the Whitney Humanities Center. These are just a few of the superb events and resources available to all members of the Yale community—staff, students, and faculty.
It is always enjoyable to meet employees from across the university at a Yale hockey game, concert, or other campus event. I know they are taking advantage of all that Yale has to offer, just as I am.
Yale is enriched by every member of this university. Our dedicated staff not only work here—they live their lives as part of the Yale community. Tomorrow and every day, I hope you will join me in saying “thank you” to all our staff who make Yale such a wonderful, exciting place to work and live.