Thank you for the warm welcome I have received over the past few months. I have met with faculty, students, and staff across campus, and with alumni and families from around the globe. I am grateful for the observations and aspirations you are sharing with me through those conversations and the online form. Your input is helping me gain a deeper understanding of the people who make up the Yale and broader New Haven communities and of the complexities to navigate and ambitions to nurture.
Although I am in the midst of gathering community input, themes and ideas are beginning to emerge. There is immense support for the ongoing university initiatives that enhance our strengths in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences and engineering. Many voiced appreciation for the historic investment Yale is making in its physical infrastructure. This investment brings faculty together across multiple schools and disciplines and supports both curiosity-driven scholarship and research that is transforming lives through new treatments and innovations that address climate change and other pressing challenges.
Many of you also wrote to me about issues facing our nation and higher education, including when Yale should speak as an institution. The Committee on Institutional Voice, convened in September, will share its report by the end of the semester.
In addition, I have heard many new ideas linked to your hopes and aspirations for Yale’s future. From these, a number of themes emerge: building on Yale’s academic excellence, enhancing the undergraduate educational experience, strengthening our relationship with New Haven, and improving operational effectiveness and efficiency in support of academic excellence.
From your suggestions and comments, I am developing the next phase of listening sessions. During this next phase, I will sharpen the discussion around the specific topics that have risen to the top and work with you to obtain more expansive input. I will provide opportunities to share ideas and insights through small group sessions and digital methods. The information from these sessions will help inform our plans for Yale’s future. Building a meaningful long-term vision and strategy for our university requires time to collect the insight of the community. I am committed to doing this thoughtfully in partnership with you.
Meanwhile, our work to advance Yale’s mission of creating, preserving, and sharing knowledge and educating aspiring leaders continues. This semester alone, we have made strides in projects that support Yale’s initiatives. For example, we are making progress in the dramatic arts building, which will enhance the work and study of scholars, practitioners, and students. In September, we broke ground on the Upper Science Hill Building Complex, and our university had its largest presence yet at Climate Week in New York City, bringing together experts from different sectors and fields to create collaborations, scale climate solutions, and increase capacity building worldwide. Earlier this fall, the university launched Cultivating Conversation, a Belonging at Yale initiative that provides learning opportunities and forums for discussions on complex topics from a wide range of viewpoints.
In addition, I am meeting with legislators, fellow college and university leaders, and others to advocate for higher education across a broad range of issues, including funding for federally sponsored research and for access and affordability. I also have enjoyed engaging with visitors during family weekend, cheering on the Bulldogs in season-opening games, and participating in faculty and staff meetings around campus.
It is an honor to work alongside you. If you have not shared your ideas with me yet, I hope you will take the time to do so. I look forward to speaking with more of you as I continue this first phase of my listening tour, and I am excited about what we will do in the coming months to sharpen our ideas and plans for the long-term future of Yale.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor of the History of Art
Yale University
Fall Update
Dear Members of the Yale Community,
Thank you for the warm welcome I have received over the past few months. I have met with faculty, students, and staff across campus, and with alumni and families from around the globe. I am grateful for the observations and aspirations you are sharing with me through those conversations and the online form. Your input is helping me gain a deeper understanding of the people who make up the Yale and broader New Haven communities and of the complexities to navigate and ambitions to nurture.
Although I am in the midst of gathering community input, themes and ideas are beginning to emerge. There is immense support for the ongoing university initiatives that enhance our strengths in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences and engineering. Many voiced appreciation for the historic investment Yale is making in its physical infrastructure. This investment brings faculty together across multiple schools and disciplines and supports both curiosity-driven scholarship and research that is transforming lives through new treatments and innovations that address climate change and other pressing challenges.
Many of you also wrote to me about issues facing our nation and higher education, including when Yale should speak as an institution. The Committee on Institutional Voice, convened in September, will share its report by the end of the semester.
In addition, I have heard many new ideas linked to your hopes and aspirations for Yale’s future. From these, a number of themes emerge: building on Yale’s academic excellence, enhancing the undergraduate educational experience, strengthening our relationship with New Haven, and improving operational effectiveness and efficiency in support of academic excellence.
From your suggestions and comments, I am developing the next phase of listening sessions. During this next phase, I will sharpen the discussion around the specific topics that have risen to the top and work with you to obtain more expansive input. I will provide opportunities to share ideas and insights through small group sessions and digital methods. The information from these sessions will help inform our plans for Yale’s future. Building a meaningful long-term vision and strategy for our university requires time to collect the insight of the community. I am committed to doing this thoughtfully in partnership with you.
Meanwhile, our work to advance Yale’s mission of creating, preserving, and sharing knowledge and educating aspiring leaders continues. This semester alone, we have made strides in projects that support Yale’s initiatives. For example, we are making progress in the dramatic arts building, which will enhance the work and study of scholars, practitioners, and students. In September, we broke ground on the Upper Science Hill Building Complex, and our university had its largest presence yet at Climate Week in New York City, bringing together experts from different sectors and fields to create collaborations, scale climate solutions, and increase capacity building worldwide. Earlier this fall, the university launched Cultivating Conversation, a Belonging at Yale initiative that provides learning opportunities and forums for discussions on complex topics from a wide range of viewpoints.
In addition, I am meeting with legislators, fellow college and university leaders, and others to advocate for higher education across a broad range of issues, including funding for federally sponsored research and for access and affordability. I also have enjoyed engaging with visitors during family weekend, cheering on the Bulldogs in season-opening games, and participating in faculty and staff meetings around campus.
It is an honor to work alongside you. If you have not shared your ideas with me yet, I hope you will take the time to do so. I look forward to speaking with more of you as I continue this first phase of my listening tour, and I am excited about what we will do in the coming months to sharpen our ideas and plans for the long-term future of Yale.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor of the History of Art
Yale University