Gergen discusses current Corporation meetings

COURTESY OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS Gergen said that the appointment of Barrington D. Parker, Jr., ES '65, LAW '69, is evident of the Corporation's commitment to diversity.

On Thurs., Feb. 18, the members of the Yale Corporation began three days of meetings with the Administration, faculty, and students to discuss topics ranging from tenure reform to campus renovations. The Yale Herald spoke with long-time Corporation member and US News & World Report Editor-at-Large David A. Gergen, ES '63, about his views on key Yale issues.

The weekend of meetings comes on the heels of major changes in the Corporation's membership over the past three weeks. These changes included the appointment of two new members, Holcombe T. Green, Jr., SY '61, and Barrington D. Parker, Jr., ES '65,
LAW '69, and of a new senior fellow, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke, DC '71. Gergen believes this slew of appointments--which take effect this fall--reflect the alumni's dedication to maintaining minority voices on the body. "The diversity of the Corporation itself is remarkable," he said. "With the two additions, five of the 17 members are women, two are African-American, one is Hispanic-American, and there are two international representatives."

Gergen stressed that the Corporation itself attempts to introduce many voices at its meetings, especially those of students. He pointed out that on Thursday, member Jaime Serra, GRD '79, met with members of the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) to discuss non-traditional career choices while on Fri., Feb. 19 other Corporation members will sit in the Silliman and Ezra Stiles dining halls to talk to students about what's on their minds. "There is a genuine enthusiasm among members of the Corporation for more outreach," he said. "We believe it's important to hear many voices across the campus."

That said, Gergen opposes Yale College Council (YCC) proposals to place a student on the Corporation, including a recent one authored by YCC President Zach Kaufman, SY '00, endorsing the appointment of a student to the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA) Corporation nominations committee. "There are issues that arise that, if a student comes on the Corporation, there would then be a special interest group on the body and that would be a stumbling block," Gergen said. "Also, if we have one student from the College, then we'll have to have one from the Graduate School, and then one from the Law School, et cetera."

A hot topic at the Corporation's meetings this weekend will be University President Richard Levin's, GRD '74, proposal to step up efforts to include more women and minorities among the number of Yale senior faculty. Gergen wholeheartedly agreed that hiring diversity always has and will continue to receive the full attention of the Corporation. "It is a shared concern, for it is one the students have, one the Corporation has, one the faculty has. Even as we make progress in the junior ranks, we still have a long way to go in the senior ranks." He explained that having a number of women on the Corporation is helpful as the group deliberates over this sensitive issue. "We are fortunate to have as many women on the Corporation as we do...to have so many members throwing themselves into increasing the number of minority and female faculty positions," he said.

While the Corporation will spend the weekend probing the University's major academic issues, it hasn't lost sight of the year's most jarring event, the tragic murder of Suzanne Jovin. "There has been such an outpouring of support for the Jovin family," Gergen said. "The Corporation is going to be interested in getting an update on that because President Levin and Provost [Alion] Richard have been periodically informing us about the case. We're also anticipating a report on the progress of the Suzanne Jovin Memorial Fund."

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