Logan Howard
Less than three months after the provost’s Advisory Committee issued a report on the Jackson Institute’s future, the Yale Corporation will potentially vote on the recommendation to convert the Institute into a new degree-offering school next weekend, according to Vice President for Global Strategy Pericles Lewis.
The Corporation meeting follows a series of town halls and meetings for faculty members to review the committee’s recommendation. This upcoming weekend, a group of administrators and faculty members — including Lewis and the Chair of the Advisory Committee Judy Chevalier — will present the committee report to the trustees, Lewis said. He added that the trustees are scheduled to discuss the report, but the vote may be delayed until April if the trustees want more information. University Provost Benjamin Polak told the News in November that the University will decide whether to act on the committee’s recommendations after hosting the town hall meetings in the spring. According to two sources close to the deliberations, the Corporation is expected to approve the committee’s recommendation this weekend.
But in an email to the News, University President Peter Salovey said the Corporation would likely take longer than one weekend of deliberations before voting on the issue.
“The Trustees are scheduled to discuss the report, but they may or may not vote on its recommendations,” Lewis said. “They decide whether they want to vote or whether they want to gather more information.”
The November report from the provost’s Advisory Committee on the Future of the Jackson Institute recommended the creation of “an intentionally small school [of Global Affairs], with a focused mission and close interaction among faculty, fellows, and students.” According to Polak, if the advisory committee’s recommendation to establish a school of global affairs is approved, the institute will become a priority for the next capital campaign. Per the report, the new school would require $200 million, largely from external gifts, over the next three to five years.
According to Lewis, there is currently no proposal to vote on the committee’s recommendation in the Corporation meeting agenda. Still, after discussing the November report, the Corporation members may propose to vote on Saturday, Lewis said.
In an email to the News, Lewis said the Corporation will discuss “whether the proposals in the report are good for Yale’s future and whether they enhance Yale’s positive role in society.” Senior trustee Catharine Bond Hill did not respond to questions about the likelihood of the Corporation approving the committee’s recommendations. Still, Hill said that when making a decision, trustees consider whether “whatever is being proposed is in the interests of furthering Yale’s mission of ‘improving the world today and for future generations.” She added that the Corporation’s votes don’t have to be unanimous to act on the committee’s proposal.
In an email to the News, trustee Lei Zhang GRD ’02 SOM ’02 said that the Jackson Institute has been “an excellent resource” for the University.
“The shift to a school of global affairs gives it a number of tools, including greater access to leading faculty, to help it achieve its goal of being the preeminent global center for research and teaching,” Zhang said. “The emphasis on a smaller program underscores our commitment to nurturing world-class academic thinking. We are focused on ensuring that Yale is a leading resource for discussions about global challenges for the next 50 years and beyond.”
The School of Management — the youngest professional school at Yale — was established in 1976.
Serena Cho | serena.cho@yale.edu