Vaibhav Sharma, Staff Photographer

As scores of visitors made their way to New Haven on the evening of Nov. 16 for The Game, the Yale Athletic Department awarded five alumni — in addition to University President Peter Salovey — the George H.W. Bush Lifetime of Leadership Award at its annual Blue Leadership Ball.

Recipients of the award, the Athletic Department’s highest honor, also included Ed Barksdale Jr. ’80, Christopher Brown ’90, Terry Light ’69, Carol Lynch ’81 and Frank Shorter ’69. The award was established by the Athletics Department as part of Yale’s tercentennial celebrations in 2001 in the name of former President George H. W. Bush ’48. It is meant to honor former Yale athletes who have gone on to lead distinguished careers in public service, education, government, business, science and technology, and the arts. 

Salovey, who attended Stanford for his undergraduate studies and was not a student-athlete, was among this year’s six recipients. According to Salovey’s profile on the awards site, Yale Athletics’ varsity teams have won 38 Ivy League championships, six Ivy League Tournament championships and 20 national championships under his tenure as President. Apart from the titles the Bulldogs have brought home during Salovey’s 11 years at Yale’s helm, he also spearheaded an investment of $100 million for facility renovations, mental health support and wellness services for athletes. 

“I am a passionate Bulldogs fan, but I admit that my own athletic career has consisted of a round of golf on Yale’s front nine several times a year (with a handicap I will not confess),” Salovey wrote to the News. “So I am honored and quite humbled to join the company of those who have contributed so much to Yale athletics over the years.”

Salovey will step down after 11 years as Yale’s president this summer.

Christopher Brown, a former football player and current history professor at Columbia University, called the award a “massive honor.” He told the News that he took pride in being both a student and an athlete while at Yale, a space he attributes to helping him “figure out” his professional aspirations.

A Rhodes Scholar, Brown also said that he challenges Yale’s athletic program to produce more students who can compete for academic honors upon graduation, such as the Marshall Scholarship, the Rhodes Scholarship or the Fulbright Scholarship. 

“I arrived at Yale, passionate about football, and determined to be an excellent student, and I left Yale passionate about the discipline of history and wanting to be a historian,” Brown said. “I was the last Yale football player to win a Rhodes scholarship… But I think it’s time for someone else to show that capacity to be a superb scholar and leader.”

Terry Light, who was a member of Yale’s now-defunct varsity wrestling team, said that he was initially “embarrassed” upon learning that he would be receiving the award because he did not believe his athletic achievements merited it. He said that it was only until he spoke with a fellow former wrestler that he realized he was being recognized for his leadership, which has included serving as president of both the American Orthopaedic Association and the American Society for the Surgery of the Hand.

Light was also honored for his community service, including the 20 years he has served as a docent for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust in Oak Park, Illinois and the two years he served as its Foundation Board president. He told the News that he attributes the University’s liberal arts education to “enriching” the content of the courses he took beyond those that were required for medical school. 

“I pivoted about halfway through my sophomore year [at Yale] and decided to focus on Urban Studies through the American Studies major,” he said. “And that was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life because I think I had a much broader liberal arts education.”

Carol Lynch, appointed in 2016 as a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral before retiring with over 33 years of service, said in an interview that it was “humbling and exciting” to be recognized for her military service. She added that the award holds special importance to her because she comes from a working-class background and was the first in her family to attend college.

Although initially recruited to play basketball, a sport in which she earned four letters, Lynch also went on to play in the University’s inaugural softball team and was a member of the volleyball team. Lynch added that although Yale was not her first choice, it “truly changed” her life.

“That aspect of having those main challenges of being there, both academically and economically, gave me the opportunities and exposed me to people and thoughts that helped me excel,” Lynch said. “I know that [Yale] played a huge foundation in what I now have, and what I consider to be a great life.”

Salovey wrote that he views the award not as a “personal honor” but as a “testament” to Yale’s success in supporting student-athletes and the athletics program during his tenure.

He added that while the University’s athletics program — whose success he regards as “one of the great joys” of his presidency — “does a great deal of good” for student-athletes, he believes it is also beneficial for members of the University as a whole.

“I accepted this award with enormous appreciation for all those who have nurtured Yale athletics over the last decade,” Salovey wrote. “Whether our student-athletes win or lose, when we see them perform with resilience and commitment, we are reminded of our common identity as members of the Yale community—we feel a shared sense of joy and celebration.”

As an undergraduate at Yale, Bush Sr. played on the varsity baseball team and served as team captain.