School Notes: School of Management
March/April 2021

Alum appointed surgeon general

Vivek H. Murthy ’03MBA, ’03MD, will return to the post of surgeon general of the United States, pending Senate confirmation, after being nominated for the post in December, when a statement from the Biden transition team called Murthy “a trusted national voice on health issues and a longtime advisor to President-Elect Biden.”

Murthy, an early graduate of Yale’s joint MD/MBA program, previously served as surgeon general from 2014 to 2017, under President Barack Obama. He was most recently cochair of the COVID-19 Transition Advisory Board created by Biden.

“I never dreamed I’d have the honor to once again serve as surgeon general,” Murthy wrote on Twitter. “In this moment of crisis, I’m grateful for the opportunity to help end this pandemic, be a voice for science, and support our nation on its path to rebuilding and healing.”

Virtual forum seeks to improve public school systems

Educators, administrators, and others committed to strengthening public education convened in a January 14 online forum addressing ways to make American school systems work better for every student, during a time of unprecedented challenge. Titled “Leading Forward,” the virtual gathering drew more than 350 alumni of The Broad Center (TBC).

The previously independent Broad Center in Los Angeles is being transformed into The Broad Center at Yale SOM. The long-running TBC Forum gives graduates of the programs the opportunity to hear from experts and pathbreaking leaders in the field.

Welcoming alumni, Yale SOM dean Kerwin K. Charles said the gathering exemplified how Yale SOM will draw on the expertise of TBC alumni as it applies its approach to education leadership. “We have this unique and distinctive mission that emphasizes leadership for not only business but business and society,” Charles said. Yale SOM, he noted, has long experience in “training leaders in multiple spheres—and what more important sphere than education?”