School Notes: School of Management
January/February 2011

Library in new SOM campus will be state-of-the-art

The library in the new SOM complex will be a state-of-the-art facility supporting teaching and research and will be located at the front of the building in proximity to classrooms, giving it a pivotal place in the new SOM campus. Support for the new campus was received recently with a $10 million pledge from Wilbur L. Ross ’59, CEO and chairman of WL Ross & Co. LLC. Ross’s gift, among the largest from an individual in support of the new campus, is being directed toward construction of the new library. “When I was an undergraduate at Yale, my father died, and Yale was a beacon that provided financial support,” said Ross. “This is a good opportunity to give something back. Since joining the Yale SOM board, I have become convinced that the quality of both faculty and students is world-class and that they deserve a campus of equal quality.”

Prospective students experience SOM

Each fall, scores of prospective students travel to Yale SOM for Explore Diversity, a two-day event that provides an in-depth look into the Yale MBA program. Attendees sit in on a mock class, hear alumni talk about their experiences, learn about career opportunities for SOM students, and meet current students and faculty. Explore Diversity is designed to provide prospective students a compact but full view of life at SOM. This year’s participants attended an admissions presentation, a panel with current students discussing life at SOM, and a cocktail reception with faculty and students, and heard an address from Dean Sharon Oster, in which she explained the school’s mission to educate leaders for business and society and stressed how important diversity is in accomplishing it. “Embracing diversity isn’t an add-on for us,” she said. “It’s central to our education process.”

CEO leadership summits held in Asia

For more than 20 years the Chief Executive Leadership Institute has been bringing together many of the world’s top CEOs to discuss pressing issues facing business leaders across the globe. In 2010 the 64th and 65th Yale CEO Leadership Summits were held in Mumbai and Shanghai, marking the growing importance of India and China to the global economy. At each event, scores of top CEOs from the United States, Europe, and Asia met to discuss the theme “Leading Global Enterprises Across Global Cities: Aspirations, Realities, and Alternatives.” At each summit, the institute presented its “Legend in Leadership Award” to an outstanding CEO: Yin Mingshan, founder and chairman of the Lifan Group, in China, and Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons, in India.