It’s Time for Light and Truth at Yale

Dear Fellow Yale Graduate,

I am sure that many of you are aware by now of the decision by the Yale Corporation to eliminate the possibility for petitioning candidates to earn a spot on the ballot in Alumni Fellow elections. Senior Trustee Catharine Bond Hill announced the decision to alumni by email on the afternoon of Monday, May 24.

As a petitioning candidate for 2022, I am disappointed in this decision not so much for myself, but on behalf of all the Yale graduates who will from now on be deprived of the opportunity to vote in a free and open election, one in which the candidates have publicly discussed their approach to the role of trustee and have had ample time to listen to and communicate with alumni. Instead, Yale alumni will be forced to vote – if they choose to vote – for candidates about whom they will have received but little information. There will be no opportunity for dialogue, exchange of ideas, or questions. Where are the lux et veritas in this?

The statement in the Senior Trustee’s letter about respect for petitioning candidates is disingenuous in the extreme. Both the letter and the longer statement on the Board’s web site argue that any petitioning candidate with “organized support” would bring an “agenda” to the Board and would therefore be unable to address the issues facing Yale with independent judgment. This suggestion is disrespectful and deeply offensive not only to petitioning candidates, but also to those who sign their petitions and to those who ultimately choose to vote for them. Not only would it be highly inappropriate to serve in such a manner, but it would also be folly to expect that a single new member could impose an outside agenda on a board of trustees.

The timing of the announcement raises concerns. The vote to drop the petition option was taken at a meeting on May 18, almost a full week before the email went to alumni. The announcement was not made until May 24 in the afternoon, almost 15 hours after the end of both the 2021 Alumni Fellow election and the start of the 2022 petitioning period. Meanwhile, petitioning candidates had been required to declare their intention to petition on March 15. They had all been working for more than two months and were standing ready for their petitions to become available for signatures at midnight on May 24. During this time, I released a statement about why I decided to run, my background, and how I would approach the role of Alumni Fellow, which I invite you to read here.

Announcing the Board’s decision before March 15 would have made more sense than postponing the Board’s vote until May 18 and its announcement until May 24, when the declarations of petitioning candidates had already been accepted by Yale officials months earlier. The timing gives the impression that Board members may have found the potential outcome of the 2021 election in progress inconvenient. The impression may be inaccurate, but it is still difficult to disregard.

I have questions about the decision-making process itself. Yale’s by-laws can be amended by a 2/3 majority of the Board only if the agenda item and related materials are distributed to members either at the immediately previous Board meeting or at least 30 days before the vote is to be taken. Records show that the Board’s two ex officio members – Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz – had received no information on this subject during the relevant time periods. This raises the question of whether the vote was properly noticed and, by extension, whether it was properly taken. It also begs the question of why these two key individuals in Yale’s home state (both of whom hold Yale degrees) were not informed that an issue of such importance to alumni was to be raised by the Board.

What’s next?

There is an important question to be answered. If the Yale Corporation did notice the May 18 vote properly to all of its members, it should be able to produce documentary evidence. I call on the Yale Corporation to do so. If it cannot, might the decision to discontinue the petitioning process be invalid? If so, the petitioning period will still be open.

Unless and until Yale produces such evidence, I will continue to move forward with collecting alumni signatures for my petition to appear on the 2022 ballot using the petition form provided by Yale on May 21. I’d encourage you to sign my petition if you’re up for it. Some of you will be receiving it by mail this week, as a mailing went out on Monday morning, before the announcement. A form that you can download is also available here. Please mail it directly to me at 109 Hickory Hill Road, Wilton, CT 06897.

Even if the Board can prove that it gave proper notice of the May 18 vote, a groundswell of petition signatures from alumni who disagree with the decision will certainly send a message to the Yale Corporation and the Yale Alumni Association that this dramatic change in election policies is not going to go down without a fight.

I will keep you updated on any other actions that we plan to take. The Yale Corporation must not be allowed to show such disrespect to alumni.

* * * * * * *

I want you to know that it would have been an honor for me to participate in the petition process. During the last few weeks, I spoke with many new acquaintances, alumni with fascinating careers and accomplishments whom I would otherwise not have met, and I am grateful for this experience. You have confirmed my conviction that Yale’s graduates are its greatest resource, and I hope that one day all of us will be able to vote in a free and open Alumni Fellow election. I will do whatever I can to help make that happen.

Sincerely,

Gail Lavielle ’81 MA

Gail Lavielle Launches Petition Campaign for Yale Corporation Alumni Fellow

Wilton, CT – Yale alumna and Wilton resident Gail Lavielle (MA, ’81) announced that she has begun the process of petitioning for a spot on the ballot for the 2022 election for Alumni Fellow of the Yale Corporation, the university’s board of trustees. The petition to collect the alumni signatures required for her to appear on next year’s ballot will open on May 24^th.

“The more I talk with Yale alumni, the more I hear concerns about Yale’s future,” notes Lavielle. “One reason is the opacity surrounding the Yale Corporation. Its meeting minutes are embargoed for 50 years. Candidates nominated by the university’s Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee are selected behind closed doors, and they are instructed to stay silent about their vision for Yale. Their names are not even disclosed until more than a full year after petitioning candidates have declared their intention to seek a spot on the ballot.

“I do not believe that this is the best way to ensure that Yale benefits fully from the competence, intellect, and breadth of experience of its distinguished alumni. The quality of Yale’s graduates is arguably its greatest accomplishment,” continued Lavielle. “Surely they should have a voice in Yale’s future. Yet they are asked to vote for trustees without knowledge of their priorities for Yale. They have no information even on the topics being discussed by the Yale Corporation. While the nominating committee’s candidates have strong credentials, how can anyone cast a truly informed ballot? Where are the lux et veritas in this? The university would clearly benefit from greater transparency around the Yale Corporation and significant reform of its election process.”

In discussing several of her other priorities, Lavielle said, “One of my longstanding interests is supporting and improving our excellent tradition of university education that teaches people how to think – not what to think. For generations, Yale was the unquestioned leader in doing this. If it rekindles that spirit and goal of inquiry now, even as it forges ahead in educating students in today’s new and essential technological and scientific disciplines, I have every faith that Yale can spearhead a welcome return to cordiality and constructive discussion in our society.”

As a petitioning candidate for the 2022 Yale Corporation Alumni Fellow election, Gail Lavielle must collect at least 4,400 signatures between May 24 and October 1, 2021. Once open, the petition will be available on her web site: www.GailforYale.com.

Click here for Lavielle’s full statement about why she is running, her background, and how she would approach the role of Alumni Fellow.

About Gail Lavielle

Gail Lavielle’s career has spanned many years in both the public and private sectors and in many countries. After 26 years in the corporate world – about half that time in France and the other half in the United States — she spent a decade as an elected member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. She credits her time at Yale with giving her the necessary tools for an interesting and varied career: an inquiring and rigorous thought process, an openness to different perspectives, and a keen understanding of the value of listening and clear communication.

From 1981 until 2008, Lavielle worked in finance, marketing, and communication, holding executive leadership positions in several corporations. She began her career in New York at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, first completing training in corporate finance and then heading worldwide advertising. Subsequently, she and her husband, Jean-Pierre, moved to Paris, where they lived for 14 years. During that time, she significantly broadened her international experience, as all of her professional activities were focused on France, Europe, and Africa.

As CEO of a French subsidiary of the Interpublic Group specialized in communications and public affairs, she managed a company through a severe recession and doubled revenues while running it for five years at a substantial profit. She also served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, and member of the Executive Committee of Suez Environnement, the world’s largest water and wastewater services company. There, Lavielle managed people in more than 30 developed and developing countries, where local communications were key, and worked closely with the international financial community.

The Lavielles returned to the United States when Suez Environnement transferred her to its North American corporate office. They settled in Wilton, Connecticut, where she volunteered for a number of local organizations and served in Wilton town government.

In 2010, Lavielle was elected to Connecticut’s state House of Representatives, where for 10 years she represented the 143rd district, covering parts of the small towns of Wilton and Westport, as well as a section of the city of Norwalk. She left public office in January 2021, after choosing not to run for a sixth term.

During her most recent term, Lavielle was Assistant Minority Leader and House Ranking Member of the Connecticut legislature’s largest joint House/Senate committee, Appropriations, and a member of the Education Committee and the Transportation Committee. In previous years she had also served as Ranking Member of the Education Committee, as well as a member of the Finance Committee and the Higher Education Committee.

As a legislator, Lavielle developed or supported many proposals to make Connecticut’s government less costly and more efficient, create a fertile climate for jobs, and make the state more competitive. She also advocated protection of environmental resources and open space, strategic workforce development, and equitable state funding for urban schools. She was also an outspoken opponent of expanding the state’s powers of eminent domain. She was recognized multiple times by various organizations for her work on education and the environment.

Gail was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She holds an MA in French from Yale and a BA in English from Cornell, as well as an MBA in finance from the University of Connecticut. A former classical music critic, she wrote reviews for The Wall Street Journal and is the author of a book on opera. A dual citizen of the United States and France, she is bilingual in English and French.

Victor Ashe in the Yale Daily News

Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland and Knoxville, TN mayor Victor Ashe ’67 had an excellent op-ed in today’s Yale Daily News. I encourage you to read it and vote for Victor in the election underway.