School Notes: Yale College
May/June 2017

Alumnus leads opera students in concert

Perry So ’04, founder of the Saybrook College Orchestra, debuted as guest conductor for Orchestra New England’s February 25 performance of Stravinsky’s one-act chamber opera Renard. The program featured four student members of the Yale Opera program: tenors Andrés Moreno Garcia and Luis Aguilar Regalado (both students at the School of Music), baritone Zachary Johnson ’18, and bass Stephen Clark (School of Music). The concert took place at the United Church on the Green, 270 Temple St.

Alumna honored by Phi Beta Kappa

Elizabeth Alexander ’84 was honored in February by the Yale chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, which bestowed on her the Joseph W. Gordon Award, named in honor of Yale College’s longtime deputy dean and dean of undergraduate education. The award is given annually to a Yale College graduate in recognition of distinguished service and contributions, in academic or professional life, in the arts, letters, or sciences. Alexander is the author of six books of poems, two collections of essays, and a memoir. In 2009, she delivered her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Kerry Initiative will address global challenges

Former Secretary of State John Kerry ’66 will serve as Yale’s first Distinguished Fellow for Global Affairs, returning to Yale to oversee the Kerry Initiative, an interdisciplinary program that will address global challenges through teaching, research, and international dialogue. He will lead a seminar open to students from across the university in the 2017–18 academic year. Through the Kerry Fellows Program, Yale undergraduate, graduate, and professional students will collaborate with Kerry on leading-edge research and high-profile publications for a global audience.