Aletheiani, who identifies as part of the Indonesian diaspora in the United States, had taken notes on how to develop curriculum on the national language of the fourth largest country in the world during her early days at Arizona State University — where she received her doctorate in curriculum studies 15 years ago. There, in a county with approximately 1,000 Indonesian Americans, Aletheiani would teach undergraduate courses on Indonesian language, research and culture, designing instructional materials to reach students who were geographically and culturally disconnected from Southeast Asia’s most spoken language. 

So Aletheiani was disappointed at Yale’s existing Indonesian curriculum when she arrived at the University 10 years ago. 

“We didn’t have a class above [Indonesian] 150,” Aletheiani said.

Over the next decade, Aletheiani would take a crucial role in the petition to develop new courses for Yale students to examine the Indonesian language and culture, such as “Advanced Indonesian: Special Topics” and “Research and Creative Project on Indonesia.” Her goal was to create more spaces for students to continue studying Indonesian throughout all four years of college.

To Aletheiani, the popularity of the Indonesian language on campus is not surprising. She suggested two main reasons Indonesian has attracted what she considers a loyal following at Yale — first, many high schools often offer an abundance of courses in European language families, and students who do choose to learn an Asian language often lean toward east Asian tongues such as Mandarin. But once admitted first years come to Yale, they are often ready for a change.

“[Indonesian is] something new, something unique,” Aletheiani said. “So [students] look at the blue book and look at Indonesian.”

Second, Indonesian is uniquely well-equipped for the English speaking tongue.

Unlike other Asian languages, Indonesian is not tonal and uses the same 26-letter alphabet as English. Neither English nor Indonesian uses accent marks, and words in the latter language are often phonetic. Yet the language itself has its own “quirks and uniqueness,” Aletheiani told the News.

Aletheiani said that she notices many Yale students in her class continue to take courses in the Indonesian language past the minimum requirement. For many, this means taking advanced classes and conducting special projects in Indonesian.

The secret to promoting continued interest from students is revealed in the way class curriculums are structured, Aletheiani suggested. In her own seminar syllabi, Aletheiani instills texts and assignments which uniquely promote a cultural understanding as well as the socioeconomic context of Indonesia. Since most who learn the language at Yale are not native Indonesians, Aletheiani believes that it is important to prioritize a sense of investment in the country’s customs and history rather than over simple grammatical rules and structures. 

Emma Seitz ’23 told the News that she took Indonesian after she was disillusioned with the Spanish education she received in middle and high school.

“It was just so language focused, like ‘Oh, just memorize these words, learn this grammar’ and that was just not something that got me excited at all,” Seitz said. “So I came here and I was just like, I want to take something totally different.”

Seitz would take her first Indonesian course her first year, where the focus was not on grammar, but rather on sociology, anthropology and culture — all of which grabbed her attention.

As Seitz began to take specific courses under Aletheiani, she not only became more invested in Indonesia, but also felt that Aletheiani was “very invested in [Seitz’s] success” as a student. When Seitz received research funding to visit Indonesia last summer, Aletheiani not only set up Seitz’s trip, but also “made such an effort” to meet Seitz once she was there.

Mark Capell ’25, who is on the Yale baseball team, told the News that Aletheiani “always comes to class with a smile.” He added that Aletheiani invested herself in his success, both in and out of the classroom.

Once, when Capell and his teammates were eating in Commons, Aletheiani passed by their table and recognized Capell. She sat with the team and had a “great conversation” with them all.

“That’s just who she is,” Capell said. “She loves getting to know people and she’s super friendly with everyone she meets.”

Aletheiani told the News that she enjoys watching the “personal transformation” of her students as they navigate a new language, whether through classes or travel fellowships. By focusing language through the relationships between the people engaged in its study, Aletheiani is able to achieve her goal.

“Language is much more fun and meaningful and personal,” Aletheiani said. “People can relate to that.”

Aletheiani received her bachelor in English Language Education from Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Indonesia.  

The post PROFILE: Dinny Risri Aletheiani makes Indonesian personal appeared first on Yale Daily News.

In a letter published by the News, students from China and Hong Kong criticized Salovey’s participation in an event with Huang, who denied the Uyghur genocide at a World Affairs Council meeting in Philadelphia last year. In August 2022, a United Nations human rights report found that China was responsible for “serious human rights violations” of the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang province.

“Your silence on the Chinese government’s human rights abuses and the impact they have on the Yale community, coupled with your presence alongside a Chinese government official who has publicly defended the abuses against the Uyghurs, could be perceived as an endorsement of the Chinese government’s oppressive policies and a cover-up of the human rights violations under the guise of ‘peaceful coexistence’,” the students’ letter read.

Salovey told the News that he was unable to attend the Colloquium in person due to his observation of Passover. However, a Yale student had asked him to record a video for the event, which he submitted.

“This does not constitute approval of all Chinese policies,” Salovey wrote in a letter privately addressed to the concerned students. “But keeping open the links between U.S. and Chinese universities is key to making progress, even when there are complex political challenges at the government level.”

In the letter, which was obtained by the News, Salovey wrote that Yale works on certain world challenges, such as public health and climate change, which can “only be addressed on a global level.” He added that Yale faculty work closely with their Chinese counterparts, and that his involvement in the event was not political in purpose, but rather to support academic institutional partnerships in China.

However, the University has not always been indifferent to human rights concerns in China. Last year, the News found that the University’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility had begun to investigate potential investments in Chinese companies due to concerns about human rights violations, although the office has remained silent on the issue ever since.

Salovey ended the letter to the students by stating that Yale has a “steadfast commitment” to its international students and scholars, referring them to the University’s free expression policies. The president also said that he would ask Pilar Montalvo, the assistant vice president for university life, to reach out to the students to discuss the University’s diversity, equity and inclusion policy.  

“We spoke about the impact of challenging classroom conversations and dynamics and how that may impact a student’s mental health and/or academic success,” Montalvo told the News.

However, in their open letter published in the News, the anonymous students questioned where the University should draw the line when it comes to free speech.

“As Yale students, we value academic exchanges that foster intellectual diversity and collaboration across different nationalities,” the letter said. “However, we caution against the potential misuse of Yale’s academic credentials to condone human rights abuses.”

The students who wrote the letter encouraged Salovey to “address and inquire” about the Chinese government’s participation in human rights abuses, and pushed for Yale to “take a firm stance” against those violations.

When it comes to raising criticisms against the Chinese government, some Chinese faculty and students at Yale shared that they are hesitant to publicly express their own beliefs.

“Under the current geopolitical tension between [the] two countries, and it’s very difficult in a University context, it’d be very unlikely for someone to stand out [with their opinion],” said one Chinese professor, who has been granted anonymity due to concerns about retaliation from the Chinese government.

However, the professor said they believed that advocating for the event to be blocked was counterproductive to the mission of free speech. Open discussion and dialogue is an opportunity to resolve conflict, the professor told the News.

The Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Yale, who organized the colloquium, did not respond to a request for comment.

The first collaboration between Yale and China took place in 1835.

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In a virtual call delivered during this year’s Science of Modern Technology and Public Policy seminar on April 18, Levin described the University’s progress in STEM during his 1993 to 2013 presidential tenure. The group of just over a dozen students gathered both virtually and in-person to hear Levin, an economist responsible for implementing Yale’s largest academic developments in science and technology over the last 60 years.

In an interview-style lecture, students asked Levin questions about his experience handling the science priorities at Yale, his academic and professional background and his take on the future of innovation. 

“It is important for us, as a community, to learn how we came to where we are today, and to give credit to those who lead us in good directions,” applied physics professor Daniel Prober, who teaches the seminar, told the News.

Yale had strong STEM programs before Levin began his term, Prober told students, but was still aspiring to world class excellence. According to him, Yale lagged as a scientific research institution. 

Levin said that before his time, University leaders had hoped to invest in poorly-maintained infrastructure at Yale; Yet, they did not have the money to do so. Therefore, the leaders had reallocated funds by letting go of faculty and using the money they saved to invest into the University. 

But faculty were not fired equally among departments, Levin added. According to him, engineering professors were some of the first to go. When Levin entered office in 1993, he had two goals in mind. First, he wanted to improve the quality of science education. Second, he wanted to “rescue engineering” at Yale.

To do both of these, Levin spearheaded renovations of facilities that were in “bad shape” and even had new science buildings constructed.

Over the course of his presidency, Levin would go on to renovate at least 70 percent of campus buildings, with $1 billion investment in science, engineering and medical facilities. The University would use $500 million to construct five new buildings, including new centers in environmental science and chemistry. 

But Levin remained wary about spreading the University’s priorities too thin. One of his goals was to engage in “selective excellence” — where leadership would selectively invest in specific areas of STEM, but not in every single particular area. Particular topics that the University has focused on have included quantum computing and the biomedical sciences, Levin said.

Levin added that over the years, the principal source of funding for science and engineering initiatives has been grants, which support direct costs for research. But grants are often not enough, Levin said, so the University generally invests as much as the government in most parts of the university, excluding the medical school.

According to Levin, he has been involved in varying projects that involve government support for research over the years.

Government innovation in technology is best when the government is a consumer of the product that they are funding, Levin said. He suggested that computers were successful because the government was buying them when they were first being made, and that advancements in science and technology are often necessary to achieve public incentives.

Levin also said that a collaborative relationship is important, particularly within a University, when it comes to pursuing strategic goals in STEM.

When Levin was president, he said that the U.S. and China relationship was flourishing. He wanted Yale to be at the forefront of that relationship, so he led “enormous numbers” of student exchanges between Yale and colleges in Beijing and Shanghai, averaging 300 to 400 students attending programs in China each summer. 

However, he told students that due to rising nationalism and political tensions, that relationship has dwindled in recent years. Researchers and academics in different countries are often more in competition now, Levin added. 

Following the interview, Luis Orozco Vaca ’26 told the News that he admired Levin’s ability to manage projects, especially when it comes down to pinning down particular initiatives in science and engineering.

“He [also] has a very sober understanding of the world,” Vaca said. “I think the two things go hand in hand.”

Levin received his doctorate in economics from Yale in 1974.

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University President Peter Salovey will host a reception for graduating seniors in Beinecke Plaza on May 20. Other events which are set to take place that Saturday include the Senior Carillon Concert, the Black Graduates’ Celebration and the Yale Glee Club Commencement. The following day will consist of a day-long celebration for Yale College’s graduating seniors and their families. 

The day is generally divided into a baccalaureate ceremony in the morning and Class Day ceremony in the afternoon, and both will take place on Old Campus. The commencement ceremony itself will take place on Monday, May 22 at 10:30 a.m., followed by diploma ceremonies in each residential college.

“I’m really excited about the work everyone’s doing because they are pulling in so many different perspectives, whether it’s individual or organizational,” Class Day Committee chair Alison Coleman said. “And so you’ll see that reflected in the program.”

According to Coleman, the baccalaureate ceremony will be very formal, where seniors gather on Old Campus “in all their serious pomp and circumstance.” The ceremony, which has religious origins, is now reflective of a diverse range of religious traditions, Coleman said.

During the baccalaureate ceremony, Salovey and Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis will address the class in opening remarks. Then seniors and their families will depart for brunch before returning at 2 p.m. for the Class Day ceremony. Heads of college and deans will accompany their students to Cross Campus in preparation for the ceremony.

The Class Day ceremony, unlike the baccalaureate ceremony, is a less formal affair.

“Everybody’s wearing crazy hats that they’ve decorated themselves,” Coleman said. “[They] are just all over the map in terms of what kind of festive festooning people want to add to their hats.”

Once students arrive on Cross Campus, there is a procession across Elm Street for seniors to take their seats on Old Campus. 

A procession from the Schwarzman Center through Phelps Gate of around 60 people involved in Class Day — including Class Day Committee members, student speakers and class officers — will lead the way carrying a Class of 2023 banner. 

The Class Day ceremony will begin a student speech before members of the Class Day Committee introduce the Class Day speaker. This year’s speaker, award-winning poet Elizabeth Alexander ’84, will deliver an approximately 25- to 30-minute address.

Throughout the rest of the program, there will be a range of speeches that the speakers’ subcommittee has arranged, as well as a conferral of prizes for particular Yale College seniors.

“Our speeches this year really focused on love and gratitude and community,” said Anastasia Hufham ’23, who is a former staff reporter for the News. “There’s also a comedic piece, just some inside jokes that the Class of 2023 specifically would appreciate.”

The committee is also accepting submissions for several forms of media to collect memories and works of Yale College seniors, both through an anthology in print form and a class history, stitched together in a short five to seven minute video.

While Coleman says that not all students come forward with submissions, she hopes that “the spirit is really there that it is a day for everyone.” Other members encouraged seniors to send their memories and works of the last four years to the committee.

“This is just another way for students to get involved and we would love for them to take advantage of it,” Bayan Galal ’23 said.

Zaporah Price ’23, who has led the composition of the anthology, added a particular section dedicated to “departing proverbs,” Coleman said. This section will include “short and sweet” words of wisdom and well wishes from faculty and administrators to the graduates. Price is a former managing editor for the News.

According to Eda Uzunlar ’23, the goal of the event is to create “one beautiful thing that kind of flows one into the other a little bit, more like a mural.”

The final element of the Class Day ceremony will be the singing of the traditional Yale song “Bright College Years.”

The post Class Day Committee prepares for commencement weekend appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Alexander was a professor of poetry at Yale for 15 years and served as the chair of the Department of African American Studies. Her involvement in education has far from ended since her departure from Yale, however. Alexander currently serves as the president of the Mellon Foundation, America’s largest benefactor of the arts, humanities and higher education. 

“I am proud and excited to be selected as Class Day speaker and have the opportunity to address Yale’s graduating seniors and their loved ones in May,” Alexander said. “The seniors I met with who serve on the commencement committee were full of the hope and heart I encountered in Yale students every day as an undergraduate myself, faculty member and recent Yale parent. I cannot wait to experience commencement this year and look to the future together.”

According to the graduation committee and Alison Coleman, a special events director and lecturer in the Yale English department, this year’s ceremony speeches will center on love, gratitude, community and comedy. Though a set theme is not chosen for any given year, there is often a common fabric that connects the speeches. 

Coleman added that Alexander had met with the committee members to hear about the projects they are working on for class day, and to listen to what topics would be “meaningful for [the class] to hear about” in her speech.

Alexander will speak for approximately 25 to 30 minutes during the ceremony, Coleman said. While speakers are only obligated to provide a speech, they often stay longer to “enjoy the ceremony.”

Alexander’s poetry explores themes like race, politics and motherhood. Notably, her poem “Equinox” explores the experience of contending with the death of a beloved family member and “Race” discusses the interdependent relationship between race, family and poetic language. 

Having grown up in a household immersed in politics — her father serving as the former United States Secretary of the Army and chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, her mother as a writer and professor of African American women’s studies at George Washington University and her brother as a senior adviser to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign — she has spoken extensively on using art and writing as mediums to overcome discrimination and violence. 

“Through her writing, scholarship, and philanthropic leadership, Elizabeth Alexander has long exemplified values that are at the core of a Yale education: the pursuit of light and truth and a commitment to serving society,” Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis said. “In poetry and in prose, hers is one of the most eloquent voices of our time, and her Class Day address will be a highlight of commencement weekend for our graduating students and the wider community.”

Coleman also spoke about the class anthology, a keepsake book that includes visual and written artistic submissions from students. Crediting Zaporah Price ’23 for the organization and soliciting of pieces, she alleged that this year’s collection, featuring short anecdotes, longer reflective pieces, a comic, art and photography, will be “unusually poignant” due to the diversity and vibrancy of submissions. 

Price has also compiled a new section called Departing Proverbs, which will feature words of wisdom from University faculty and administration across all 14 residential colleges.

The Class Day committee emphasized that they are “trying to include as many students as possible in Class Day,” and are still accepting submissions for the class history.

“The spirit is that … it is a day for everyone — and so I’m really excited about the work everybody’s doing because they are pulling in so many different perspectives, whether it’s individual, or organizations and groups that are meaningful parts of the class experience,” Coleman said. 

Reshma Saujani LAW ’02 was named Yale College Class Day speaker in 2022.

Correction 4/12: The article was updated to clarify the chronology of Class Day events and to clarify that the Class Day committee is not responsible for selecting the final speaker.

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Fish, who serves as the chief medical officer of Southwestern Health Resources, a network of 31 hospitals with over 7,000 clinicians through a partnership between Texas Health Resources and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, will replace Paul Genecin in the role. 

Genecin spearheaded the University’s health system for four decades, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, before retiring in January. Under Genecin’s leadership, Yale Health implemented electronic medical records, opened its facility at 55 Lock St. and launched Yale College Community Care, a mental health service for students. Fish will officially begin his term on July 1.

“I am excited and honored to have been chosen to be the next CEO of Yale Health, and I am eager to begin working with the talented staff meeting the needs of the dynamic community,” Fish told the News.

As the leader of Yale Health, Fish will have to address the most pressing issues affecting students today, from mental health to sick student policy. He will be expected to collaborate heavily with Philomena Asante, a pediatrician and public health leader who has worked at Boston University, Northeastern University and the Boston Public Health Commission. Asante was named the new chief of student health earlier this month.

Fish said that upon his arrival on campus, he intends to spend a significant portion of his time learning about the needs of the University community, which will guide the future direction for Yale Health. He added that he would incorporate input from faculty, staff, students and their families to ensure the success of the student health provider. However, he did not specify any priorities to the News that he would be reviewing as of yet.

In his email announcement, Salovey spoke about Fish’s medical and operational background in a variety of health related areas, including mental health services, healthcare inequality research and COVID-19 hospital response.

“Dr. Fish has introduced initiatives — spanning the continuum from wellness to advanced disease — that have improved patient outcomes, increased quality and efficiency of care delivery and enhanced support systems for staff,” Salovey wrote in his email. “These initiatives include efforts to partner with mental health providers to improve screening and treatment.”

Mental health care has become a particularly meaningful issue for many students at the University. Genecin himself wrote a column for the News defending Mental Health and Counseling services in 2015 and confirming that Yale Health would address concerns made by students at the time. Last fall, Yale was subject to a class action lawsuit by mental health advocacy group Elis for Rachael and two undergraduates claiming that Yale discriminates against students with mental health disabilities. 

Fish said that he planned to meet with members of the Yale community to review the “needs of the university community.”

“Incorporating input from the faculty, staff, students and their families about their needs and any ideas that arise out of those conversations will be paramount for our continued success,” Fish told the News.

Fish did not directly respond to an inquiry as to how he planned to delegate mental health support resources through Yale Health.

University COVID-19 coordinator Stephanie Spangler, who chaired the search committee for the CEO of Yale Health alongside vice president for human resources John Whelan, told the News that the decision to select Jason Fish was made in collaboration between the executive search firm Russell Reynolds and the committee.

“Dr. Jason Fish emerged as the clear choice — with a rich record of accomplishments and abundant skills — to partner with Yale community members to build upon Yale Health’s considerable strengths and lead it into the future,” Spangler wrote in an email to the News.

Fish completed his residency in general internal medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Emami — who currently serves as executive dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Washington — will begin her appointment on Aug. 1. As the Yale School of Nursing responds to recent criticism from students claiming professors neglected the role of race in health education, Emami says she will prioritize promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the school’s culture and in its academic curriculum.

“Nursing is a profession where our responsibility is to care about and for people no matter where they come from, what needs they have,” Emami said. “That’s why issues that are related to diversity, equity and inclusion are extremely important for nurses to be able to do their job well.”

At the University of Washington, Emami led the creation of the nation’s first center for antiracism in nursing, redesigned the School of Nursing’s curriculum to emphasize health equity and led the U.S. Nursing Now initiative, a global health equity campaign in partnership with the International Council of Nurses and the World Health Organization. 

In his Monday email, Salovey praised Emami for her leadership, which he said has led the UW School of Nursing to have “consistently received recognition as one of the top public university schools of nursing in the country.” The University of Washington has the fourth best nursing master’s program in the nation, while the Yale School of Nursing is ranked 20th, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

“An internationally recognized nursing leader and investigator, she brings to Yale a dedication to fostering wellness and more than two decades of experience shaping research and teaching, advancing the role of nurses in clinical practice and improving health care equity and access,” Salovey wrote.

Emami said that the pandemic starkened health inequalities across the country and emphasized the role of nursing education in correcting for these disparities, particularly along racial lines. She added that she would emphasize social determinants of health, including systemic racism, in the courses offered at the School of Nursing — something she had previously achieved at UW.

Emami’s emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion comes in the wake of a string of racial controversies which took place under the last non-interim dean of the school, Ann Kurth. In 2020, The News spoke with students at the school who alleged that professors and guest lectures made insensitive remarks, describing a lack of diversity among students and staff. 

Kurth — who stepped down from the role of dean to serve as the president of the New York Academy of Medicine last fall — was not mentioned in the email announcement. However, Salovey congratulated Interim Dean Holly Powell Kennedy for her “exceptional leadership of the school.”

“As dean, I apologize for all the times when Yale School of Nursing did not effectively address racism that happened right here in our own environment,” Kurth said in a 2020 statement. “Many Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) members of our community were hurt and let down as a result.”

That year, the school’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion Raven Rodriguez resigned, citing an “oppressive status quo” at the School of Nursing. Students also complained that the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the school was ineffective at combating racism there.

Emami told the News that she would take such claims over racism very seriously, and would prioritize a more inclusive culture at the school.

“I think that we really need to welcome and promote and encourage students to always question oppression, always question racism, and these are devastating,” she said. “And it’s time for us to interrogate that.”

Emami received her R.N. and doctorate degrees in the medical sciences at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

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In the Vellali et al. v. Yale University et al. class action lawsuit representing more than 20,000 employees which was originally filed in 2016, the plaintiffs — who include retired Yale employees Joseph Vellali, Nancy S. Lowers, Jan M. Taschner and James Mancini — claim that the University caused participants in its staff retirement plan “to suffer significant losses of retirement savings” and failed to properly monitor the plan’s fees and investment, according to one court document.

According to Schlichter, the court ruled last year that the case against the University this spring will be a jury trial. Yale sought to appeal the case for a trial by jury this month, but the court denied its motion on March 17. The News reviewed evidence submitted to the court by the plaintiffs — including emails between administrators, contracts and depositions — which they say suggest that the University did not sufficiently monitor retirement investments and fees or offer reasonable fees.

University spokesperson and Interim Vice President for Communications Karen Peart declined to comment on this story.

“It took 5 years to convince leadership we needed a committee [to oversee the retirement plan],” Hugh Penney, senior director of compensation and benefits at Yale at the time, wrote in a 2014 email to a fellow Yale employee that was collected by the plaintiffs. “Now we’re fixing record keeping. Next, it’s investment advice and fund lineup.”

Last October, several motions against the University under the lawsuit were dismissed under summary judgment, but district court judge Alvin W. Thompson LAW ’78 ruled that Yale would still be required to go to court under unresolved claims. 

One unresolved claim argues that employees took on excessive administrative and recordkeeping fees, which the plaintiffs say violated the terms for reasonable fee requirements offered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

In a deposition transcript obtained by the News, Vanguard representative Margaret Rux admitted to having been in conversation about reducing the retirement plan’s recordkeeping fees in 2011, but these concerns were not met with action at least two years later. The Vanguard and TIAA financial firms were the University’s recordkeepers for the Yale retirement plan until the University terminated their relationship with the former in 2015.

“From internal notes that I reviewed, it appears there was a discussion around Vanguard looking to generate $500,000 in recordkeeping revenue from this relationship,” Rux said in the deposition. 

Rux added that at least one Yale administrator was involved in the discussion to reduce the recordkeeping fees that Vanguard charged the University.

In 2013, Yale administrators suggested consolidating the University’s retirement plan management under the two firms to a single vendor, which plaintiffs claim would have reduced recordkeeping fees. But one email at this time suggests that the reasoning for doing so would be to “take the pressure off” the Human Resources department and did not mention the reduction of recordkeeping fees for plan participants. It took two more years before the University consolidated its recordkeeping services, when Yale terminated their relationship with Vanguard in 2015 and claimed TIAA-CREF as its sole vendor.

In addition to this evidence, emails reviewed by the News revealed discussions between administrative staff suggesting that the University did not sufficiently monitor these investments and fees.

In one email, Sylvia Bedard, Yale’s director of benefits, raised concerns over how the University relies on its vendors to help keep Yale compliant on retirement plan regulations.

“I’m not sure that’s a sustainable approach,” Bedard wrote.

One administrator from Brown University had asked Yale leaders in 2010 whether they believed that hiring a third party advisor to assist the University in overseeing retirement plans was a good idea.

“Come on now, this is higher ed,” Penney wrote in an email. “We’re still talking about how to go about doing it.”

Based on evidence presented in court, district court judge Thompson agreed with the plaintiffs’ claims that there was solid evidence that Yale had offered high fees for their retirement plans and possibly breached its responsibility to properly monitor investments.

The case is being tried in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

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Last March, the Department of Justice dropped all charges against Lin after a two month-long investigation into him on the basis of the China Initiative, a U.S. government effort which claimed to identify and prosecute alleged Chinese spies participating in economic espionage within American universities and research institutions. 

While the China Initiative and investigation into Lin have both formally ended, six Chinese faculty who spoke to the News expressed worry that Yale lacks formal pathways for professors to defend themselves if potential future investigations arise. Faculty interviewed by the News raised concerns with the resources provided  in the Faculty Handbook — a key tool for guiding administrative efforts in supporting faculty members.

“A lot of faculty who come from all different corners of the world of different ethnicity [and] different nationality — they all join hands trying to call the University into setting more transparent, more reasonable, more clearly defined rules in the Faculty Handbook,” assistant professor of Applied Physics Yu He said.

According to assistant professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Jing Yan, there is a “strong asymmetry in power dynamics” between administrators and faculty. A single faculty member, especially those of lower rank or position, lacks the legal and administrative support needed to defend themself in a government investigation, he said. Yongli Zhang, an associate professor of cell biology at the School of Medicine, added that there is often “big pressure” for an individual to defend themselves from such investigations.

Siyuan Wang, an assistant professor at the School of Medicine suggested that efforts like the China initiative and a broad lack of support from university administrators across the country has disincentivized Chinese talent from applying to research at American universities, and noted that in his own lab, he is receiving fewer postdoctoral applications from Chinese students than he did five years ago.

Wang, who is leading the effort to reform the handbook, said they have called for the handbook to be amended to prevent punishments from being implemented before an investigation is over. Notably, Lin was suspended before the completion of the DOJ investigation.

“There is a very disturbing feeling among the faculty, especially in faculty with Asian origin,” Yan told the News.

Yan added that the faculty handbook does not specifically denote what Yale should do if the government seeks an investigation against one of its professors. He called for such cases to be reviewed by a committee panel, noting that in recent cases, decisions are made privately by the administration and without outside consultation. 

Wang and He — who were two of the professors that signed several letters to the provosts’ office requesting for changes to the faculty handbook to be made — told the News that their letters have not yet been met with concrete policy reform.

“We still have yet to hear a constructive response from the University, so I remain interested in seeing what they have to do next,” He said.

Steven Wilkinson, who serves as vice provost of Global Strategy, said that administrators are working to protect faculty against potential future investigations. According to Wilkinson, the University continues to work with other universities as well as national organizations to “press” the Biden administration and Congress for “rational changes to relevant laws.”

“We continue our efforts to work with Yale faculty to help them interpret the rules, which are often quite vague, and to keep them apprised of any changes,” Wilkinson wrote in an email to the News.

Chinese faculty at Yale expressed doubt about the University’s ability to face down government investigations. Weimin Zhong, an associate professor of MCDB, told the News that universities and research institutions across the nation “facilitated such abuses instead of standing up” to the U.S. government by complying with their investigations without resistance.

The Department of Justice announced the end of the China Initiative in February 2022.

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