AYA Names Yale Medalists
Inaugurated in 1952, the Yale Medal is the highest award presented by the Association of Yale Alumni and is conferred solely to recognize and honor outstanding individual service to the University. Since its inception, the Yale Medal has been presented to 252 individuals, all of whom not only showed extraordinary devotion to the ideals of the University but also were conspicuous in demonstrating their support of Yale through extensive, exemplary voluntary service on behalf of Yale as a whole or one of its many schools, institutes or programs.
This year’s recipients are J. Kirk Casselman ’68, Rowan Claypool ’80, Maureen O. Doran ’71 MSN, Paul L. Joskow ’72 PhD and Nicholas Spinelli ’41, ’44 MD
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J. Kirk Casselman ’68Kirk Casselman worked for many years as a volunteer with Yale’s Admissions Office, beginning as an interviewer for applicants to Yale College, then becoming an area director coordinating other interviewers, and then helping to found and develop the Alumni Schools Network (A.S.N.). The A.S.N. has been a national organization for all directors of local Alumni Schools Committees. As part of the A.S.N. effort, Casselman conceived and launched the Adopt-A-School Program, by which individual alumni took responsibility for being a liaison with local secondary schools. Casselman has been Secretary of the Association of Yale Alumni, President of the Yale Club of San Francisco, and has most recently helped launch an internship program for Yale students in the Bay area. At the Yale Medal dinner in University Commons on November 17th, President Levin said, “No one has served Yale in more diverse ways than you: AYA Board member and officer, chair of the Alumni Schools Network, President of the Yale Club of San Francisco and now the leader for establishing an internship program for students in California. At the heart of it all has been your work for Admissions. You began decades ago interviewing applicants to Yale College, became an area director, then ultimately created and helped develop the Alumni Schools Network, a national organization for all Alumni Schools Committees. Your gifts of imagination, enthusiasm and warmth have inspired countless volunteers. The Association of Yale Alumni is pleased to recognize your vision and commitment with its highest award, the Yale Medal.” |
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Rowan Claypool ’80Rowan Claypool had a vision for attracting Yale students to heartland cities for summer internships, both to reverse the “brain drain” in these areas and to expose students to a wider range of career opportunities. With the collaboration of the Yale Alumni Association of Kentucky, Claypool created “Bulldogs in the Bluegrass,” bringing 28 current Yale students to Louisville, Kentucky each summer. Students work in non-profit and for-profit internships, live together on a local campus, and participate in a series of events introducing them to the economic, political and cultural life of the region. Since the program was launched in 1999, over 230 “Bulldogs” have participated, and Claypool has gone on to help found a similar program in Cleveland. He is currently working on start-up Bulldogs projects in four other cities. At the Yale Medal dinner in University Commons on November 17th, President Levin said, “Boundless energy and evangelical zeal characterize your extraordinary contributions. You envisioned and created an unprecedented program of summer internships for Yale students in heartland cities, combining communal living, mentoring relationships with Yale alumni and vigorous engagement with local government and industry leaders. “Bulldogs in the Bluegrass” in Louisville and “Bulldogs on the Cuyahoga” in Cleveland are now serving not only as models for Yale clubs around the United States, but for international Bulldogs programs being created by Yale itself. You are the true catalytic volunteer: the change agent who galvanizes people into doing things they thought impossible and reaping rewards they could not have imagined. The Association of Yale Alumni delights in honoring you with its highest award, the Yale Medal.” |
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Maureen O. Doran ’71 MSNMaureen Doran has shown exceptional devotion to both the Yale School of Nursing (Y.S.N.) and the Association of Yale Alumni. First appointed as an AYA Delegate At-Large in 1990, she was elected to the AYA Board of Governors in 1993, and subsequently served from 1996 to 2002 as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-Chair and Chair. Following her service as AYA Chair, Doran returned to assist the YSN Alumnae/i Association by leading a task force to renew and restructure the association’s programming. In 2002, she was named an inaugural recipient of the Yale School of Nursing Medal and inducted into the School’s Hall of Fame. As an alumni leader, Doran exhibited both a deep affection for Yale and the ability to galvanize a broad range of alumni initiatives and activities. At the Yale Medal dinner in University Commons on November 17th, President Levin said, “Your deep affection for the Yale School of Nursing and your service to the Association of Yale Alumni are legendary. Already among the inaugural recipients of the Yale School of Nursing Medal, you are also among that small group of AYA volunteers whose stars shine most brightly. As an appointed AYA delegate, elected Board member, officer, Vice-Chair and Chair, you served for twelve wonderful years in leadership capacities. With diplomacy, resourcefulness and great good humor, you helped us strengthen engagements for graduate and professional alumni, and you helped launch our outreach to new alumni organizations of many kinds. For your tireless devotion, wise leadership and joyful friendship, the Association of Yale Alumni is proud to bestow on you its highest award, the Yale Medal.” |
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Paul L. Joskow ’72 PhDPaul Joskow has made many contributions to the Yale community, foremost among them his presidency for twelve years of the University Council and his associated roles on the Honorary Degree selection committee and the Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee for the Yale Corporation. Joskow was instrumental in reorganizing the Council in 1993, shaping it into an invaluable advisory group to Yale’s President and other senior officers. Collaborating closely with the officers, the Council appoints task forces and committees of outside experts to examine and make recommendations for improving university life and operations. Joskow is also a generous supporter of the Economics Department and the ROME program, which provides undergraduates an opportunity to be involved in research projects in mathematics and economics. At the Yale Medal dinner in University Commons on November 17th, President Levin said, “You are an unsung hero, coordinating contributions of advice and counsel that will have lasting effects on the common good. Reorganizing the University Council in 1993 and serving for the past twelve years as its President, you have created an invaluable resource: a flexible, efficient means for drawing upon the experience of alumni experts and applying it to significant University challenges. You have also made valuable commitments to the Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee and the Honorary Degree selection committee, and you have provided generous support for undergraduate research in the Yale Economics Department. For your practical wisdom and your unstinting devotion to Yale, the AYA is honored to present you with its highest award, the Yale Medal.” |
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Nicholas Spinelli ’41, ’44 MDNicholas Spinelli has been an exemplary volunteer and alumni leader for both his Yale College Class of 1941 and the Yale Medical School, serving in many volunteer roles for over six decades: Class Agent, Reunion Gift Chair, Class Secretary, President of the Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine, and Chairman of the Medical School Alumni Fund. For twenty years, Spinelli also served on a completely voluntary basis as the director of the Yale School of Medicine’s Office of Alumni Affairs, where he was applauded by both the school’s administration and alumni for his tireless efforts to create and develop alumni engagements and connections on behalf of the School. At the Yale Medal dinner in University Commons on November 17th, President Levin said, “From the day you entered Yale College in 1937 to the day you graduated from the Yale Medical School, you developed a loyalty and love for the University that has seldom been exceeded. A committed volunteer, generous supporter, and outstanding presence for generations of medical students, you are the veritable father of the Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine, where you served as a volunteer executive director for twenty years. You have worn many other Yale hats over six decades: Class Agent, Reunion Gift Chair, Class Secretary, and Chairman of the Medical School Alumni Fund. Kind in act and deed, completely dedicated to service, you have been a positive influence in countless lives. The Association of Yale Alumni is delighted to present to you its highest award, the Yale Medal.” |
The 2005 Yale Medalists were honored at a dinner ceremony on the evening of Thursday, November 17 on the Yale campus, in conjunction with the annual Assembly of the Association of Yale Alumni.