Each year, Yale alumni elect one fellow to the Board of Trustees for a six-year term. Candidates for election are chosen by the Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee of the Yale Alumni Association Board of Governors.
Alumni may submit nominations year-round via the Alumni Fellow Nomination Form or send them by mail to the Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 209010, New Haven, CT 06520-9010. Nominations must be submitted by September 1, 2026, to be considered for the election in 2027.
The Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee considers all nominations and does so in light of the experience and skills that complement those of the current members of the board. Complementary experience and skills vary from year to year as trustees rotate off the board. The goal is to have a board that is diverse in viewpoints and united in advancing the university's mission.
The Board of Trustees, formally known as the Yale Corporation, is Yale’s governing and policy-making body. The trustees act as fiduciaries to ensure that the university’s academic and administrative leadership are guided by sound policies and practices, with adequate resources, to further Yale’s mission. The trustees are attentive to balancing the needs of today’s faculty, students, alumni, and staff with those of future generations.
Candidates for alumni fellow should be accomplished individuals with the capacity for consensus-building within a collegial body. The candidates with the most potential will have insight relevant to current university priorities and will be able to dedicate significant time, energy, and effort to their service on the Board of Trustees. Ideally, the pool of nominees for alumni fellow reflects the wonderful diversity of interests, viewpoints, and experiences of the alumni community, and I encourage you to consider this when making recommendations. According to Yale's governing documents, alumni fellows must be Yale degree holders and must be at least 30 years of age.
If you have any questions about the nomination process, please refer to the Alumni Fellow Election help center page on the YAA website or contact the YAA. Questions about the election itself or service on the Corporation may be addressed on the Alumni Fellow Election website or directed to the Office of Institutional Affairs.
