Residential colleges of Yale University
Though their organizational and architectural features are modeled after the
All fourteen colleges are built in an enclosing configuration around a central courtyard; all but two employ revivalist architectural styles popularized at Yale by
In the fall of 2017, Yale opened two new residential colleges,
History
Origin (1925–1933)
As undergraduate enrollment in
In 1925, Yale President James Rowland Angell proposed a "Quadrangle Plan" to the Yale Corporation, to be modeled after the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge.[8] Harkness admired the Oxbridge colleges as models of academic community and in 1926 offered $12 million to fund the plan.[11] When the Yale Corporation deliberated for two further years and eventually suggested a modest housing plan for freshmen alone, Harkness instead seeded the house system at Harvard College.[12]
Yale provost
New residential buildings required a major reconfiguration of Yale's central campus. Science buildings at the present-day sites of Jonathan Edwards, Branford, and Saybrook Colleges, including Sloane Physical Lab, Kent Chemical Lab, and the original
Early years (1933–1945)
Originally, students applied to join a college after their freshman year, and under this practice the colleges acquired specific social and class positions. Davenport, Branford and Pierson Colleges gained reputations as residences for the wealthy, while Saybrook and Trumbull were known as "scholarship" colleges.[14] While these stratifications were balanced by the college masters, inequalities persisted until sophomore selection was abolished in 1962 and freshmen were randomly assigned to colleges before their matriculation.[18] Thereafter, only students with legacy status or siblings at Yale were allowed to choose their college.
Post-war years (1945–1998)
In the early 1960s, two significant changes occurred in college admission and administration. Until 1962, freshmen had applied to residential colleges for admission in their sophomore year, leading to social distinctions between the colleges. After 1962, students were randomly assigned to a college before matriculation, though legacy students could choose to be in their father's (later, parent's) college. (A freshman-year application system is still used in the Harvard College houses.) Second, a gift from Paul Mellon allowed the colleges to endow deanships, giving students dedicated academic counsel and ending an era of college life solely administered by masters and their spouses.[8][19]
Due to the abolition of the Freshmen Year and growing enrollment, the university sought to expand the college system.
In 1969, Yale College admitted its first class of women. Although
Renovation and expansion (1998–present)
Between 1998 and 2012, Yale undertook yearlong renovations of all twelve colleges, beginning with Berkeley College. Since their opening, most had seen only routine maintenance and incremental improvements to plumbing, heating, and electrical and network wiring. Among other improvements, the renovated colleges received new basement facilities, including restaurants, game rooms, theaters, athletic facilities and music practice rooms. Dormitory buildings were added to Pierson and Davenport, and the finished underground space of many of the colleges was expanded. To allow renovations to be done during the academic year, Yale built a residence hall between Payne Whitney Gymnasium and the power plant, commonly called "Swing Space."[25][26]
As these renovations began, administrators began considering an expansion of the college system.[22][27] In June 2008, President Rick Levin announced plans to build two new colleges in the northern part of the campus between Grove Street Cemetery and Science Hill.[28] The new colleges were expected to increase enrollment by 15%, to about 6,000 undergraduates, while reducing crowding in the existing colleges.[29][30] Yale School of Architecture Dean Robert Stern, known for his contextual and traditionalist approach to architecture, was selected to design the colleges in a neo-Gothic style.[31][32] Originally scheduled to be completed by 2013, construction was delayed by the 2008 economic recession.[33] In September 2013, Yale announced a gift of $250 million from Charles B. Johnson for the two new colleges.[34] Construction begun in January 2015 and was completed in summer 2017.[35] The colleges were named after Pauli Murray and Benjamin Franklin.[36]
Organization
Administration
Yale's residential colleges are
Undergraduates
All enrolled students in Yale College are members of a residential college. Although students once selected their choice college before sophomore year, entrenched
Most freshmen live in dormitories on the Old Campus, the historical center of Yale College. Members of Timothy Dwight, Silliman, Benjamin Franklin, and Pauli Murray are the only students to live in their college as freshmen. Thereafter, students take rooms within the residential college by a lottery system. Due to overcrowding, many of the colleges have annex residences where upperclassmen members live, and some upperclassmen live off campus while remaining members of their college.
Fellows
Yale faculty affiliate with the colleges as fellows by appointment of the Council of Masters, the governing body of the residential system. Fellows advise students, attend ceremonial functions of the college, and participate in its social and academic life. A small number keep offices in the college by invitation of the Head of College, and a few live in the colleges' faculty apartments as Resident Fellows along with the Dean and Head of College. Each college fellowship hosts weekly dinners for its members. Nearly all university academic functions exist outside the college, with the exception of a few undergraduate seminars hosted by the colleges and selected by their fellows.
Graduate affiliates
Students of Yale's graduate and professional schools are invited to be graduate affiliates of the colleges by their heads of college. The program offers dining hall meals and access to college facilities to the graduate students as well as mentorship for undergraduates. Colleges host up to three graduate affiliates as residents, where they help the heads of college organize lectures, teas, study breaks, and other functions. As resident fellows, they are junior members of the college fellowship.
Design and architectural styling
The colleges are organized around enclosed
Unlike traditional college dormitories, residences in the colleges are arranged in suites, consisting of a common room and bedrooms for two to six students. Many of the colleges also have larger student suites, which are used to host parties and events. Most sophomores and seniors live in the colleges, along with many juniors, though some are placed in annex housing throughout the campus.
Architects and artisans
With eight designed by the same architect, James Gamble Rogers, the colleges exhibit strong stylistic harmony. Rogers' primary architectural motif was
Two of the pre-war colleges were designed by other architects. Calhoun College—now known as Grace Hopper College—[17] by John Russell Pope, employed Rogers' Gothic style with greater emphasis on brick materials. Silliman College, assembled from existing facilities of the Sheffield Scientific School by Eggers & Higgins, is an amalgamation of Gothic Revival, French Renaissance, and Georgian. Constructed 30 years later, Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges were conceived by Eero Saarinen, a mid-century modernist architect, as angular reinventions of the Tuscan village.[37]
Programs and traditions
Although primarily residential centers, the colleges are also intended to be hubs of intellectual life. Since the colleges' opening, masters have regularly hosted Master's Teas, conversations with distinguished guests open to undergraduates and fellows of the colleges. In addition, the colleges each support a seminar program, where students and fellows select scholars to lead specialized coursework for credit in Yale College.
Fellows of the colleges support the college's freshman advising programs. Each fellowship also organizes a formal weekly dinner for its members, usually held in a private common room for faculty members. Upperclassmen are often invited to join the fellows for conversation and presentations.
Seniors in the colleges participate in a series of weekly dinner presentations known as the Mellon Forum, where classmates present senior thesis research. These projects are often advised by graduate affiliates and fellows in the college. The program is named for Paul Mellon, whose Old Dominion Foundation endowed a number of academic programs for the college system.
Intramurals
While intramural sports have been played at Yale since the nineteenth century, the advent of the college system introduced formal intramural competition. The annual, student-run program includes several dozen events, including soccer, basketball, softball, cross country, water polo, bowling, golf, and table tennis. In addition to undergraduates, fellows and the families of the masters and deans are also eligible to play.[38] Hundreds of matches are played each year between the colleges, and the most winning college across all events receives the Tyng Cup. Every year during the Harvard–Yale Game, two winning intramural teams face off against their Harvard counterparts for the Harkness Cup.[38]
Printing
As recently as the 1980s, every residential college possessed letterpress shops in order to print announcements, posters, stationery, and menus, projects now dominated by digital printing.[39] Many of the colleges' presses were inherited from major printing studios.[40] Three shops remain, and only those in Jonathan Edwards and Davenport College are still in frequent use.[39] Printing arts are still taught through college seminars, and the remaining shops are managed by students with assistance from master printers.
Bladderball
Introduced in 1954, Bladderball was an annual inter-college competition traditional held before the Yale–Dartmouth football game. Organizers would release a large canvas ball on Old Campus, and thousands of students would attempt to route the ball to their college courtyard, sometimes popping it in the attempt.[41][42] Deemed anarchic and dangerous, the game was banned by the Dean's Office in 1982 and only briefly resurfaced in 2009.[43][44]
Fellowships and awards
Visiting fellowships
In addition to Master's Teas, several of the colleges have independent endowments to invite speakers and guest lecturers to present to the college and interact with its students and faculty. Among the most notable are the Tetelman Fellowship, awarded semi-annually by
.Student fellowships
The colleges hold funds for student research and performing arts projects. Two of the richest are the Bates Fellowship, given by the Jonathan Edwards College faculty fellowship to students conducting senior thesis research, and the Sudler Awards, given for performing arts projects each semester. Students may also apply for post-graduate fellowships for a year of study or travel.
Student awards
Several kinds of awards are given to students by the colleges. For all undergraduates, annual competitions are held for oratory, book collection, translation, and essay writing. At the discretion of the Council of Masters, juniors may receive awards for leadership, scholarship, or service. At graduation, seniors in each college may receive prizes for their senior thesis, college or extracurricular leadership, or distinction in scholarship, arts or athletics. Although these prizes varied in wealth depending on their original endowment, in 2010 all undergraduate prizes were capped at $1,000, with the excess awarded as financial aid, and the administration began discouraging the establishment of new prize funds by alumni.[45][46] An investigation of the prize caps by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal found no violation of donor intent.[47][48]
Controversy
Associations with American slavery
Eight (formerly nine) of the 14 colleges are named after American slaveowners, a fact to which some Yale students and faculty have objected.[49][50]
Particularly controversial was Calhoun College, named for
In April 2016, Yale President Peter Salovey announced that it would follow Harvard and MIT in changing the appellation of "Master" to "Head of College". Salovey also announced that the university would not rename Calhoun College[60] and that one of the two colleges then under construction would be named for Benjamin Franklin.[61] In February 2017, Salovey reversed his decision on Calhoun College, announcing that it would be renamed for Grace Hopper, the United States Navy rear admiral and pioneer computer scientist.[62][63]
In addition to these titular connections, Pierson and Timothy Dwight Colleges have strong architectural associations to slavery. Timothy Dwight, a
In Branford and Calhoun Colleges, stained-glass windows depicting pastoral scenes of Black American enslavement were installed prominently. Black students raised public objections about these panels as early as 1981. In summer 2016, several months after Yale announced it would keep Calhoun as a namesake, Calhoun College employee Corey Menafee dislodged a panel of enslaved cotton pickers with a broom, breaking it. Menafee, a Black man, said the panels were “racist, very degrading."[69] Menafee was fired by the university, but rehired after student protested in favor of his actions.[69] All the stained-glass panels depicting slavery have since been removed.[70]
List of residential colleges
Name | Opened | Namesake | Students | Architectural style |
---|---|---|---|---|
Berkeley College
|
1934 | The Rev. George Berkeley | 450 | Collegiate Gothic |
Branford College | 1933 | Branford, Connecticut | 461 | Collegiate Gothic |
Davenport College | 1933 | John Davenport
|
477 | Collegiate Gothic, Georgian |
Ezra Stiles College | 1961 | Ezra Stiles | 478 | Modernist |
Jonathan Edwards College | 1933 | Jonathan Edwards | 427 | Gothic Revival
|
Benjamin Franklin College
|
2017 | Benjamin Franklin | 452 | Collegiate Gothic |
Grace Hopper College *
|
1933 | Grace Hopper | 425 | Collegiate Gothic |
Morse College | 1961 | Samuel Morse | 471 | Modernist |
Pauli Murray College | 2017 | The Rev. Pauli Murray | 452 | Collegiate Gothic |
Pierson College | 1933 | Abraham Pierson | 496 | Georgian |
Saybrook College | 1933 | Old Saybrook, Connecticut | 484 | Collegiate Gothic |
Silliman College | 1940 | Benjamin Silliman | 456 | Gothic Revival, French Renaissance, Georgian |
Timothy Dwight College | 1935 | Timothy Dwight IV and Timothy Dwight V | 399 | Federal |
Trumbull College | 1933 | Jonathan Trumbull | 390 | Collegiate Gothic |
* Named Calhoun College, after John C. Calhoun, until 2017.
Notes
- ^ "Residential Colleges". Yale College. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Ryan 2001, pp. 19.
- ^ Alex Duke (1996). Importing Oxbridge: English Residential Colleges and American Universities. Yale University Press. pp. 91–124.
- ^ Kyle Farley (2016). Martyn Evans; Tîm Burt (eds.). The Collegiate Way: University Education in a Collegiate Context. Springer. pp. 52, 55.
- ^ Ted Tapper; David Palfreyman (2010). The Collegial Tradition in the Age of Mass Higher Education. Springer. p. 119.
- ^ "Yale retains Calhoun College's name, selects names for two new residential colleges, and changes title of 'master' in the residential colleges". Yale University. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ a b c Seymour, Charles (22 December 1933). "History of the College Plan". Yale Alumni Magazine. 43 (13). Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d Schiff, Judith Ann (May–June 2008). "How the colleges were born". Yale Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ Bergin 1983, pp. 17–19.
- ^ Bergin 1983, pp. 17.
- ^ Bergin 1983.
- ^ Bergin 1983, pp. 22–24.
- ^ a b Bergin 1983, pp. 25.
- ^ a b "Eli Colleges Outclass Houses as Social Centers". Harvard Crimson. 25 November 1950. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ Bergin 1983, pp. 30–34.
- ^ Adkisson, Kevin (2 October 2010). "How Science was Built: 1701-1900". Yale Scientific. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ a b Newman, Andy; Wang, Vivian (September 3, 2017). "Calhoun Who? Yale Drops Name of Slavery Advocate for Computer Pioneer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Walker, Charles A. (December 1974). "Report on the Residential College Deanships" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- ^ a b Walker, Charles A. (December 1974). Report on the Residential College Deanships (PDF) (Report). Yale University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ Bowie, Nikolas (Spring 2009). "Poison Ivy: The Problem of Tax Exemption in a Deindustrializing City, Yale and New Haven, 1967-1973" (PDF). Foundations. 3 (2): 61–90. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ Dana, Rebecca (11 April 2001). "At 300th, a look at old plans for a new college". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ a b Dach, Johnny (1 April 2006). "The Old College Try". The New Journal. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "The University Dips a Toe into Coeducation; 500 Women to be Admitted Next Year" (PDF). Yale Alumni Magazine. December 1968. pp. 10–13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ "Memorial service for Lustman-Findling to be held on Nov. 10". Yale Bulletin & Calendar. Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications. 2 November 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ISBN 9781864700527. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Kofman, Ava (19 October 2011). "In Swing Space, building a community". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Kaplan, Amy; Sullivan, Tom (27 February 2004). "New colleges would help to ease current crowding". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- Levin, Richard C. (7 June 2008). "Yale to Establish Two New Residential Colleges". YaleNews. Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications. Archivedfrom the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Lewin, Tamar (8 June 2008). "Yale to Expand Undergraduate Enrollment by 15 Percent". New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Lloyd-Thomas, Matthew; Rodrigues, Adrian (15 April 2015). "New colleges to help reduce overcrowding". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Branch, Mark (July 2009). "New colleges aim to match the old". Yale Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Kaplan, Thomas (4 September 2004). "Stern to design new colleges". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Stephenson, Tapley; Thondavadi, Natasha (6 April 2012). "With designs set, new colleges waiting on funds". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ Alden, William (30 September 2013). "Mutual Fund Billionaire Gives $250 Million to Yale". DealBook. New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ Rodrigues, Adrian (8 October 2013). "Colleges to open in 2017". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Remnick, Noah (28 April 2016). "Yale Defies Calls to Rename Calhoun College". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ "Eero Saarinen: Shaping The Future". KieranTimberlake. 15 April 2010. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ a b "About Yale IMs". Yale Intramurals. Yale University. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ a b Ligato, Lorenzo (2 November 2011). "Colleges consider the role of the printing press". The Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ Rose, David S. (2004). "The College Presses". Five Roses Press. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Gleick, James (21 November 1975). "God and Bladderball At Yale". Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Muller, Eli (28 February 2001). "Bladderball: 30 years of zany antics, dangerous fun". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Schwarz, Marcus; Zuckerman, Ethan (10 October 2009). "Bladderball is Back". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Greenberg, Sam; Zuckerman, Ethan (12 October 2009). "A Yale tradition reborn, redefined". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Yee, Vivian (25 March 2010). "Student prizes capped at $1k". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Gould, Sophia (26 February 2013). "Years later, prize reductions remain in place". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Milstein, Larry; Platoff, Emma (27 March 2015). "Years later, prize funds still not renewed". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Griswold, Alison (15 April 2011). "Prizes still under review". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ The college namesakes who owned slaves were George Berkeley, John C. Calhoun, Jonathan Davenport, Timothy Dwight, Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Silliman, Ezra Stiles, and Jonathan Trumbull. Samuel Morse was not a slaveowner but expressed pro-slavery sympathies, and Abraham Pierson's views on slavery are unknown. The other two colleges are named for towns in Connecticut.
- ^ Antony Dugdale; J.J. Fueser; J. Celso de Castro Alves (2001). "Yale, Slavery and Abolition" (PDF). The Amistad Committee, Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ Hefetz, Eliah (12 October 2012). "Naming a new Yale". The Yale Herald. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ "Yale Students to Protest Racist Acts on Campus". The New York Times. 11 October 1990. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ Kofman, Ava (17 February 2012). "A Peculiar Institutional Memory". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ Wang, Rachel (14 October 2009). "Anonymous campaign 'renames' colleges with slave past". The Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ Hardman, Ray (23 June 2015). "Yale's Calhoun College: History Lesson or Institutional Racism?". WNPR. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "To rename or not? Institutions reconsider honors for racists". Chicago Tribune. 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ As acknowledge by campus administrators, the title had no apparent relation to slavemasters in its academic etymology.
- ^ Gajanan, Mahita (25 February 2016). "Following debate, Harvard drops historic 'house master' title". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ Annear, Steve. "MIT officials consider changing housemasters' title". Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ Remnick, Noah (27 April 2016). "Yale Defies Calls to Rename Calhoun College". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "Yale retains Calhoun College's name, selects names for two new residential colleges, and changes title of 'master' in the residential colleges". YaleNews. Yale University. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "Yale to change Calhoun College's name to honor Grace Murray Hopper". YaleNews. 2017-02-11. Archived from the original on 2017-08-22. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
- ^ "Decision on the Name of Calhoun College". Office of the President. 2017-02-10. Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ Jensen, Kirsten (September 1999). "Building a University, Timothy Dwight: Page 3". Yale University Manuscripts and Archives. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ISBN 1568981678.
- ISBN 0300019939.
- ^ Jensen, Kirsten (September 1999). "Building a University, Davenport & Pierson: Page 9". Yale University Manuscripts and Archives. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ Maslin, Sarah (23 September 2013). "In Pierson's Lower Court, a tainted history". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ a b Brighenti, Daniel; Xu, Qi; Yaffe-Bellany, David (11 July 2016). "Worker Smashes 'Racist' Panel, Loses Job". New Haven Independent. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ Bass, Carole (19 March 2014). "What's in a name? Looking for answers at Calhoun College". Yale Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
References
- Bergin, Thomas G. (1983). Yale's Residential Colleges: The First Fifty Years. New Haven: Yale University.
- Ryan, Mark B. (2001). A Collegiate Way of Living: Residential Colleges and a Yale Education (PDF). New Haven, CT: ISBN 9781402850615. Archived(PDF) from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
Further reading
- Duke, Alex (1997). Importing Oxbridge: English Residential Colleges and American Universities. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300067613.
- Pierson, George W. (1955). Yale: The University College, 1921-1937. New Haven: Yale University Press.