Dear Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee Members,

Across the nation, a fierce battle is raging over voting rights – the fundamental and constitutionally protected linchpin of our democracy. During the first six months of 2021 alone, more than 400 bills with provisions concerning voting access were introduced in 49 states, highlighting the deeply divided nature of our electorate and our nation.

With this in mind, we're sure you’ll agree that now is not a time that Yale would want to be seen as engaging in restricting voter choice.

As President Peter Salovey noted in his public “thank-you” note to those who cast ballots in the tumultuous 2020 presidential election, Yale has a 300-plus year tradition of preparing "students for lives of meaning and purpose” and creating “knowledge that serves humanity.”

Fulfilling that responsibility requires fostering an environment in which robust, spirited, and respectful debate can occur and participation in the democratic process is encouraged – even by those who do not espouse the status quo. In fact, it is the inclusion of these outside voices that helps shape the kind of well-rounded and analytical leaders our challenging times demand.

Sadly, Yale is not living up to that promise.

As you know, the Yale Corporation moved in May to cancel the petition process for placing a trustee candidate on the ballot, making an official nomination by your committee the sole path to a seat on the university’s highest governing body. This eliminated any possibility of a fair, transparent, and participatory election process, and dampened even the faintest hope of allowing any diversity of thought within the Yale Corporation.

This is frankly un-American, but also antithetical to Yale’s own mission statement, which is, as you know: to educate tomorrow’s leaders though “the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”

The result is a dangerous homogeneity of thought that leaves no room for dissent or debate. It sets an alarming precedent that has diminished the university’s reputation.

The ability to take a step toward righting this wrong is in your hands.

As a member of the Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee, you are responsible for putting before Yale alumni a slate of two to five candidates in the annual Alumni Fellow Election. You have a unique opportunity to take a stand in defense of voter choice. We urge you to exercise this power by including in the 2022 slate the names of the three candidates who registered to seek a seat on the Yale Corporation through the petition process, only to see their plans abruptly and unjustly thwarted.

These candidates span the political spectrum. We do not know or agree with all of their views. But we do know and agree on this: Thanks to the unparalleled education they received at their alma mater, Yale alumni are fully capable of evaluating candidates for Alumni Fellow on their respective merits. Your willingness to allow voters a true choice in this election will speak volumes, sending a message that the spirit of transparency and dedication to open elections is still alive and well at Yale.

Although we recognize that you were not responsible for the Yale Corporation’s decision to discard the petition process, we are counting on your leadership to deliver an overdue course correction and restore the integrity of this process. Your action would help Yale regain the trust of many disappointed alumni, faculty, and students, and the benefits to the institution’s overall reputation as a strong and confident leader in higher education would be substantial.

While we are aware that the election will not occur until next spring, we ask that you consider a public announcement of your intention on this matter sooner rather than later, as the harm caused by the abrupt end of the petition process will otherwise only continue to fester. We await your reasoned decision on this matter.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Yale Alumni for Free and Fair Elections