This page presents the details about the reunion itself (May 30-June 2, 2019), as they are decided and finalized. Check back here often for updates.
Be sure to check out the Yale Alumni Association (“YAA”) website about our Reunion for general information about the reunion — travel, housing, tours, accessibility, special requests and a “Contact Us” link for reunion-specific questions. We’ll try to aggregate information here so that it’s easy to find, but information on the YAA site will be both current and canonical.
Who’s Invited?
Classmates associated with the Class of ’69, their spouses, widows or other guests are welcome. Anyone who attended Yale College during our years (9/65 – 6/69), and their guests, are welcome to join us. Widows are not charged for reunion attendance fees or meals.
Where Will It Be Held?
Our Reunion HQ will be Davenport.
Housing In Davenport College
Like prior reunions, Classmates and their guests are welcome to stay in the college. Staying in the college is most convenient, in that you can easily walk from your room to any reunion activity. And it will be least expensive with the $145 fee/person, total, covering all three nights — Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Any two nights are $123 and one night is $100 per person. You can reserve your room on the Registration Page hosted by the YAA.
What Activities Are Planned? What’s the Program?
The overall structure of the reunion program is similar to that of prior reunions.
The reunion itself starts on Thursday, and there are some cool events planned for Thursday afternoon and evening. The golfers will start at 10:00 AM on Thursday.
Friday and Saturday are FULL days, with meals, university-wide lectures, tours, class panels, presentations and opportunities to visit with friends or simply walk around and visit venues of personal significance. So, come as early on Thursday as you can. And please stay through Sunday noon in order to attend the memorial service, have a final meal together and prepare to travel home.
Here are the program details as of the revision date at the top of this page:
- Golf – Thursday at 10:00 AM, a block of tee times is reserved for ’69ers who want to play the challenging and scenic Yale Golf Course. Our class member, Eric Lenck (JE) has volunteered to be our golf captain for the event. If you’re interested, you contact Eric at lenck@freehill.com. The play is available to spouses and family members as well. See “Reunion Golf Outing Planned” for more.
- Friday Night Class Dinner (and cocktail hour beforehand). This will be the major dinner for our class, held on the Old Campus. Try to make it if you can.
- Faculty Presentations – on Friday and Saturday mornings, the University schedules a diverse set of presentations and lectures by current faculty members. In addition to the university-wide lectures, our Class has arranged two private, class-only events with some impressive and engaging senior faculty:
- Professor Beverly Gage, the new Director of Yale’s renowned Grand Strategy program, will offer a perspective on (and a chance to discuss) the current political “moment” in America, from both a historical and strategic perspective.
- Professor Dudley Andrew, an internationally recognized Film Studies scholar, will screen a film he’s chosen as particularly meaningful for us and lead a discussion afterward. See Saturday Night at The Movies.
- Saturday Dinner and Dancing – Saturday we will have another great dinner following a cocktail hour; after dinner, we’ll have a live band (the Plastic Visitation) and dancing;
- University-wide resources – the campus and many of the key resources (Payne-Whitney, Peabody, colleges, Beinecke, Sterling, Battell, Cross-Campus, etc., etc.) will be open and available during certain times for your viewing pleasure, or for touring with your spouse or family;
- Special Events – Receptions and other events sponsored by a variety of cultural houses, departments, and programs are scheduled throughout the weekend. Look for gatherings at the Afro-American, Asian American, Native American, and Latino Cultural Centers, as well as events organized by Dwight Hall, GALA (LGBT Alumni/ae), Directed Studies and Athletics, to name a few;
- Class-only Events – the Reunion Committee has organized some very interesting events just for our class, and these will be offered on all four days of the reunion (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning). See below:
- Memorial Service – on Sunday morning at 10 AM, we will gather in the chapel of Lindsley-Chittenden Hall for our traditional Memorial Service. We ask all classmates to remain at the Reunion to remember those classmates who have since departed.
Class Events Led by Classmates
Class Survey. We open our 50th Reunion with a provocative and insightful discussion of the results of our Class Survey emceed by Tom Guterbock, who created and managed the Class Survey, and Mike Baum. They look beyond the results and focus on the harder questions, such as were we agents of change, or the last hold-outs for old Yale? Did we effect the changes that were happening then, or were we just swept up in larger currents of change? Have we given back enough? Was Yale a unique experience, or just another elite college? What role does spirituality play in our lives today and in what directions have our spiritual yearnings taken us?
Class History. The opening discussion will be followed with a more historical focus, led by classmates and acclaimed speakers Richard Tedlow and Reed Hundt. Richard will provide recollections of the four years we spent together at Yale. Reed will review the half-century since then, focusing on three milestones: 1969, our 25th Reunion in 1994, and today.
The Environmental Crisis and the Class of ’69. In the planning sessions held by the Reunion Committee, many of our classmates requested that we devote a block of time to the consideration of current environmental issues. We are fortunate that many of our classmates have dedicated their careers to environmental matters, from geologists for energy companies to the chief litigator for the Environmental Defense Fund. Derry Allen and Tom Emmons, who have spent their careers dealing with regulation and finance relating to the environment, have agreed to chair a two-part session. The precise plans and participants for the sessions have yet to be cast, but we will likely hear substantive presentations from classmates on a range of issues within this area, followed by discussion and then by deeper dives into fundamental and structural issues in environmental sustainability.
Life: The Final Exam. In prior reunions, classmates have vigorously participated in sessions hosted by Lang Wheeler and Dan Seiver which have encouraged self-examination with regard to issues that affected many of us at those times. It wouldn’t be a Class of ’69 reunion without “Life: The Final Exam.” At our 40th and 45th reunions, this session was well-attended and led many of us to new insights — hearing new ideas and sharing experiences that were not well-known to us and at the same time to be motivated and enabled by those ideas. This is a program for optimists: Statistics tell us that having reached the place where we are today, there is a demonstrated likelihood that many of us will continue to enjoy life’s gifts as well as its difficulties for at least another decade. Lang and Dan would like us to consider the possibilities and to share our views.
Classmates In Concert. Our Music Editor, John O’Leary has persuaded some of our Classmates who have performed “our” music professionally over the past half century to perform some of their most popular songs from that time, as well as to led us in song. Yale certainly has a strong tradition of singing — glee clubs, a capella groups, informal singing … so bring your heart and voice to the concert. There’ll be some fun, some drawings for lucky winners and some surprises — see Classmates In Concert for more
As the program evolves, we’ll update this page. And check the YAA reunion website, too.
How Much Does It Cost?
The cost of attending the reunion is comprised of four items:
- Transportation to and from Yale – you will make your own arrangements; here are some valuable links and phone numbers.
- Reunion Fee – the price for all 4 days is only $295 per person. Shorter stays are less expensive. See the registration page for the exact schedule of fees.
- Meals – when you register, you’ll choose which days you’ll attend and which meals you’ll eat; and
- Housing
- On-Campus Housing – when you register, you can add the cost of on-campus housing to your charges. It’s only $145/person for all three nights, slightly less for shorter stays. See the YAA information about on-campus housing for important information about on-campus housing.
- Nearby Hotels – Yale has deals with the 5 closest hotels, and the shuttle buses run to them and to Pierson-Sage garage on Whitney Avenue. (Learn more about hotels. And also about parking.)
- Other Hotels – You can also stay in a hotel not served by the shuttle bus.
Widows Welcome
The Reunion Committee has invited the widows it knows about to the reunion, and reunion fees, meals and on-campus housing costs are waived. If you know of a widow (or widower) who’d like to attend, please make sure they get the information and understand that they are welcome.
Who’s Coming
Here’s a link to a partial list of people planning to come. Add your name by registering.
Mobility, Accessibility, Special Requests
The YAA staff will work with alumni on a case-by-case basis to identify the ways in which they can accommodate special needs, whether dictated by physical limitations, dietary restrictions, or religious observance. As part of the registration process, YAA will be happy to make detailed arrangements for housing, transportation and meals. See Accessibility Needs and Special Requests for Reunions for more.
What Other Questions Do You Have?
There are many other FAQs and answers about a broad range of related issues on the YAA reunion website. If that website doesn’t answer your question, please send your question to reunions@yale.edu, or call them at 203-432-2110 during business hours.