AYAM Annual Meeting – Featuring the 50th Reunion Induction of the Class of 1975 into the Kushlan Society, and the presentation of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award

Transcript

• 00:03Thank you, Dean Brown, for
• 00:04that update.
• 00:08I want to,
• 00:09proceed and stay on time
• 00:11with the rest of the
• 00:12program.
• 00:14I
• 00:15never forget when I meet
• 00:17someone special, and I was
• 00:19e introduced
• 00:20to,
• 00:21doctor Paul Leong,
• 00:23who was then serving as
• 00:24the vice president of the
• 00:26AYAM
• 00:27on April seventh
• 00:29twenty twenty three.
• 00:31And I received this very
• 00:32enthusiastic
• 00:34email response from him.
• 00:37Quote, this is terrific news,
• 00:39and I'm looking forward to
• 00:40meeting you and brainstorming about
• 00:43how we can deliver value
• 00:44to our alumni base,
• 00:46our medical students,
• 00:48and the institution
• 00:50as a whole.
• 00:52Then within a week, Paul
• 00:54drove down to Brooklyn where
• 00:55I live, and we met
• 00:58in person at a cafe
• 01:00for coffee.
• 01:01And while many might recognize
• 01:04Paul as a dedicated otolaryngologist
• 01:07and a facial plastic surgeon
• 01:09in from Pittsburgh,
• 01:11to me, he is a
• 01:12sheer force of nature.
• 01:14He never asked anyone to
• 01:16do something he wouldn't do
• 01:18himself,
• 01:19and he pushes all of
• 01:20us to work harder for
• 01:22Yale,
• 01:23for medicine, and for our
• 01:25students.
• 01:27Paul's exceptional
• 01:28leadership has significantly
• 01:30strengthened and grown the Yale
• 01:32School of Medicine
• 01:34alumni community,
• 01:35and his commitment to fostering
• 01:37connections and his innovative ideas
• 01:40have brought alumni closer together,
• 01:43creating a vibrant and supportive
• 01:44network
• 01:45that benefits the alumni and
• 01:47the institution.
• 01:48And we've had an outstanding
• 01:50increase in alumni participation at
• 01:52our event, I think, this
• 01:53year, up two hundred percent
• 01:55in terms of attendance.
• 01:57I am proud to call
• 01:58Paul my friend.
• 02:00Please join him in welcoming
• 02:02please join me in welcoming
• 02:04him to the podium. Paul.
• 02:13Thank you.
• 02:15So I'm so excited to
• 02:16be here. Thank you, Dean
• 02:18Brown, for that wonderful talk.
• 02:21I always get the feeling
• 02:22after listening to you talk
• 02:23that it's a combination of
• 02:25vision,
• 02:26and rigor,
• 02:28strength and vision, and that's
• 02:29what we need right now.
• 02:31And we're appreciative
• 02:32for all that you're doing.
• 02:34So good morning.
• 02:36My name is Paul Leong.
• 02:37I'm a very proud member
• 02:39of the class of nineteen
• 02:40ninety nine.
• 02:42I'm really happy to be
• 02:44here. I'm gratified to see
• 02:45all of you here.
• 02:48I really enjoy just even
• 02:50the last,
• 02:51number of comments, and questions
• 02:53that were posed to Dean
• 02:54Brown.
• 02:56Part of the reason is
• 02:57because,
• 02:59a lot of what our
• 03:00organization is, the Association for
• 03:02Yale Alumni in Medicine,
• 03:03is vitally interested in in
• 03:06a number of the questions
• 03:07you asked
• 03:08just in the last twelve
• 03:09months.
• 03:10We had a gentleman here
• 03:11talking about,
• 03:14physician wellness.
• 03:15Right? We had, Donald Moore,
• 03:17who I believe is in
• 03:18the audience. Donald, are you
• 03:19here with us? There he
• 03:20is.
• 03:21Donald Moore has had a
• 03:23leadership position for decades in
• 03:24the state of New York
• 03:26addressing,
• 03:27issues of physician wellness, a
• 03:29very responsible role there. And
• 03:31so we had a whole
• 03:32session where we were talking
• 03:33about physician wellness. We're very
• 03:35well aware
• 03:36of some of the structural
• 03:37changes
• 03:38in medicine,
• 03:40and all of the recent
• 03:42turmoil that have recently been
• 03:44described.
• 03:45And Donald Moore has been
• 03:46aware of that for decades
• 03:47and has been doing a
• 03:48lot for it. So we're
• 03:49interested in that, and we're
• 03:50talking about that. We had
• 03:52some questions about the structure
• 03:53of medicine. Well, just in
• 03:54the last year,
• 03:55we had, Vishal Agarwal,
• 03:57who is,
• 03:59best as I can triangulate.
• 04:00He's about fourth from the
• 04:02top at Humana.
• 04:03And,
• 04:05and, he gave us a
• 04:06very high level view. We
• 04:08had one of our meetings
• 04:09at the Yale Club of
• 04:10New York, and he gave
• 04:11us a very high level
• 04:12view.
• 04:13What is the underlying economics,
• 04:16driving,
• 04:18the structure of medicine in
• 04:19the United States? And so
• 04:21we were talking about that.
• 04:22AI was discussed. We brought
• 04:24together some thought leaders at
• 04:26one of our AYAM,
• 04:27general meetings and had a
• 04:29very vibrant,
• 04:30discussion about AI. So for
• 04:32all of you in this
• 04:32room, the class of nineteen
• 04:34seventy five or or others,
• 04:36we would like you to
• 04:37be involved with our organization.
• 04:40Anne saluted to to it,
• 04:41and I'm gonna expand upon
• 04:42it. We want we have
• 04:44made our organization
• 04:46more accessible to you. We
• 04:47wanted to make it more,
• 04:49we want to make it
• 04:50more value added to you.
• 04:51And, so let me tell
• 04:52you a little bit about
• 04:53that. Before I get to
• 04:54that, I wanna thank other
• 04:56people.
• 04:57I have a tremendous group
• 04:58of people around me. First
• 04:59of all, my co officers,
• 05:02William excuse me. Wilma
• 05:04Korovar.
• 05:05Wilma, where are you in
• 05:06the room?
• 05:10She's the anchor and soul
• 05:12of our organization, and I'm
• 05:13gonna describe a little bit
• 05:14more about what she's been
• 05:15doing later.
• 05:17Jennifer Choi is our secretary.
• 05:19She's done tremendous work this
• 05:20year. I also want to
• 05:22acknowledge,
• 05:23the very lady who was
• 05:24just up here, doctor Anne
• 05:25Arthur, Amanda, and Joan Peck.
• 05:29Just as, I might say
• 05:30as, Dean Brown said, sometimes
• 05:32in many years past, interactions
• 05:34with Yale New Haven Health
• 05:35System have been great, but
• 05:37sometimes a bit bumpy.
• 05:39Working relations between AYM and
• 05:41the administration many years ago,
• 05:42sometimes I think were not
• 05:44bad, but not all they
• 05:45could be. They're all they
• 05:46can be now.
• 05:47We couldn't we couldn't do
• 05:49even a fraction of what
• 05:50we're doing without these, three
• 05:52ladies I just mentioned. Every
• 05:53single
• 05:57day.
• 05:58So let me get a
• 05:59little bit into, and I
• 06:00won't be I won't be
• 06:01too verbose about it. But
• 06:03let me,
• 06:04update you on some of
• 06:05the things, that we're doing
• 06:07in AYM and some of
• 06:08the changes we've made of
• 06:09late. So,
• 06:11starting, last September,
• 06:13you know, we had involvement
• 06:15from our alumni, which, of
• 06:16course, we cherish. That's the
• 06:17purpose for our existence, but
• 06:18we made our meetings more
• 06:20accessible to you.
• 06:21So each of you, every
• 06:22one of you in this
• 06:23room, who is AYN? We
• 06:26are all former graduates
• 06:28of, Yale Medical School and
• 06:30all former resident and fellow
• 06:32trainees from the Yale New
• 06:33Haven Hospital, the main teaching
• 06:34hospital right here across the
• 06:36road.
• 06:37And so all of our
• 06:38meetings,
• 06:39you should be getting emails.
• 06:41If not, you know, let's
• 06:42let's make sure you do.
• 06:44But all of our general
• 06:45meetings, which take place about
• 06:47four times a year,
• 06:49are available to you on
• 06:50Zoom. And you can't just
• 06:51you know, it's not just
• 06:52listening in. You can participate
• 06:54and ask questions. You can
• 06:55ask Vishal Agarwal, okay. Well,
• 06:57why is Humana doing this
• 06:58in my community? What's your
• 07:00vision for that? We want
• 07:01the dialogue. We want the
• 07:03discourse.
• 07:04And so we we you're
• 07:06more than welcome to come
• 07:07in person,
• 07:08but you can also participate
• 07:09from anywhere in the world
• 07:11on Zoom.
• 07:13One of the programs that
• 07:14we have,
• 07:15emphasized more this year and
• 07:17expanded is
• 07:18something we call our specialty
• 07:20mentorship series. Again, all of
• 07:22you can participate in this.
• 07:24What is this?
• 07:25We started this a couple
• 07:26of years ago, but we're
• 07:27continuously
• 07:28expanding it.
• 07:30We recruit from our alumni,
• 07:32Yale Medical School alumni, and
• 07:34also from the Yale New
• 07:35Haven Hospital.
• 07:36Folks who've trained within certain
• 07:38specialty areas. And we focus
• 07:40down on one area. We've
• 07:42done neurosurgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, and
• 07:44gynecology,
• 07:46anesthesiology.
• 07:48We recruit about half a
• 07:50dozen of you, our alumni,
• 07:52to serve on a panel,
• 07:53and we we bring a
• 07:54broad array. We have people
• 07:55who are academicians,
• 07:57chairs of departments, private practice
• 07:59folks, people in training, people
• 08:00who have recently retired.
• 08:02And then, our Yale medical
• 08:04students and our Yale undergraduates,
• 08:07are very curious about, well,
• 08:08they're interested in the health
• 08:09sciences. They want to go
• 08:10into a certain area. But,
• 08:11you know, they don't actually
• 08:13you understand. They don't wanna
• 08:14go to medical school. They
• 08:15want to become doctors.
• 08:17Right? And they and and
• 08:19what they experience here is
• 08:20merely the first chapter. You
• 08:22know the other chapters.
• 08:24And so it's a fantastic
• 08:25we found it to be
• 08:27our lived experience with this
• 08:29program is. The alumni, the
• 08:30half dozen alumni, they get
• 08:32to know each other a
• 08:33little bit. There's one or
• 08:33two meet and greet sessions
• 08:35before this Zoom based panel,
• 08:37and they get to know
• 08:38each other. And it's absolutely
• 08:39wonderful to see colleagues perhaps
• 08:41who've known each other, but
• 08:42they've, you know, they've not
• 08:43been in contact recently. They
• 08:45they they they rebond, and
• 08:47they reconnect to the institution.
• 08:49But then, of course, what's
• 08:50the value delivered? They then
• 08:52speak to our Yale medical
• 08:53students and our Yale undergraduates
• 08:56and,
• 08:57and and and share their
• 08:58wisdom.
• 09:00Jeez. What were the ups
• 09:01and downs? What were the
• 09:02pitfalls? What were the great
• 09:03successes in my career? Now
• 09:04that I'm five years retired,
• 09:06looking back on it, what
• 09:07would I do differently? What
• 09:08would I what I'm I'm
• 09:09glad I did exactly that
• 09:10way. So that's been a
• 09:12a very fulfilling program. Expansion
• 09:14this year, we're increasing the
• 09:15cadence. We intend to do
• 09:17these about every two months.
• 09:19And, also, in the last
• 09:20year, we expanded this beyond,
• 09:22the confines of Yale. We
• 09:24had about a dozen other
• 09:25medical schools.
• 09:27We had students from Northwestern,
• 09:29students from Howard,
• 09:31students from small medical schools
• 09:32perhaps you're not so familiar
• 09:33with in the south.
• 09:35And so, we want to
• 09:37expand that exponentially more so
• 09:39here in the last in
• 09:40the next two years. What
• 09:42we find is that whenever
• 09:43you get a lot of
• 09:44Yale Medical School alumni or
• 09:46our colleagues from Yale New
• 09:47Haven Hospital,
• 09:48and and you get them
• 09:49into a conversation about what
• 09:50their life's been like, what
• 09:52was the role of Yale
• 09:53in making their life what
• 09:54it is, there's a very
• 09:56warm afterglow.
• 09:57People love this institution.
• 10:00And, if you're talking to
• 10:01a Howard undergraduate
• 10:03about what makes Yale Medical
• 10:05School tick, and that inevitably
• 10:07comes out at a discussion
• 10:08about, well, how did my
• 10:09experience at Yale Medical School
• 10:11influence what I wanted to
• 10:12do when I became an
• 10:13obstetrician gynecologist.
• 10:15We think spreading the good
• 10:16word about what Yale Medical
• 10:18School is
• 10:19is is powerful, and nobody
• 10:21does it better than all
• 10:22of you in this room.
• 10:23So we would encourage you
• 10:24if you get the little
• 10:25email. What do we do?
• 10:26We're we're doing dermatology. We're
• 10:28doing pain medicine.
• 10:29We're doing a few other
• 10:31areas coming up. We also
• 10:32would like to do this
• 10:33in terms of alternative careers
• 10:35in medicine. People like Vishal
• 10:36Agarwal. Not everybody walks the
• 10:38same path. And and this
• 10:40is an institution that can
• 10:41propel you in whatever direction
• 10:43you wish.
• 10:44Okay.
• 10:46Onward.
• 10:49It's so delightful to see
• 10:51you here, but not all
• 10:52of the class of nineteen
• 10:53seventy five is here. We've
• 10:55recognized this within AYM as
• 10:56well.
• 10:58It's a step forward,
• 11:00to make our meetings available
• 11:01on Zoom, but we do
• 11:03recognize not everybody can come
• 11:04in person to our meetings
• 11:05in New Haven. And, you
• 11:06know, listen, not everybody's inclined
• 11:08to jump on to Zoom
• 11:09in the West Coast at
• 11:11seven o'clock in the morning
• 11:11to tune in to whatever
• 11:13we're saying.
• 11:14And so,
• 11:15we're also taking we've done
• 11:17it, and we we're doing
• 11:18it again soon, taking our
• 11:19show on the road a
• 11:20little bit. We're very aware
• 11:22of cost constraints. We understand
• 11:25we have to, we're tightening
• 11:26our belts like everybody else.
• 11:27But I alluded to the
• 11:29fact we did one of
• 11:30these programs
• 11:31at the, Yale Club of
• 11:32New York,
• 11:34and that was great because,
• 11:36you know, there's people in
• 11:36New York. We have a
• 11:37lot of alumni in New
• 11:38York who will go down
• 11:39the road to the Yale
• 11:40Club, but it's just a
• 11:41bit of a schlep to
• 11:42come up to New Haven.
• 11:43Let alone, you know, our
• 11:44alumni who are in Southern
• 11:45California. When do we get
• 11:47to see them?
• 11:48And so, this September, we're
• 11:50doing a program in Boston,
• 11:51and we're really looking forward
• 11:53to that.
• 11:54And our our ambition over
• 11:55the longer term is perhaps
• 11:56once or twice a year,
• 11:58and we're formalizing this in
• 11:59our bylaws. We can do
• 12:00our general meeting outside of
• 12:02New Haven. Why? Most of
• 12:03you don't live in New
• 12:04Haven, nor do you live
• 12:05in New York. But some
• 12:06of you live in Miami,
• 12:08so we'd like to come
• 12:09down there at some point.
• 12:10So we shall see. We
• 12:11shall see.
• 12:13So,
• 12:15other things,
• 12:16and I wanna be mindful
• 12:17of time.
• 12:20I mentioned, Wilma has been
• 12:21working on on the bylaws,
• 12:23and we've made a big
• 12:24step forward. Every organization has
• 12:26its sort of fundamental documents
• 12:28and updating our constitution, our
• 12:30bylaws. We've done very, very
• 12:32outstanding work with them.
• 12:34We are looking towards the
• 12:35future.
• 12:36Amaya Kulkani
• 12:38has has really done a
• 12:40fantastic work with regard to
• 12:43our strategic planning process
• 12:45and and how we're going
• 12:46to,
• 12:47march into the future.
• 12:49Very briefly,
• 12:51you know, as you see
• 12:52up there,
• 12:53we identified three fundamental priorities,
• 12:57keepers of the light of
• 12:58the Yale system. Everybody in
• 12:59here doesn't need to be
• 13:00told about that. It's one
• 13:01of the fundamental reasons you
• 13:02came here, I suspect,
• 13:04and it's part of the
• 13:05legacy of your your your
• 13:07memory here.
• 13:08In the past,
• 13:09previous administrations,
• 13:11I don't think anybody's been
• 13:12outright hostile to the Elst
• 13:13system, but there's been a
• 13:14few bumps in those roads
• 13:16as well in the past.
• 13:18We have a dean and
• 13:18dean Brown that we're incredibly
• 13:20grateful,
• 13:22is is like the wind
• 13:23at our back with regards
• 13:24to the Yale system. We
• 13:25think it's fundamental.
• 13:27Every time I go and
• 13:28talk to prospective students who
• 13:29have been accepted and I'm,
• 13:31now the tables are turned.
• 13:32I'm trying to convince them
• 13:33when I'm on the phone
• 13:34with them.
• 13:36Two thirds of the conversations
• 13:37about the Yale system. And
• 13:38those that come, it's, that's
• 13:40very central in their mind.
• 13:41So we're very appreciative of
• 13:42the support.
• 13:44In terms of, you know,
• 13:46spreading our wings, you can
• 13:47see,
• 13:48a strength in alumni networks.
• 13:49We've identified several key cities,
• 13:52Boston, Chicago, New York City,
• 13:53San Francisco, Orlando, and Pittsburgh.
• 13:56In each of those cities,
• 13:57we've identified leaders, and we're
• 13:58going to galvanize,
• 14:00denser,
• 14:01more vibrant alumni networks there.
• 14:04I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 14:05So just, five weeks ago,
• 14:08we had our first such
• 14:09event. We had deputy Dean
• 14:10Lattimore
• 14:11and Eric Choisy, our director
• 14:13of admissions, come out to
• 14:14Pittsburgh. We had a very,
• 14:16Linda Armstrong came back from
• 14:18New York, came back from
• 14:19Switzerland, I believe,
• 14:21to participate. She's a native
• 14:22Pittsburgher.
• 14:23And we had a boisterous
• 14:25large group of
• 14:26university students and high school
• 14:28students
• 14:29learn about the Yale system.
• 14:30I wish you could have
• 14:31been in the room to
• 14:32hear dean Darren Lattimore talk.
• 14:34It was it was a
• 14:36knockout.
• 14:37You couldn't you couldn't feel
• 14:38the emotions.
• 14:39You couldn't help but feel
• 14:40your own emotions in listening
• 14:42to Darren. And then they
• 14:43also had an event at
• 14:44my home where they where
• 14:46Eric and Darren connected with
• 14:48our alumni from the region,
• 14:50which was great.
• 14:51Okay?
• 14:52So,
• 14:53and then, of course, we'll
• 14:54continue to, be in touch
• 14:56with our current students.
• 14:58We work closely with Anne
• 15:00Arthur and and collaborate with
• 15:02her because she's already doing
• 15:03outstanding work with that.
• 15:05Thomas Dearing,
• 15:07is has launched an initiative
• 15:10about our international footprint. Just
• 15:12this morning
• 15:13just this morning, we got
• 15:15an email from an incredibly
• 15:16enthusiastic,
• 15:17member of AYM,
• 15:19in Greece.
• 15:20You should have read the
• 15:21email. He wants to he
• 15:22wants to engage with, our
• 15:24alumni base and our membership
• 15:26in Greece. I had lunch
• 15:28in Paris, six weeks ago
• 15:31with a with a very
• 15:32vibrant,
• 15:34person who trained here and
• 15:36is living a life for
• 15:37twenty two years and practicing
• 15:38medicine in Paris.
• 15:40And so Thomas has really
• 15:42brainstormed and come up with
• 15:43a lot of energy, and
• 15:44I'm I'm incredibly enthusiastic about
• 15:46what he's doing. And thank
• 15:47you for that, Thomas.
• 15:49Okay. So let me finish
• 15:50that this portion by simply
• 15:52saying,
• 15:53we want we want your
• 15:54we want your ideas. We
• 15:56want your questions. We want
• 15:57your involvement.
• 15:59We're interested in things like,
• 16:01like physician wellness, AI, structure
• 16:03of medicine, all of this.
• 16:05We're in the real world
• 16:06with you. We're exactly where
• 16:08you are. We are you.
• 16:09And so we'd love for
• 16:10you to participate.
• 16:11Okay?
• 16:13So,
• 16:14the last, sort of housekeeping,
• 16:17topic here is I need
• 16:19to go through the nominations
• 16:21for the association of the
• 16:23Yale alumni in medicine.
• 16:27Thank you for those who
• 16:28participated in the electronic ballot
• 16:30for the year's election. Today,
• 16:32we will hold an in
• 16:33person vote for the incoming
• 16:35slate. Okay? So for our
• 16:37leadership position for a one
• 16:38year term,
• 16:40is, Wilma Korvar.
• 16:43For our members at large
• 16:44to the executive committee and
• 16:45for two year, term,
• 16:47the nominees are Linda Armstrong,
• 16:50Julia Frank,
• 16:51and Ali Khan,
• 16:53Lisa,
• 16:54Quadrachi Knight,
• 16:55Jorge Romano, and Gloria Su.
• 16:58Okay?
• 16:59For delegates to the assembly
• 17:01of the association of Yale
• 17:02alumni serving a three year
• 17:03term is Amaya Kulkani and
• 17:05Jill Silverman.
• 17:06So can I get a
• 17:08a motion to approve, please?
• 17:11Thank you, Mark. And can
• 17:12I get a second?
• 17:14Thank you. Okay. Thank you.
• 17:16The slate has passed. You
• 17:17know, that's a bit of
• 17:18formality,
• 17:19but we're an organization.
• 17:21We have to stand on
• 17:22ceremony.
• 17:27So let me just finish
• 17:28by saying if you're interested
• 17:29in learning about more about
• 17:31AYM,
• 17:32please come up and talk
• 17:33to me afterwards. We have
• 17:34quite a number of our
• 17:35our very involved members here.
• 17:36We'd love to talk to
• 17:37you about it. Okay?
• 17:39So at this juncture,
• 17:41it is
• 17:43there we go. You recognize
• 17:45yourself?
• 17:48So,
• 17:49it is,
• 17:50at this point, it's my
• 17:51pleasure
• 17:52to,
• 17:53to introduce,
• 17:55the very lady who you've
• 17:56just, heard, so she needs
• 17:58no introduction.
• 17:59Dean Brown Jane, joined the
• 18:00Yale School of Medicine in
• 18:02two thousand twenty,
• 18:03at the beginning of a
• 18:04very tumultuous time.
• 18:07Nancy Brown's astute leadership has
• 18:09elevated the institution.
• 18:11In spite of the challenges,
• 18:12it has elevated the institution,
• 18:14in the face of, of
• 18:15course, yes, the pandemic. And
• 18:17then as we're all aware,
• 18:18there's a there's a rather
• 18:19complicated
• 18:20macro policy and macroeconomic
• 18:23environment that is no doubt
• 18:24in her mind every day.
• 18:26I'm deep deeply grateful to
• 18:27her stewardship
• 18:29of the of the institution
• 18:30and for her support of
• 18:31the Yale system. So please.
• 18:40And so
• 18:42our next job here, we're
• 18:44we're going to,
• 18:46going to, discuss and, initiate
• 18:49people into the
• 18:51fiftieth class, into the Cushlin
• 18:53Society.
• 18:54So let me tell you
• 18:55a little bit about
• 18:57this society.
• 18:59Samuel
• 19:00d Cushlin,
• 19:02a graduate in nineteen thirty
• 19:04five.
• 19:05And the society was established
• 19:07to memorialize our longtime school
• 19:09of medicine alumni
• 19:11who passed away in two
• 19:12thousand ten at the age
• 19:13of ninety eight, having served
• 19:15as a mentor and role
• 19:16model to many, many generations
• 19:18of, students and trainees here
• 19:21at Yale.
• 19:22The society honors all alumni
• 19:24who are celebrating their fiftieth
• 19:26reunion.
• 19:27And,
• 19:28this year, I'm pleased to
• 19:29induct the class of nineteen
• 19:31seventy five.
• 19:32So
• 19:33first, I would like to
• 19:35before that, I'd like to
• 19:37invite the audience, everybody who
• 19:39has graduated in nineteen seventy
• 19:40five and before to stand
• 19:42and be
• 19:44recognized. So anybody?
• 20:07Alright. Marvelous.
• 20:09So
• 20:13I'm gonna
• 20:15call people up one at
• 20:16a time, and, you can
• 20:17come and
• 20:20accept your award. So we're
• 20:21gonna start with, the class
• 20:23of nineteen seventy five, j
• 20:24Edwin Atwood.
• 21:14Secondly,
• 21:18Brandon Clifford.
• 22:23Sandra
• 22:29Hershberg.
• 22:53Holly Holter.
• 23:15Paul Johnson.
• 23:33Hyman Milstein.
• 23:41Mary Minkin.
• 24:04Robert Nankin.
• 24:23Vivian Resnick.
• 24:42Salvatore Romano.
• 24:59Mark Rockman.
• 25:20Thomas Smith.
• 25:26Sydney Speisel.
• 25:46Barbish Stroll.
• 26:06And finally, David Wills.
• 26:09I apologize.
• 26:10David?
• 26:12No.
• 26:13Okay.
• 26:15Wonderful. We're,
• 26:16almost on schedule.
• 26:23So,
• 26:23is it okay if I
• 26:24use this mic again? That's
• 26:25fine. Yeah. Yeah.
• 26:27So,
• 26:29that's wonderful. Congratulations
• 26:31to all of you. Fifty
• 26:33years. That's a marvelous accomplishment.
• 26:35So our next, our next
• 26:37responsibility
• 26:38is to announce the two
• 26:39thousand twenty five distinguished alumni
• 26:42service awards.
• 26:43So this award, it's the
• 26:45highest award,
• 26:46for our distinguished alumni service.
• 26:49The award recognizes alumni service
• 26:51in one's class and the
• 26:53school of medicine, and again,
• 26:54it's the highest AYM award
• 26:56that is given.
• 26:58The first school of medicine,
• 27:01Yale School of Medicine,
• 27:03award goes to Mark Meyer.
• 27:14We're very proud to
• 27:16bestow him with the distinguished
• 27:17alumni service award.
• 27:19Mark has been a class
• 27:20agent since two thousand fifteen.
• 27:24He served as cochair for
• 27:26your twenty fifth year reunion
• 27:29gift.
• 27:30In two thousand nineteen, you
• 27:32were appointed cochair of agents.
• 27:34And then from two thousand
• 27:36twenty two to two thousand
• 27:37twenty four, Mark served as
• 27:39chair of agents.
• 27:42Not only have you worked
• 27:43as an enthusiastic
• 27:44and effective representative, Mark,
• 27:47you have mentored alumni
• 27:48within the organization
• 27:50to continue to propagate your
• 27:53excellent work.
• 27:54In all your service to
• 27:55the alumni fund, you have
• 27:57created opportunities for graduates
• 27:59to stay connected to the
• 28:00school and to each other
• 28:02and to all of our
• 28:03current students.
• 28:04Notably,
• 28:05you worked with other alumni
• 28:08to develop mentorship mentorship program
• 28:10for current students.
• 28:12You understand that giving is
• 28:13both a way to honor
• 28:14the institution
• 28:16and also understand,
• 28:18to pave a way for
• 28:19new generations to create their
• 28:21own achievements. It's not just
• 28:22about harvesting, you know, from
• 28:24the present and the past,
• 28:26but also creating a more
• 28:27vibrant future.
• 28:30You supported,
• 28:31one of the very first
• 28:32Dorothy Horstman scholarships in honor
• 28:35of Thomas Duffy. Mark doesn't
• 28:37just solicit funds from, you
• 28:38know, guys like me.
• 28:40He puts his money where
• 28:41his mouth is, and so
• 28:42we report we appreciate your
• 28:44support for the institution in
• 28:45that way.
• 28:46Thank you for your service,
• 28:47Mark. We're very proud to
• 28:48have you in the organization,
• 28:50and we look forward to
• 28:51your
• 28:52energetic, enthusiastic participation
• 28:54many years into the future.
• 28:55Thank you, Mark.
• 29:07I absolutely love Yale Medical
• 29:10School.
• 29:11I had a little foray
• 29:12at the law school as
• 29:13well, but it, it, it
• 29:14wasn't the same environment.
• 29:17And,
• 29:19many years ago when I
• 29:20tried to get involved,
• 29:22there wasn't such structure.
• 29:24And, in fact, I made
• 29:25calls for a couple of
• 29:27years to try to figure
• 29:27out how could I get
• 29:28involved with Yale Medical School,
• 29:30and I went to an
• 29:31event at the Yale Club
• 29:32and ran into Chris Walsh,
• 29:34who's a past president of
• 29:35this organization,
• 29:37and she said, well, this
• 29:38is how you do it.
• 29:40And I think that,
• 29:43it was a casual group
• 29:45back then, and it was
• 29:46just thrilling to sit at
• 29:47a table with all of
• 29:49my former professors,
• 29:50none of whom I called
• 29:51by their first names.
• 29:54That's changed, I suppose,
• 29:56but not for me.
• 29:58It's a school that embraces
• 29:59people
• 30:00and,
• 30:01I'll just tell you one
• 30:02very quick story so Paul
• 30:04doesn't get behind on the
• 30:05agenda,
• 30:06which is
• 30:07when I arrived at the
• 30:08medical school,
• 30:10there was a welcome cocktail,
• 30:13on Harkness Lawn. That was
• 30:14then the dormitory.
• 30:16And the director of admissions
• 30:18was a woman named Lynn
• 30:20Wooten.
• 30:20The fact that I remember
• 30:21that from thirty five years
• 30:23ago tells you
• 30:24how much this is a
• 30:26family.
• 30:28And she we were all
• 30:29walking up, and she greeted
• 30:31every person
• 30:34by name,
• 30:35from
• 30:36memory.
• 30:37She had memorized the Facebook
• 30:38page
• 30:40and said, Hello, Mark, or
• 30:42Hello, Tino, my classmate who's
• 30:43in the back.
• 30:45And immediately,
• 30:48instead of feeling like you
• 30:49were trying to figure out
• 30:51your way through a massive
• 30:52organization
• 30:53in a profession that was
• 30:55intimidating
• 30:56and exciting,
• 30:58you felt like part of
• 30:59the family,
• 31:00that somebody would have taken
• 31:02the time to learn your
• 31:03name and your face from
• 31:05memory.
• 31:06And I had the great
• 31:07honor of taking care of
• 31:08her mother
• 31:09a number of years later
• 31:10at Yale New Haven Hospital,
• 31:12which was another way that
• 31:13I felt like I could
• 31:14pay back Yale.
• 31:16So thank you so much
• 31:17for this honor. It's a
• 31:19pleasure to be here as
• 31:20always. Thank you, Dean Brown.
• 31:21You and I have gotten
• 31:22to know each other a
• 31:23little bit and, boy, this
• 31:25school is lucky to have
• 31:26you as its steward.
• 31:27Thank you all
• 31:30so
• 31:39much.
• 31:43Our second awardee is doctor
• 31:45Dora Wang.
• 31:46The Yale School of Medicine
• 31:47is very proud to count
• 31:48you among its graduates and
• 31:50best to put bestows upon
• 31:52you the distinguished alumni service
• 31:54award. Dora, please step forward.
• 32:05Dora is a physician,
• 32:07a, psychiatrist,
• 32:08a historian, and an author.
• 32:13Dora often attributes,
• 32:15her very multifaceted,
• 32:17multicolored career to her time
• 32:19here within Yale the Yale
• 32:21system at Yale Medical School.
• 32:23It's entirely fitting, that you've
• 32:25used your many skills,
• 32:27to preserve that system for
• 32:28future generations of students and
• 32:30future generations of patients
• 32:32who invariably benefit from being
• 32:34under the care of doctors
• 32:35who refuse to ever stop
• 32:36learning.
• 32:37Let me elaborate.
• 32:39I've mentioned that,
• 32:41every now and again over
• 32:42the last thirty five years,
• 32:44there's been a waning enthusiasm
• 32:46for something we refer to
• 32:47as the Yale system. During
• 32:49one of those periods,
• 32:50Dora put it upon herself
• 32:52and utilized her skills as
• 32:54a historian
• 32:55to publish a paper, the
• 32:56Yale system at one hundred
• 32:58years. She has some copies
• 32:59of it if you want
• 33:00to if you want to
• 33:01learn more and read one.
• 33:04It clearly laid out the
• 33:05genius
• 33:06of the unique way of
• 33:08educating physicians at a time
• 33:10when it was in a
• 33:11little bit of peril here
• 33:12within our own institution.
• 33:14I find as I go
• 33:15around the country and I
• 33:16talk to students who are
• 33:17at other schools, there's elements
• 33:20of, the Yale system that
• 33:22I sometimes see popping up
• 33:23in the structure
• 33:25and the and the philosophy
• 33:26of teaching elsewhere.
• 33:28But I don't think, I
• 33:30don't think you can ever
• 33:31beat the original.
• 33:32I think, the notion of
• 33:33the Yale system, the philosophy
• 33:35of the Yale system is
• 33:35deep in the bones of
• 33:37this institution.
• 33:38And, and Doris' paper was,
• 33:41was fantastic at describing how
• 33:44it evolved, what it is.
• 33:47Your work, also led to
• 33:48the creation of, a Yale
• 33:49system,
• 33:51oral history project
• 33:52in which,
• 33:53she teamed up with filmmaker
• 33:55Robert Wynne and recorded nearly
• 33:57one hundred personal
• 33:58human stories about,
• 34:01Yale medical students and our
• 34:03experience at the school and
• 34:04our impact, by being educated
• 34:06in the context of the
• 34:07Yale system.
• 34:09In addition to completing your
• 34:10medical degree at Yale, you
• 34:12also pursued a master's in
• 34:13English literature while at Yale,
• 34:15and you utilize,
• 34:17the innovation of the Yale
• 34:18system to craft a fulfilling
• 34:20career as a psychiatrist, author,
• 34:22and historian.
• 34:24Your memoir,
• 34:25The Kitchen Shrink,
• 34:27a psychiatrist's
• 34:28reflection on healing in the
• 34:30changing world,
• 34:31was nominated by your publisher
• 34:33for some of the some
• 34:34of the top prizes in
• 34:35American literature.
• 34:37Your colleagues on the executive
• 34:39committee of the Association of
• 34:41Yale alumni in medicine and
• 34:43other alumni
• 34:44worked together to create a
• 34:45reunion event,
• 34:46that would celebrate at the
• 34:47Yale system. That was one
• 34:49of my earlier participations in
• 34:51this organization.
• 34:52That was my initial experience
• 34:55through you.
• 34:56This event was subsequently
• 34:58acknowledged and recognized by the
• 34:59Association of Yale Alumni in
• 35:01two thousand seventeen,
• 35:03with the outstanding graduate and
• 35:04professional school award.
• 35:06So thank you, Dora, for
• 35:08all you've done, and, you're
• 35:09richly deserving of this this
• 35:12prize. Please come up and
• 35:13say something to us.
• 35:21Thank you, doctor Leong. Thank
• 35:23you, Dean Brown. Thank you
• 35:24for your leadership.
• 35:26So we all have our
• 35:27Yale system story,
• 35:29and my story goes something
• 35:31like I arrived here as
• 35:33a medical student.
• 35:35I was an Asian American
• 35:37of Brazilian birth from California.
• 35:42Didn't really have appreciation of
• 35:43history.
• 35:44Yale made me not only
• 35:46the best,
• 35:48psychiatrist
• 35:49and physician that I could
• 35:50be, but also a historian
• 35:52and author.
• 35:53And I think that's a
• 35:54very Yale story.
• 35:57So I wanted to say
• 35:58that it was in seventeen
• 36:00twenty three
• 36:02that Yale conferred the first
• 36:04MD degree.
• 36:06It was not just the
• 36:07first MD degree at Yale,
• 36:09but in North America.
• 36:11And,
• 36:13this was long before the
• 36:14founding of the United States.
• 36:17It was a time where
• 36:18in Europe, the renaissance
• 36:20had just recently ended,
• 36:22and it was the height
• 36:23of the enlightenment
• 36:24when Isaac Newton
• 36:26was revising his theories of
• 36:27optics, calculus,
• 36:29and gravity.
• 36:31That's how far back the
• 36:33Yale MD goes.
• 36:36This was far before the
• 36:37founding of the United States
• 36:39of America.
• 36:40So,
• 36:41just wanted to remind us
• 36:43of that in light of
• 36:44the last hundred or so
• 36:45days
• 36:46that the history of,
• 36:48physicians at Yale,
• 36:50goes back over three centuries.
• 37:00When I arrived at the
• 37:01Yale School of Medicine in
• 37:03nineteen eighty five,
• 37:06It was here at Yale
• 37:07that I was mentored by
• 37:08physicians
• 37:09like Robert Bick,
• 37:12in his pharmacology
• 37:13course he also taught medical
• 37:15classics.
• 37:16David Musto, a psychiatrist
• 37:18and historian of drugs in
• 37:20America, was my thesis advisor.
• 37:22It was Chaplain Alan Merman
• 37:24who not only gave me
• 37:25crossword puzzles to stay awake
• 37:27in class
• 37:28in in in dark mornings,
• 37:29but,
• 37:30who also
• 37:32got on the phone actually
• 37:33and encouraged and and tried
• 37:35to get me into graduate
• 37:36school in English for some
• 37:37reason, which which I did,
• 37:40surgeon Richard Seltzer
• 37:43decided to teach a creative
• 37:44writing course
• 37:46and, Randy Hutter Epstein and
• 37:48I took his course
• 37:50And I think it's no
• 37:51coincidence
• 37:51that, in our class of
• 37:53nineteen eighty nine,
• 37:55Randy and I are both
• 37:56published by major publishers,
• 37:58Randy by Norton,
• 37:59myself by Riverhead Penguin Random
• 38:01House.
• 38:03I visited Art Visletier,
• 38:06who was diagnosed with liver
• 38:07cancer,
• 38:09in in Yale
• 38:11New Haven Hospital.
• 38:13And,
• 38:14when I visited him, he
• 38:15was one of the historians
• 38:16here, he told me that
• 38:18there were a couple of
• 38:19papers he really needed to
• 38:20finish. He was so passionate
• 38:22about them, and that stuck
• 38:24with me because here was
• 38:26a man who was diagnosed
• 38:27with, terminal cancer,
• 38:29but he was so passionate
• 38:31about his work and that
• 38:32that impression never left me.
• 38:34But now in retrospect, looking
• 38:37at his papers, I realized
• 38:39that one of the papers
• 38:40he published
• 38:41in nineteen eighty six was
• 38:43a history of the Yale
• 38:44system.
• 38:45I am proud to follow
• 38:46in his tradition.
• 38:49It's thanks to the
• 38:51Yale system that,
• 38:53in any case, I
• 38:56have more to give back
• 38:57to patients, society,
• 38:59and more to give back
• 39:00to Yale.
• 39:01I'd like to thank,
• 39:03my colleague Donald Moore here,
• 39:06from AYAM.
• 39:08And,
• 39:09Donald, thank you for,
• 39:11really pushing forward the Yale
• 39:13Oral History Project,
• 39:17and we need to get
• 39:18those together to donate to
• 39:19the library here, don't we?
• 39:23Seth Pausner,
• 39:24one of my professors who's
• 39:25at his MIT reunion today,
• 39:28my ongoing
• 39:30Yale system.
• 39:32Sivana Tropea, who was in
• 39:34Renaissance Studies when I was
• 39:36a medical students and why
• 39:37continue to call for my
• 39:39emergency Shakespeare questions.
• 39:42Hunter Shin in the econ
• 39:44department here,
• 39:45who got her PhD in
• 39:46econ here,
• 39:48who I continue to call
• 39:49about financial reassurances.
• 39:52In any case, my
• 39:54Yale system also
• 39:56includes Michael Carlisle,
• 39:58who is here somewhere on
• 39:59campus for his fiftieth
• 40:01Yale reunion. He's been my
• 40:02literary agent for over twenty
• 40:04years.
• 40:05I'd like to thank my
• 40:06parents who are not here
• 40:07today. My daughter Zoe Calet
• 40:09Wong, who
• 40:11helped with permissions for
• 40:13the Yale system at one
• 40:15hundred years paper.
• 40:16Thank you again, Dean Brown,
• 40:18and thanks to all of
• 40:19you.