Yale Bulletin
and Calendar

February 8-15, 1999Volume 27, Number 20




























Yale affiliates to be honored at library gala

A member of the Yale Law School faculty and two alumni of the University will be honored when the New Haven Free Public Library holds a gala Mardi Gras and 112th birthday party on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Boris Bittker, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law, Deborah Rose '72, '77 M.P.H., '89 Ph.D. and Sumner Crosby Jr. '65 will be presented Mary B. Ives Awards at the event, which will raise funds for new books and materials for the library.

The awards are named in honor of a former New Haven citizen who was the library's greatest patron. In 1908-1910 she donated $390,000 to fund the library's first long-term home.

Bittker and his children made the second largest contribution ever in the library's history. The contribution was given in honor of Bittker's wife, Ann Bittker. It has provided substantial funds for current use and an endowment for children's books. In gratitude for the Bittker's gift, the main branch of the library named its children's section the Ann S. Bittker Children's Room.

Crosby and his wife, Susan, along with their fellow trustees of the Carolyn Foundation, are longtime library supporters. The Carolyn Foundation recently made a lead gift to the fund-raising campaign for books for the New Haven Free Public Library's Stetson Branch, located on Dixwell Ave.

Rose has contributed funds to purchase new computers for public and staff use, as well as her expertise in the design of information technology systems.

Also being honored at the event is Dan Miglio, retired president and chief executive officer of Southern New England Telephone (SNET), who will be presented the Noah Webster Award. SNET is serving as the presenting sponsor of the library's Mardi Gras/Birthday gala.

The gala will take place 5-8:30 p.m. at the New Haven Lawn Club, 133 Whitney Ave. It will feature a "Big Easy" buffet and music by Danbury's Bourbon Street 7, a Dixieland jazz band that has played at the White House and throughout Connecticut. The evening will also include ballroom dancing, juggling by the Yale Anti-Gravity Society and a silent auction. Among the Yale-related auction items are a behind-the-scenes tour of Sterling Memorial Library and lunch with University librarian Scott Bennett, and tickets to a Yale athletic competition and the chance to walk Handsome Dan, Yale's mascot, during the game.

The New Haven Free Public Library has raised $55,000 towards its goal of $150,000 for its newly renovated Stetson Branch, which will reopen on Thursday, Feb. 25. Library supporters expect that the Mardi Gras/Birthday Party will put the total raised to at least 50 percent of the final goal, according to Michael J. Morand, assistant vice president in the Office of New Haven and State Affairs, who is chair of the library's board of directors. University Vice President and Secretary Linda K. Lorimer serves as a cochair of the library's Benefit Committee, on which a number of Yale affiliates serve as members.

Guests at the gala are invited to dress in costumes, and masks are encouraged. Patron tickets are $50 per person; birthday patron tickets are $112 per person; and Ives Patron Tickets are $250 per person. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, contact Kathie Hurley at 946-8125.