Yale Bulletin and Calendar

May 31-June 21, 1999

Volume 27, Number 33

Yale launching a more user-friendly
home page on the World Wide Web

Yale is mounting a revolutionary new home page on the World Wide Web.

Starting June 1, the Internet address "www.yale.edu" will bring visitors to a user-friendly Web site that features clear and concise organization, smooth navigation and elegant images of the campus.

Although some members of the community have grown attached to the "old books" image on the current home page, others have pointed out that the structure of the site is dated and unwieldy.

This spring, the Yale officers asked John Gambell, the recently appointed university printer and senior critic in graphic design at the School of Art, to create a new "front door" to the University's 170,000 active Web pages. Gambell put together a team of designers, editors, and technicians to develop, on an expedited schedule, an entirely fresh approach for the site.

Among the goals of the team were:

* To make the virtual entrance to Yale attractive, dignified and welcoming.

* To create a simple, seamless navigation tool that provides rapid access to Yale's "stand-alone sites." This graphic interface is designed to function with current browsers; it will be upgraded as improved browsers and bandwidths become available.

* To provide a graphic backdrop against which the varied Web offerings of Yale's schools and departments are shown to advantage.

* To reinforce Yale's identity through the use of distinctive color, graphics and text.

The new web site has been organized around the needs of a wide range of users, from potential applicants for admission to senior researchers, explains Gambell. Scrolling has been minimized, the search function is prominently displayed, and most of Yale's public pages are within three clicks of the home page, he notes. An online tour highlights the beauty and the rich resources of Yale University.

The home page being launched June 1 represents a first phase in the development of the new site, which will be improved and elaborated regularly, noted Gambell. (Any existing bookmarks to Yale Web sites will continue to work.) Comments from anyone in the Yale community are welcome; they should be sent to john.gambell@yale.edu.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale celebrates 298th Commencement
Yale launching a more user-friendly home page on the World Wide Web
Anthony T. Kronman reappointed as Dean of Law School
Festival will bring world of art and ideas to city
Endowed Professorships
New Haven attorney Julie Carter joins Office of General Counsel
To eat well, relax at the table, advises master chef Pépin
Reunion programs will both educate and entertain returning alumni
Some Yale graduates dancing down a different path
Yale's new student-built solar car headed for Sunracye '99
New alumnae's nursing training included health work overseas
Harold Samuel dies; brought musicians' archives to Yale
Dining staff friendliness ranks high on survey
Prostate Cancer Awareness Stamp to be unveiled at campus event
Conference to explore the future of language
Dr. William F. Collins is recognized for lifetime contributions to neurosurgery