Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 6, 2000

Volume 29, Number 5

Yale, Oxford, Princeton and Stanford
launch 'distance learning' venture

Yale, Oxford, Princeton and Stanford universities are each providing $3 million to launch a "distance learning" venture to provide on-line courses in the arts and sciences to their combined 500,000 alumni.

Herbert M. Allison Jr. '65 B.A., former president of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., will serve as president and chief executive officer of the non-profit University Alliance for Life-Long Learning.

The Alliance will offer non-credit courses to the alumni, taking advantage of emerging technologies to give the graduates convenient access to their schools' extraordinary resources.

The four universities recognize the potential appeal of the Alliance's educational opportunities to other audiences seeking ongoing personal enrichment, and they plan in the future to make their offerings available to a wider public.

The Alliance will provide on-line courses and interactive seminars; multi-media programs; topical web sites that include links to research information; live and taped coverage of campus speakers, exhibitions, and other events; lectures on tape; and other offerings.

The member universities and their faculties will control the content of the courses and other educational products offered, ensuring that they meet the highest standards.

"The Alliance among four of the world's greatest universities has an inspiring mission," Allison said. "Initially, it will provide the schools' alumni around the world with ongoing access to the best in higher education, enriching their lives and helping them make the fullest contribution to their communities. I am honored to be leading this exciting and promising venture."

Today's announcement comes at a time when the accelerating advance of knowledge is increasing the need for people all over the world to have access to life-long learning. The spread of democracy and of market-based economies is expanding the number of people who want and would benefit from access to the finest teaching and information resources.

President Richard C. Levin will chair the Alliance's board of directors, which will include leaders of the four member universities and the business community. Each university named two representatives to the board. In addition to Levin, the member are: G. Leonard Baker, managing director, Sutter Hill Ventures; Edward Barry, former director, Oxford University Press, New York; John Etchemendy, provost, Stanford University; Colin Lucas, vice-chancellor, University of Oxford; Heidi G. Miller, chief financial officer and senior executive vice president, strategic planning and administration, Priceline.com; Jeremiah P. Ostriker, provost, Princeton University; and Srinija Srinivasan, vice president and editor in chief, Yahoo! Inc.

Through the Alliance, the member universities will explore the possibilities that the Internet and other technologies offer for teaching and learning. Where appropriate, innovations developed by the Alliance may be incorporated in the schools' core campus programs.

The Alliance will work with the four member universities to solicit and respond to faculty proposals for programs and projects that the alumni would find rewarding, and license and distribute them on the schools' behalf. Rather than develop its own production facilities, the Alliance will sub-contract such needs to the individual universities and to outside corporations.

The Alliance will provide new opportunities for faculty members to incorporate technology and collaborate with their peers. Each university will develop the terms and conditions of its own faculty's involvement in the Alliance.

The Alliance expects to begin making courses and other services available in the latter part of 2001.

'Setting the standard for distance education'

President Richard C. Levin released this statement in conjunction with the announcement of the new University Alliance for Life-long Learning. (See Provost's letter.)

This announcement marks a significant step forward for our four universities, together and separately, as we seek to find the best ways to use the newest information technology to support teaching.

Yale's success has always relied significantly on the guidance and support of its alumni, and we are eager to meet their strong interest in lifelong educational enrichment. They are our partners in this new effort, and they will help us determine the most rewarding course for distance learning -- not only for them, but potentially for students on campus as well as for a wider public across the country and around the world.

We expect this Alliance of four great universities to play an important role in setting the standard for distance education in the arts and sciences. By cooperating, we believe we can contribute far more than could any one institution acting alone.

We are delighted that Herbert Allison has agreed to serve as president and chief executive officer. Respected throughout the business world for his achievements, he has a proven commitment to higher education and a clear vision of the exciting possibilities that the Alliance presents.

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

Yale, Oxford, Princeton and Stanford launch 'distance learning' venture

Endowment grows 41%, to $10.1 billion

Yale doctor applauds end to gender testing at Olympics

Three join team in Provost's Office

Yale-Griffin Center gets $1.2 million from CDC

Letter from the Provost: Support for Teaching with Technology at Yale

Peace accord is topic of talk by George Mitchell

Author Tom Wolfe to recount his days at Yale

New Yorker columnist to visit as a Poynter Fellow

Buying cars on Internet saves money, study shows

F&ES to host centennial celebration weekend

Hershey Foods CEO to give talks as a Gordon Grand Fellow

Works of School of London artists showcased in exhibit

Divinity School inviting all women graduates to convocation

Berkeley Divinity School to laud four theologians at its annual gathering

Artists welcome studio visitors in expanded annual event

Peabody to mark Columbus Day with programs on the Caribbean

Howard Hughes Medical Institute funds biomedical sciences at Yale for 14th year

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