Yale Bulletin and Calendar

April 15, 2005|Volume 32, Number 26

In the Yale Leaders exhibit, a high-tech slide projector shows images from the display -- in this case of one of the University's three U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton.

Exhibits recount Yale's history
and the contributions of its alumni

A doctoral diploma dated 1861, a round plate stamped "Frisbie Pies," a toy crane built from an Erector Set, a painting of cowboys crouched around a campfire -- these are just a few of the images and objects featured in two new permanent exhibitions at Yale's Mead Visitor Center. (See related story.)

One display is devoted to important moments in Yale's 300-year history; the other to the achievements of its alumni through the centuries.

The 1861 doctorate, for example, commemorates the year that Yale became the first institution in the United States to present a Ph.D., while the pie plate recalls the disk-flinging game -- now known as frisbee -- devised by Yale students in the early 1900s. The Erector Set was one of many ingenuity-inspiring toys invented by A.C. Gilbert, M.D. 1909, while the painting, titled "Roasting the Christmas Beef in a Cavalry Camp," was the work of Frederic Remington, B.F.A. 1900, renowned for his images of the Old West.

The installation of the two exhibitions marks the end of a two-year project spearheaded by Sheila Pastor and Nancy Franco, the Visitor Center's director and assistant director, respectively.

The two spent untold hours doing research and gathering stacks of information, images and memorabilia for the displays. They assembled enough material to fill a book; in fact, the University will soon publish a volume based on their research.

Equally daunting was the task of culling the material to a manageable size for the exhibits. "It was hard to decide what to include and what to leave out because Yale has so much rich history and so many leaders who have impacted the world," says Pastor. "We wanted to make the exhibits as comprehensive and informative as possible within a limited space."

Pastor and Franco worked under the direction of Vice President and University Secretary Linda K. Lorimer and Associate University Secretary Don Filer. They were aided in their labors by the staff of the Manuscripts and Archives Department in the Yale Library; archivist Geoff Zonder in the Athletics Department; and Michael Marsland, university photographer.

The completed displays -- designed by the award-winning New York firm of Spagnola & Associates -- bring a distinctly modern element into the 238-year-old building in which the Visitor Center is housed.

The "Yale History" exhibit, located at the front of the building, takes the form of a timeline mounted on alternating panels of white and translucent blue glass, which are lit from within. The display begins with a reproduction of the 1701 charter that established the school and concludes with a photograph of the fireworks at the University's 2001 Tercentennial celebration in the Yale Bowl.

The "Yale Leaders" display is located at the back of the building, adjacent to the room where visitors view the video about the University presented prior to the center's daily tours. Just inside the space, there is a low, round, glass-and-metal structure that resembles a coffee table but is actually a high-tech slide projector. From its depths rise images from the exhibit with no explanatory text -- the goal being to tantalize visitors' curiosity about the image's Yale connection, explains Pastor. A picture of the Columbia University shield, for example, leads visitors to the section on education, where they learn that Yale alumni founded or were the first presidents of 42 institutions of higher education in the United States, including Columbia, Princeton, Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins universities.

Other sections of the display recount alumni's contributions in such diverse fields as architecture, literature, public service, business, science, religion and more. A section on athletics includes a baseball signed by George H.W. Bush, B.A. 1948, commemorating the former U.S. president's role as captain of Yale's baseball team during his undergraduate years.

The new exhibits have "added to the depth of visitors experience of Yale," according to Austin Broussard '06, head guide at the Visitor Center. "They come out with a wider and richer appreciation of the University and the remarkable individuals associated with it. They have a new perception of Yale as an institution dedicated to the betterment of this area, the U.S. and the world. And they ask so many more questions during the tour. It adds to the tour so much."

Franco notes, "Even visitors who are not able to take the tour because of physical limitations can leave feeling they have learned a lot about the University."

Pastor and Franco are eager to share the new exhibits with people from both outside and inside Yale. The Visitor Center is now a stop on the tour given during the orientation program for new employees, and several departments have arranged to hold their monthly meetings at the center so their employees can see the displays and take a tour. The Visitor Center also has indoor and outdoor spaces available for large gatherings after hours, notes Pastor. For further information, call (203) 432-2300.

-- By LuAnn Bishop

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