’59 Affiliation with Hopper (Calhoun) College

In 1995 our Class Council decided to establish an affiliation with a residential college. We had two goals: to support significant student projects and to provide informal settings in which students and classmates could interact. Encouraged by the Association of Yale Alumni, the Council appointed a committee which interviewed college Masters and student leaders.

The Committee recommended an affiliation with Calhoun, now Hopper College and has worked closely with Hopper’s Master, Associate Masters, and student leaders to create meaningful, stimulating programs.

The focus of our Hopper affiliation is the “’59 Hopper College Fund For Excellence.” This is a Master’s discretionary fund that now awards up to 15 merit-based grants per academic year in an amount not exceeding $500 each. Grant winners submit a written report at the conclusion of each project.

Click on Hopper College Newsletter to read about what students are doing with their Class of 1959 Hopper College Fund for Excellence Awards and for a glimpse of current undergraduate residential college life.

Additional 1959-Hopper activities have included career nights at Hopper during which several ‘59ers, including a ’59 wife, talked candidly about their careers. Some lively Q&A with the students followed. With the help of Ben Zitron, we arranged for two busloads of “Hopperites” and several members of the Class to tour Ground Zero on 12/12/01. As Ed Greenberg later wrote: “For those of us who were there, it was sorrowful to see the students viewing this scene. Yet, we were proud to be part of a group of concerned alumni who had enabled them to listen to their hearts and make the trip.”

The Council also annually designates one of the ’59 AYA Summer Service Fellowships to a Hopper Student.

The outstanding success of our affiliation with Hopper has become a model for other Yale classes when thinking of ways to enhance their knowledge of undergraduate life and create opportunities for Yale students to accomplish their goals. The Association of Yale Alumni recognized the Class of 1959 at its 2011 Fall Assembly for its innovation and the success of the ’59 Hopper Fund For Excellence.