Speakers Program

The AYA Speakers Program sends current Yale faculty, administrators and others to Yale Clubs and Associations to speak to alumni at luncheons, receptions, annual dinners and other special events. The AYA is excited to assist Clubs and Associations with their programming needs, and we look forward to being able to work with you to find the right speaker for your Club or Association.

 

Details & Rules

Each Yale Club or Association is entitled to one subsidized speaker from Yale each academic year (July 1 to June 30).

In order to ensure that the speaker’s visit is successful, we ask that you try to guarantee a minimum attendance of 30 people for the event. If you feel that you might not be able to meet this number, please consider broadening your invitation list to include members of local alumni groups from some of our Ivy League colleagues. (Before you extend an invitation to other alumni associations and/or any outside groups, however, please let the AYA know, as we must first receive approval from the speaker.) 

Obtaining an appropriate speaker

  • Please try to request a speaker at least three to four months in advance — there is no such thing as too early! Three months is the minimum amount of time needed for us to find a speaker that fits your Club or Association’s needs, as well as for you to fully publicize the event and guarantee a sizable audience for the speaker.
  • The speaker request form will assist us in finding an appropriate speaker for you.
    Requests that fall into broad categories (e.g. history, literature, medicine, etc.) are preferable to those for a specific person. Yale has many charismatic faculty and administrators who may not be well known to particular alumni.
  • The AYA furnishes over 100 speakers each year to alumni groups, so we have good information about those who will provide an outstanding program for your Club or Association. We ask you to understand that some speakers cannot possibly answer every request for their presence.

 

Financial Arrangements

The AYA asks that the Club or Association remit $300 to the AYA for any speaker visit that requires an overnight stay (as determined by the speaker). This fee will cover the Club or Association’s share of expenses.

If no overnight is required, the Club or Association will pay any costs incurred for the speaker’s travel, up to $300.

The AYA will underwrite the rest of the visit, handle all accounting and reimbursements for the speaker, and make all travel and accommodation arrangements. These arrangements apply to all Clubs and Associations.

 

Additional Speaker Requests

After one speaker visit is arranged for your Yale Club or Association within a given academic year (July 1 to June 30), any additional Yale speakers you request will be arranged on a non-subsidized basis. This means that your Club or Association will bear the full cost of the visit, including transportation, accommodations, meals and any other expenses incurred.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the AYA Club Relations officer who handles your Club or Association — Nory Babbitt at (203) 432-7099, Diane Morrissey at (203) 432-1946, or Bob Bonds at (203) 432-1948. If you’re not sure which person to contact, just check our Yale Club staffing page, which identifies the AYA officer responsible for each group. 

We look forward to helping you with your programming for this year!

 

 

 

 

 

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