Yale Daily News

Absolutely!

Let's face it--if the names are up for sale (and I do not apply any cynicism here), then only Buffett or Gates has the means to top what David Swensen has given Yale.

I come from a family of extremely limited means and will graduate with two Yale degrees after a long 8 years here. Over this time, Yale is (and will continue to be) extremely generous with me, awarding me over $300,000 in grants for an education that I could never have afforded on my own, even with infinite access to loans. I, and many like me, owe David Swensen more than can be described in words - he more than any other person has made our educations possible. Thank you Mr. Swensen, and I hope you get your college. You really deserve it.

Comment #2 really hits the nail on the head. Swensen has done more for Yale and Yalies than any of the other colleges' namesakes has, and at immense personal cost. He could be a billionaire on Wall Street, but, instead, he has turned his talents to making Yale rich instead.

Ideals are all well and good, but money is what enables Yale to provide education--and financial aid--for so many people. And, seriously--being inspired by having a college named after a famous artist, or something? I doubt that the average Yale student can even IDENTIFY half of the people for whom the colleges are named. The only really famous ones seem to be Jonathan Edwards and John C. Calhoun, and is anyone actually inspired by a batshit insane fire-and-brimstone preacher and a secessionist slaveholder from the Civil War era?

I am inspired by Jonathan Edwards.

But anyways, I say name a college after Swensen in the future. After he is gone. After we can see the sum total of his legacy. But I think it would be a poor choice to name a college after a current employee.

I had overlooked the note brought out by comment #2: David Swensen has been incredibly generous and loyal with his time and personal earning power.

Another thing: although undergraduates tend to eschew such earthly matters as, say, money--and often consider its growth and stewardship as activities with little merit or creativity--Yalies should know that David Swensen is a giant in his field. Not only has Yale benefited tremendously, but so have the likes of Harvard and, well, pretty much any university with a modern endowment.

Swensen was the first to diversify away from bonds + public equities. His first moves ("into GOLF COURSES!" was the bewildered undergraduate cry) were ridiculed on campus. Now his strategies are widely copied--what is now mundane (private equity, market neutral, commodities and other real assets, "the land, the land") was once daring and, indeed, groundbreaking.

So, Mr. Swensen is not "just" a money manager, he is a creative and original thinker, a pathfinder. He is a celebrity among investment managers, and yet, well, a really great guy. (And a great dad, I hear.)

So: who reversed Yale's decline post its "deferred maintenance" period? Who paid for the original restoration of Calhoun College and, indeed, the ongoing restoration of ALL the colleges? Who made possible the complete overhaul of Yale's physical plant? Who is putting up the money for all that free tuition?

By Gum (and Yale): it's DAVID SWENSEN!

The residential colleges are supposed to represent a microcosm of the diversity that is found at Yale. Shouldn't their names strive to represent that diversity as well? It's been years since Yale College was solely a White male institution though the names of the residential colleges don't reflect that shift in diversity at all. One residential college should be named after a person of colour and another should be named after a woman. I'm sure one could find countless worthy candidates who fit that desciption.

Is Hieronymus related to Swensen? This is the first time I ever hear him say anything positive on this forum.

Did'nt Yale just make a public statement to the press about Not naming any college after Any living person or current employee? Yes it does help to have a capable person handling the Gov't subsidy ,money that was steered from social programs,ergo the immigration status and war

Swensen is a giant in his field, who has sacrificed hundreds of millions of dollars to work for the university. His contribution makes possible more aggressive financial aid policies, a private police force, new research facilities and the new colleges themselves. A place with a tradition as rich as Yale's will have no problem finding acceptable names for the new colleges, and why should Swensen's not be among them?

Swensen would categorically reject having his name on a college. The very qualities that make him unique as a human being and as an investment professional would lead him to be profoundly flattered by such a naming--yet would lead him to humbly decline the grand honor.

To #10: I agree with your assessment completely; indeed, his rejection of that honor would likely be the most vocal & public position he would ever take.

To #6, who wrote: "I'm sure one could find countless worthy candidates who fit that desciption [i.e., a "person of colour and...a woman."] Please do so; we're waiting.

What these student opposing a Swensen College don't recognize is that any student who enjoys the majority of Yale financial aid or scholarships should be gratefully kissing Mr. Swensen's behind for making it more affordable for them to attend Yale.

Branford '85