Alex Nester • April 12, 2021 9:30 pm
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For the first time in two decades, a candidate is running for Yale University s influential board of trustees without support from the school itself.
He is the former United States ambassador to Poland and longtime Knoxville, Tennessee, mayor Victor Ashe, and he will face off on Wednesday
against Morehouse College president David Thomas.
In a bizarre twist, the university has not yet disclosed Thomas s candidacy, and the school was not planning to make an official announcement about its candidate until Wednesday, according to an email obtained by the
Washington Free Beacon the day that voting begins. Voting will take place until May 23, during which time, the email indicates, Ashe is not [to] campaign or otherwise advocate for his candidacy.
Explainer: how alumni elect trustees
With a petition candidate on the ballot for the first time in 19 years, there is new interest in the election process.
Michael Marsland
The Corporation Room in Woodbridge Hall, where Yale’s trustees meet. Every year, alumni elect a trustee to a six-year term. View full image
If you’re not sure you could pass a pop quiz on how the alumni elect a trustee to the Yale Board every year, you’re not alone. Only about 12 percent of eligible alumni voted in last year’s election. But this year’s has drawn more than the usual interest from alumni, partly because, for the first time in 19 years, a self-enlisted candidate will be on the ballot. Here’s a quick guide to how it all works.