With A Record $100 Million Gift, Yale SOM Will Launch A Tuition-Free Master’s For Educators

‘NO BETTER FUTURE FOR THE BROAD CENTER THAN YALE UNIVERSITY’

For nearly two decades, Broad has been funding an independent Broad Center along with The Broad Academy (founded in 2002) and The Broad Residency in Urban Education (founded in 2003). Those organizations have trained more than 850 education leaders working in over 150 urban school districts, public charter school networks and state education agencies nationwide. More than 150 Broad Center leaders have served as superintendents or chief executives of local and state systems, and over 70 are currently in these roles. The current cohorts of fellows and residents will finish their programs through The Broad Center as currently structured before successor programs run by SOM begin next year.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last 20 years and I can think of no better future for The Broad Center than Yale University,” said Broad in a statement accompanying the announcement.

The new SOM center will offer a one-year master’s degree in education management for early-career leaders who want to have impact on large school districts. It will also offer an advanced executive training program for senior district leaders, such as superintendents and chief financial officers. Together the two programs will train about 50 leaders a year. The school said both programs will be free to students so that cost doesn’t deter promising education leaders from participating.

‘AWED BY THE GENEROSITY’

Charles, who says he is “awed by the generosity” of the Broads, explains that the master’s degree program and executive training program will leverage SOM faculty expertise in organizational behavior, economics, operations, and data analysis, and draw on areas of expertise across Yale University, such as psychology, law, sociology, political science, and public health. In addition to these teaching programs, the school said that The Broad Center at Yale SOM will generate new knowledge about effective school system leadership through rigorous research and inform the public debate around education by sharing the results of surveys, colloquia, and other research.

In its announcement, the school noted that Yale SOM already has a strong core of students, alumni, and faculty engaged in education. “We at Yale SOM have a deep conviction that values-based and skillful leadership can empower the organizations that serve a community and increase their impact,” said David Bach, the school’s deputy dean for executive programs. “Our programs through The Broad Center at Yale SOM will benefit from 40-plus years of experience teaching leadership for all sectors, as well as the input of a wide array of stakeholders, from Broad and beyond, who have hands-on experience making public education systems work better. I am confident that the school, Broad Center alumni, and all those who care about the future of public education in this country will be encouraged by the impact The Broad Center at Yale SOM will have in decades to come.”

Yale President Peter Salovey also expressed confidence that the Yale School of Management would make a positive impact on public education. “I am honored that The Broad Foundation is entrusting Yale to carry out this important part of Eli and Edye’s philanthropic legacy,” he said. “Educating leaders who will serve all sectors of society is part of Yale’s mission, so it is fitting that the Yale School of Management is creating a master’s degree program for emerging and current executives of school systems. The school’s dedication to leadership education and cultivation is unmatched. Its track record of producing transformational leaders across a range of fields speaks to the tremendous promise of the new Broad Center at Yale SOM.”

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