Yale Choral Festival in Greenwich, May 3

The Yale Alumni Association of Greenwich, Conn., will host the Yale Choral Festival Concert, Sunday May 3, 2026, 4 pm at First Church of Christ, Scientist, 11 Park Place, Greenwich, Conn. Yale alumni in Westchester County, N.Y., guests and friends are invited to join the event.

The concert is free (no tickets or passes are required). The festival will feature a chorus of 50 Yale singing alumni (including a few from Westchester County). Jeff Douma, current director of the Yale Glee Club, will lead the group. The concert will include several classical works, spirituals and familiar Yale songs. It includes, too, the singing of the Dylan Thomas poem "Fern Hill.".

Free parking is available on site.

For more details about the concert, click Yale-Greenwich. For more about Yale music events, programs and concerts in the Westchester area, click Yale-Westchester-Music.

Yale-Harvard Wine and Cheese, March 4

 

For all Westchester alumni and guests from Harvard and Yale, join us for a tasting of an expertly curated selection of fine cheeses with wine and other accoutrements guided by Jessica Galen (Harvard '07) of Bloomy Specialty Cheese Shop. The event will take place at HudCo in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., March 4 at 6:30 pm. The costs for guests is $70/person. DHudCo is located 145 Palisade St. in Dobbs Ferry. Click WINE-TASTING to purchase a ticket for the session.  Jessica will lead us through a guided cheese tasting that covers cheese culture, history, science, regions, terroir and cheesemaking, along with some special wines to accompany the cheeses. Jessica is the owner of Bloomy Cheese & Provisions in Dobbs Ferry, which features dozens of domestic and imported cut-to-order artisan cheeses, fine charcuterie and pantry items, and handmade gifts from local artists, all in service of her mission of “Lactose & Tolerance”—building community and solidarity through delicious, ethical foods. While in graduate school for Food Studies at NYU, Jessica assisted in the cheese caves at the legendary Murray's Cheese and for Cato Corner Farm, a raw milk farmstead cheesemaker. She was general manager at Lucy's Whey, then the Upper East Side's largest artisan cheese shop. Through these roles she developed a deep appreciation for the tireless work of farmers, cheesemakers, and affineurs (cheese agers) that continues to inspire her every day. She has dedicated her career to supporting independent farming, and most recently served as Director of Communications at the Stone Barns Center in Tarrytown, before opening Bloomy.

Yale vs. Harvard. In Pickleball!

The Game. But not on a gridiron in New Haven. On a pickleball court in Harrison, Dec. 7.

Ever wonder about the green and orange whiffle balls appearing around tennis courts? Curious about the "dink" and the "kitchen"? Join fellow Westchester Yale and Harvard alumni for our inaugural Pickleball mixer on Sunday, December 7, 2025.

By now, we've all heard of Pickleball, a hybrid racquet sport (with a funny name) that was invented in 1965 as a cross between tennis, badminton and Ping-pong. Games are played on a 20-foot by 44-foot court that resembles a giant ping-pong table with a net that is a few inches shorter than a tennis net. The ball in play resembles a whiffle ball struck by solid paddles.

The alumni showdown gathering will be held at the Lifetime Athletic facility in Harrison, N.Y. State-of-the-art, climate-controlled indoor courts will be available, and refreshments will be provided in an adjacent lounge area. 

 Participants of all skill levels are welcome from players wanting a first experience to more advanced players. A pickleball pro will be on hand to provide instruction and organize play. 

For those without their own paddles, equipment will be available. Experienced and novice players can keep score for intercollegiate matchups!

For additional information please email yalimiao@gmail.com

Whiffenpoofs '25 Come to Scarsdale

Yale's famed and illustrious a capella singing group, The Whiffenpoofs, will present a concert in Scarsdale, N.Y., Friday, April 25, 2025.

The group will sing some of its traditional favorites, as well as tunes from a contemporary repertoire. Recordings from the concert will be included in a planned Spotify album later. 

The Whiffs '25 are currently on tour at venues in New York and Connecticut. Concerts this year have taken the group to California, Florida and Mexico. Each year, the group tours sites across the world after the school year. The Whiffs '24 held concerts in Brazil, Turkey, Croatia, South Afria, and many other countries last summer.

The Whiffs '25 include Scarsdale native Josh Bock '25, who acts as the group's business manager. 

The group started singing in 2009 and has included women since 2018. The Whiffs' 20 appeared in concert in White Plains, October, 2019, at the Grace Episcopal Church. 

The Scarsdale Congregational Church (1 Heathcote Road) will host the April 25 concert at 6 pm. For more information and to purchase tickets, click Scarsdale-Whiffs.

Scarsdale native Josh Bock '25

Merrell Clark: "Mr. Yale Westchester"

 

Merrell Clark (above, center, 2013 in Harrison, N.Y.), as a long-time YWAA leader, devoted decades of service to Yale Westchester, to his Yale Class of '57, and to Yale

Merrell Clark, former president and leader of the Yale Westchester Alumni Association for many years, died April 4, 2025, in Westchester. He was 90 years old. 

Upon hearing the news, one long-time board member described him as "Mr. Yale Westchester," and many swiftly agreed. Over many decades, few had devoted as much time, attention and care about Yale and about Yale's presence in Westchester. 

His list of accomplishments, achievements and contributions to Yale and the area are too long to list or describe. So long the list would be that something would be missed--an event he led, a contribution he made, a call he made to recruit other alumni, a community organization he cared about, or a recent alum he encouraged or cheered for. 

Through the years, in Westchester, he led community-service events, the annual Yale Book Award presented to outstanding high school juniors, fund-raising events for Yale scholarships, summer-internship programs, lectures inviting expert Yale professors to speak inWestchester, alumni events to watch Shakespeare productions or concerts on the lawn. He spearheaded an Outstanding Service Award for Yale in Westchester.

Merrell supported debate tournaments hosted by YWAA, featuring teams from Ivy schools, and was instrumental in pushing area alumni to join Yale's annual Day of Service each May. 

And he was a Westchester voice at Yale (a forceful, vocal one), participating in alumni leadership activities in New Haven and leading his own Class of '57. 

In recent days, other YWAA board members have paid tribute to Merrell:

"Merrell was a wonderful person and a charismatic presence."

"So devoted, warm, positive, open-minded, and inspiring for all things and matters related to Yale. Always pondering and figuring out how can Yale and Yale alums do better or be better."

"He was a mighty oak for Yale Westchester."

In 2015, Merrell retired from active membership of the board of directors of YWAA, but continued to participate and join activities throughout the last decade, always recruiting other alums to join his Yale bandwagon. 

At that time, YWAA paid tribute to him and chronicled his accomplishments, too many to enumerate here.

Merrell Clark (December 22, 2015)

Ask Yale alumni in Westchester or alumni around the country about YWAA or Yale Westchester, and many will say Yale Westchester is Merrell Clark '57 '70MAR. Or Merrell Clark is Yale and Westchester, wrapped in one, dedicated, eager, concerned and involved.

Clark, a past president of YWAA, retired from the YWAA board this fall after decades of service. His contributions and value require pages and lists, and any effort to do so might still omit more pages and lists.

Clark's contributions list would encompass all facets of Yale Westchester, including the arts, community service, fund-raising, music, history, science, scholarships, alumni communications, non-profit organizing, alumni connections in the area and at Yale, and alumni celebrations for those who give back and for those who return to Yale.

The contributions list would include Clark's genuine passion for diversity and inclusion. Everybody should have a seat at the Yale Westchester table, he says. He cared deeply that Yale Westchester opened its arms to women, people of color, recent graduates, graduate-school alumni, and those interested in the sciences, as much as those interested in the arts and humanities.

That list would include Clark's detailed action plans and an abundance of strategies to push Yale in Westchester to greater heights. It would include his old ideas he knew that worked. It would include fresh, new ideas he thought up over a weekend to spark activity and service at Yale Westchester.

And for those who know him well, it would include bold recommendations and names of Yale people who should meet each other. It would include projects, recognition dinners, and designated-purpose funds, all of which were accomplished, completed, and got set up.

Let's review a few list items. Just a few. "What can and should alumni do for Yale and Westchester?" was his theme.

He kicked off the Yale Outstanding Service awards in Westchester. He reactivated the Westchester scholarship program and hosted scholarship fund-raising dinners that featured notable Yale alumni speakers such as Calvin Trillin '57, David Gergen '63, and George Pataki '67. He helped set up scholarship trusts in the names of alumni donors.

He was a big booster of the Westchester debate competition, organized the Bill Nightingale Fund to ensure its long-term existence, and expanded the Yale Westchester book awards to recipients in over 45 schools. He led a year-long centennial program to celebrate 100 years of Yale Westchester.

Arts and music are a favorite Clark pastime. He organized music events to permit Yale performers to showcase talents in Westchester and allow Westchester students and alumni to perform for a hometown audience. He aggressively spread the word about Yale talent (opera singers, violinists, dancers and theater performers) who resided in our neighborhoods.

Clark has been Yale Westchester's cheerleader captain for events at Caramoor, Boscobel, a recital at his Scarsdale church or a violin performance in a Greenburgh library.

This list could go on indefinitely and is inconclusive. This short list omits his presence and influence at Yale alumni events on campus and at Yale gatherings (formal and informal) around the country.

Fortunately Clark is not going away. He's retiring from attending boarding meetings and leading committees. Yet you can bet he'll share more ideas with all involved. He'll come up with meticulously outlined recommendations, appear and sit on the front row at Yale events, and applaud the efforts of alumni who tend to community needs.

And he'll push hard for Yale Westchester to be more inclusive, more active, more service-minded, better, and greater.

Let the bells that celebrate the life, presence and impact of Merrill ring loudly.

Yale Alumni College: Celebrating Opera

 

Yale professor Dan Egan will teach a six-week seminar for Yale alumni in Westchester in March-April, 2025 (Yale photo)

Yale Alumni College will sponsor and present a six-week course in Rye, N.Y., for Westchester alumni, "Celebrating Opera: Sight, Sound and Emotion," taught by Yale professor Dan Egan from the Yale School of Music on Mondays at 4-6 pm from March 10-April 14. Alumni in the area are invited to join the course and should register by clicking the link below. The sessions will be held at the The Osborn in Rye, 101 Theal Road.   As an amalgam of the arts, opera offers multiple points of entry for the audience, but ultimately, the art form is defined by its music. Changing attitudes across time toward opera’s place in the cultural discussion have precipitated an array of storytelling strategies as well as the incursion of political perspectives, theatrical innovations, and new musical styles.  This six-week course will explore opera from multiple eras with a focus on both its fundamental musical perspective as well as its larger cultural significance.   The session will begin by exploring “why we love opera” with excerpts from multiple eras, composers, and operatic styles of storytelling. Subsequent sessions will build on this foundation with a guided discussion of a single opera and/or compositional style each week. A video performance will be assigned for each class to ensure that everyone has had a similar opportunity to experience the week’s topic before class.   The course is open to anyone interested in opera, from the dabbler to the devotée. Various levels of knowledge and analytical acuity will be welcome additions to discussion. No singing will be required. A graduate of the School of Music, Prof. Egan is a lecturer and has been an advisor to undergraduates for projects and programs in music and theater. He teaches courses and has led special programs in the history of Americal musical theater and the work of composer Stephen Sondheim. He has spoken frequently at Yale alumni events and Yale reunions.  Prof. Egan has performed at the New York City Ballet, the New York Philharmonic and the Manhattan Theater Club. He has sung on recordings with the New York City Opera.

YACOL Rye-Celebrating Opera: Sight, Sound, and Emotion

The New Blue of Yale Westchester Tour

 

The New Blue, established in 1969 as Yale's oldest all-women a cappella group, embarks on its January tour of Westchester County with concerts scheduled for January 6-12, 2025. Yale alumni in Westchester and other friends of Yale music are invited to attend. 

The concerts will be held at the libraries of select Westchester towns. There is no fee. The schedule is shown below:

Monday, Jan. 6: Scarsdale Public Library, 7 pm

Wednesday, Jan. 8: Rye Free Reading Room, 7 pm

Saturday, Jan. 11: Bronxville Library, 3 pm

Saturday, Jan. 11: Chappaqua Library, 7 pm
Sunday, Jan. 12: Larchmont Library, 3 pm

The New Blue also sang at the Yale Club in New York City, January 7.

The group's repertoire features songs of jazz, blues, folk and popular music. Current members of the 2024-25 group include Westchester's Anna Feldstein '27, an alto.  All members of this year's group are listed below. B.K. Munguia '75, YWAA board member, sang in the group during her years at Yale. 

The 2018-19 New Blue, below, was featured in a concert Febuary, 2019, hosted by YWAA at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua. The group then was joined by the Spizzwinks of Yale. 

The New Blue, 2024-25

Lauren Alfaro '28

Bella Amell '27

Rachel Bish '28

Jen Cheung '25

Anjali Dhanekula '26

Anna Feldstein '27

Sydney Gordon '26

Esperance Han '28

Amiah Hanson '27

Jas Hollis '27

Marin Korenaga '27

Anna Lehman '27

Thy Luong '28

Maia Nehme '27

Alicia Shen '26

Below: Highlights from the New Blue's concert in Scarsdale, January 7, 2025. 

Yale Wins The Game in The Rain

Throughout the morning of the 140th playing of The Game, Yale and Harvard fans, who had planned to jam Harvard Stadium to its rims, had to fight another foe--the weather in Boston in late fall. Driving rain, winds sweeping from the Charles River, and chilly temperatures threatening to dip into the 30s. Harvard weather. 

After the captains met at midfield to toss the coin, the skies cooperated, although the cold winds remained. The two teams faced off, a Harvard team attempting to secure the Ivy League title outright, a Yale team that had some ups and downs during the season (losing to Columbia in New York, of all teams). 

Yale quarterback Grant Jordan, playing in his last college game, stepped to the podium and played one of his best games ever, darting through the middle of Harvard's line for first downs and throwing precise passes to his favorite receiver David Pantelis, totaling 287 passing yards. 

Harvard blinked, and Yale jumped to a 24-10 lead as the third quarter ended. This being The Game meant, however, Harvard would likely stage a comeback. It almost did, scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Yale running back Josh Pitsenberger helped ward off a complete comback by grabbing a Jordan pass and zig-zagging 39 yards for a score, weaving through Harvard defenders into the corner endzone. He amassed 120 rushing yards for the afternoon. (Days after The Game, he was announced as captain for the 2025 team.)

Final score, 34-29. Yale (with a 7-3 overall record) doesn't win the Ivy title, but it forced Harvard to share it with Columbia, of all teams, and Dartmouth.

Jack Michalik of Rye, N.Y., Eddie Palumbo of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., and Kelvin Smith of White Plains, N.Y., were Westchester's players on this year's squad. 

Yale Glee Club in Greenwich, Jan-2025

The Yale Glee Club will perform in Greenwich, Ct., in January, 2025

Calling all Yale alumni singers!

The Yale Glee Club is coming to Greenwich, Ct., on Sunday July 12, 2025 for a 4 pm concert, followed by a Singing Dinner! The concert is free--no registration required. Bring your family and friends to hear this outstanding group!

As part of the concert, an Alumni Chorus will perform four songs and also sing Raise Your Voices and the Football Medley with the Glee Club. If you sang at Yale in any group and would like to sing with us at the concert, please email Clay Kaufman at clayk@aya.yale.edu.

You must attend two of three rehearsals, Sunday afternoons TBA (most likely in October, November and December, 2024). Alums are invited to come and sing familiar favorites, including Ride the Chariot with alumni friends across the generations.

Rehearsals for the Alumni Chorus will be held in Greenwich. The concert will be held at Christ Church in Greenwich and is free. You may purchase tickets to the Singing Dinner, held immediately following the concert. 

All are welcome. Tickets may be purchased from the Yale Alumni Association of Greenwich at https://www.yaagct.org/.

For more about the Yale Glee Club, click YGC. 

Yale Westchester Day of Service, 2024

The Jay Heritage Center in Rye, NY will host "I Love My Park Day" on Saturday, May 4, 2024, from 9AM to Noon. This is an exciting statewide event to improve and enhance New York's parks and historic sites. 

The Jay Heritage Center is the proud steward of the Jay Estate, a 23-acre educational center with indoor and outdoor classrooms including award-winning gardens.  The Center is located at 210 Boston Post Road in Rye. 

The Center and YWAA are looking for volunteers of all ages to help make this local park even more beautiful and accessible. Clean trails, remove invasive species like multiflora rose vines, Oriental bittersweet, garlic mustard, Japanese Stiltgrass and more. Help plant annuals and build veggie bed trellises. Community service letters will be provided at the conclusion of your service, if needed.

• Please bring gardening gloves if possible.
• Water and snacks will be provided.
• Long pants, long-sleeved shirts, socks, and closed-toe shoes are strongly recommended.

There will be an ice cream truck on hand for all volunteers. A special program and book signing with forager Tama Matsuoka Wong, author of Into the Weeds will follow from 12-2PM for all who are interested.

Suzanne Clary '83 is a long-time president of the Center. Yale history professor Joanne Freeman presented a lecture at the Center to Yale Westchester alumni in 2016 as part of YWAA's speaker series.

To register for the event, click Day-of-Service-Westchester. 

To learn more about the tradition of Yale Day of Service in Westchester, click Day-of-Service-2013-2024 Westchester. 

Yale Book Awards, 2024

YWAA leaders will present the annual Yale Book Awards this spring, which are awarded to outstanding Westchester high school students. The schools select the winners, who are cited for excellence in academics, extracurricular activities and contributions to the community.

Book award winners in 2024 will be shown below, as winners are announced. In most years, awards are granted to students from over 25 Westchester high schools. 

Last year's winners included some who have started or led service organizations on campus, been engaged in research in biology, excelled in a broad range of AP courses, starred on sports teams (baseball, wrestling and soccer), and won county honors in band and music (violin and trumpet).

A list of some of the winners in 2023 and 2024 is shown below.

Teachers, counselors and principals help choose one student for each designated high school. Winners are highlighted at honors programs or school events and receive a selected book from YWAA and a certificate of achievement. 

In years past, the book included such titles as Yale Book of Quotations, Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideals That Reveal the Cosmos, and A Better Planet: Forty Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future. 

Winners, who are often students completing junior years, may consider applying to Yale, but are not required to do so. 

For more about YWAA Book Award presentations since 2014, click YALE-BOOK-AWARDS. 

Click YALE-WESTCHESTER to see a list of winners since 2008.

Yale Book Award Winners, 2024

Eastchester High School (Soo Jung Lee)

Edgemont High School (Justin Hu)

New Rochelle High School (Bryce Geohagen)

Port Chester High School (Jamie Daniela Perez Bardales)

Salesian High School (Gianmanuel Ferreira)

Scarsdale High School (A book was donated to the school library in honor of Merrill Clark '57, past president YWAA)

School of the Holy Child (Eleanor Hale)

Tuckahoe High School (Nicolo Tortorella)

Valhalla High School (Arko Navid Samad)

White Plains High School (Lance Anthony)

Woodlands High School (Saintcom Chauvette)

(The list will be updated as other winners are reported.)

Yale Book Award Winners, 2023

Eastchester High School (Lucy Mortensen)

Edgemont High School (Kathryn Lux Koch)

New Rochelle High School (Eileen Weisner)

Port Chester High School (Frances Nakeysha Fevrier)

Salesian High School (Joseph Roman IV)

Scarsdale High School (Kyle Pidedjian)

School of the Holy Child (Rebecca Weigle)

Tuckahoe High School (Joanne Arana)

Valhalla High School (Sarthak Bagchi)

White Plains High School (Shariya Hasan)

Woodlands High School (Alexander Maiello)

Townsend Hops Aboard Yale's Glory Ride

Townsend, no. 42, prepares to set a screen for teammate Mez Mbeng, no. 2, during the Ivy League tournament game against Cornell. Yale beat the Big Red, 69-57, in the first round of the tournament at Columbia.  (YWAA photo)

The Yale men's basketball team experienced a glory ride this spring, a bandwagon of sorts many Yale alums joined once they heard about the miracle shot at Columbia in New York. Yale senior Matt Knowling tossed in a looping six-foot shot at the buzzer to help the Elis win the Ivy League championship, 62-61, in a tight, tense game with Brown in late March.

An important contributor to the team's success was Westchester's own Nick Townsend '26, a rugged power forward, often the first to come off the bench, a regular "sixth man" who played as often as many starters. 

Townsend, a Chappaqua native, is a football offensive guard in appearance, who might have been able to manage playing time on the football team if he had such interest. For the basketball unit, Townsend has been a bruising player under the basket, good enough to "pound boards" and push opponents (legally) around and stake a claim under the basketball. During the season, he averaged 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He scored 14 points in Yale's 80-60 win over Harvard in early March. 

Townsend followed footsteps of his older brother, Matt '15, who also starred at Yale and played in a similar position all four years. Brother Matt grabbed notoriety, too, during his time when he earned a Rhodes Scholarship and went on to Harvard Medical School. Younger brother Nick, wrapping up sophomore year, will likely become a starter next season. In a game against Stony Brook in November, he blazed his foes with 22 points, 11 rebounds. 

The glory ride of spring '24 continued five days later when Coach James Jones' squad trekked across the country to take on the SEC tournament champion, the mighty Auburn Tigers. In the shocker heard all around the basketball world, Yale thwarted Auburn, 78-76, in arguably the biggest upset in the tournament this season. Auburn's front line towered above Townsend, who stands 6' 7". He held his own by scoring 4 points in the nationally televised contest, a game that sports pundits and experts raved about for 48 hours. Yes, fitting for a "shining moment."           

Unfortunately, moments of basketball euphoria dimmed two days later in the second round when San Diego State raced up and down the court for an 85-57 easy win over the Bulldogs. 

On to next season. The Bulldogs will likely be projected to be in the Ivy's top four and reach another Ivy tournament, this time to be held at Brown.

Below, Townsend grabs one of his four rebounds in the Ivy League tournament game against Cornell. (YWAA photo). 

Yale Seizes The Game, 2023

Typically in a Yale-Harvard football showdown, the teams go back and forth all game long. They trade jabs, score alternating touchdowns, and seek ways to extend leads. So many times The Game comes down to an unfurling of football events in the fourth quarter. A turnover. A long bomb to a wide-open, uncovered receiver. A fumbled punt return. 

In New Haven, in the 139th edition of The Game (Nov. 18, 2023), Harvard entered the contest with the better record. And those who follow Ivy football closer than the rest of the population likely argued Harvard had the better team. Harvard officials often boasted during the season of its national ranking (among FCS schools).

Over 51,000 fans (mostly Yale followers and more than a few curious fans with no ties to either school) squeezed into the Bowl for one of the largest Bowl crowd in many years. The "crush" of the crowd near the portals felt like a Game from the 1970s or '80s. New Haven's unpredictable weather behaved, as the sun cast sharp rays onto the Bowl's floor. 

Yale quarterback Nolan Grooms '24 led the Elis up and down the field, as he had done often as a starter throughout his time in New Haven. He helped ensure This Game, unlike Games in recent years, wouldn't be settled in the final minute or over the last few plays. Yale emerged as the 23-18 victor, while in hundreds of students and younger alums followed tradition and scampered onto the field afterward to celebrate. Yale, too, had seized a share of the 2023 Ivy League championship, a trophy to stand beside the Ivy tropy it won last year, too. 

Yale Book Awards, 2023

This spring YWAA leaders presented the annual Yale Book Awards, which are awarded to outstanding Westchester high school students. The schools select the winners, who are cited for excellence in academics, extracurricular activities and contributions to the community.

A preliminary list of this year's winners is shown below. As more schools announce winners, the list will increase. In most years, awards are granted to students from over 25 Westchester high schools. 

This year's winners include some who have started or led service organizations on campus, been engaged in research in biology, excelled in a broad range of AP courses, starred on sports teams (baseball, wrestling and soccer), and won county honors in band and music (violin and trumpet)

Teachers, counselors and principals help to choose one student for each designated high school. Winners are highlighted at honors programs or school events and receive a selected book from YWAA and a certificate of achievement. 

In years past, the book included such titles as Yale Book of Quotations, Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideals That Reveal the Cosmos, and A Better Planet: Forty Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future. 

Winners, who are often students completing junior years, may consider applying to Yale, but are not required to do so. 

For more about YWAA Book Award presentations since 2014, click YALE-BOOK-AWARDS. 

Click YALE-WESTCHESTER to see a list of winners since 2008, 

Yale Book Awards Winners, 2023 (as of July-2023)

Eastchester High School (Lucy Mortensen)

Edgemont High School (Kathryn Lux Koch)

New Rochelle High School (Eileen Weisner)

Port Chester High School (Frances Nakeysha Fevrier)

Salesian High School (Joseph Roman IV)

Scarsdale High School (Kyle Pidedjian)

School of the Holy Child (Rebecca Weigle)

Tuckahoe High School (Joanne Arana)

Valhalla High School (Sarthak Bagchi)

White Plains High School (Shariya Hasan)

Woodlands High School (Alexander Maiello)

Whipple '75 Discusses Biden in Office

Chris Whipple '75 spoke at the YWAA/Scarsdale Forum event, June 3, 2023 (YWAA photos).

Author Chris Whipple '75 chronicled and reviewed the first half of the Biden presidency at a special lecture in Scarsdale, June 3. His speech was part of the lecture series sponsored by the Scarsdale Forum and the YWAA speaker series, held at the Scarsdale Library.  

Whipple shared details from his latest publication and offered in insider's account of President Biden in office. He later signed copies of the book, The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House.  He is also the author of acclaimed books The Gatekeepers and The Spy Masters.

Whipple is a long-time documentarian and won Emmys as a producer at ABC News and CBS News. To purchase a copy of the new book, click Biden Presidency. 

About 50 people, including Yale alumni and Westchester residents, attended the event.

For more about the YWAA speaker series, click YWAA-Events. 

Author Whipple Will Speak in Scarsdale

Appearing in Scarsdale June 3, Chris Whipple '75 will share observations of the Biden administration from his latest book.

Chris Whipple '75, the author, television producer and documentary filmmaker, will speak about his newly published book The Fight for His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House at the Scarsdale Library in Scarsdale, Saturday, June 3 at 2 pm. 

The event will be hosted by the Scarsdale Forum, the Scarsdale Library and YWAA. It is also part of the YWAA lecture series, which brings Yale-affiliated speakers to Westchester. Guests can attend the June 3 event in person or register and join online via Zoom. (See below.)

Whipple's latest work chronicles the first two years of President Biden's administration, starting in its early days after the inauguration, when Biden confronted crises ranging from the pandemic to the revolt on Capitol Hill, from the conflict in Afghanistan to demonstrations against racial injustice. 

Whipple, granted access to the inner workings of the White House, provides an insider's account of the first half of the Biden presidency. 

In a review of the book in the New York Times, author John Gans wrote, "Whipple shines when, like the documentarian he is, he lets people talk....Whipple proves adept at getting members of a relatively opaque administration to play the blame game in print." 

He adds, "For any future writer eager to describe Biden's first two years, this will be the book cited first and most often."

In February, Whipple lectured on campus at Yale, sharing his Biden observations at Yale's Jackson School. The event was hosted by the School's International Security Studies program. 

He is also the author of the book The Gatekeepers (2017), which examines the responsibilities and extraordinary burdens of White House Chiefs of Staff. In January, he wrote an opinion essay for the New York Times about the impactful departure of Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who is also a primary source in Whipple's latest book.

Whipple's book The Spy Masters (2021) describes the vast influence of CIA directors on U.S. history. "This book is part oral history and part old-fashioned storytelling," a reviewer for the Yale Alumni Magazine wrote in 2021. 

As a documentarian and producer, he has received Emmy awards and nominations for his work at ABC News, CBS News and Sixty Minutes.  

While at Yale, Whipple participated in the Yale Political Union, wrote for the New Journal, and played ice hockey. He majored in history. 

To register for the event (in person or via Zoom), click the link Scarsdale Library-June 3. To purchase the book online, click the link The Fight of His Life. (The library is located at 54 Olmsted Road.) Copies of the new book will be available for purchase at the event. Whipple will sign copies after he speaks.

In January, the Scarsdale Forum and Library and YWAA hosted Yale Law professor Akhil Reed Amar '80, '84 JD, who spoke about his latest book on the U.S. Constitution The Words That Made Us. Other speakers for the series have included Yale professors Paul Friedman, Laurie Santos, Meg Urry and Joanne Freeman. 

Prof. Amar: "The Words That Made Us"

Yale Law Prof. Akhil Reed Amar '80, '84 JD made a return trip to Scarsdale, Jan. 29, to present his latest book The Words That Made Us and try to convince his audience that understanding the meaning  of the U.S. Constitution was more important than the country's current attention on the results of the Eagles vs. 49ers, an NFL play-off football game that was played while he spoke in Westchester.  

In a lively 60-minute lecture and spirited 30-minute Q-and-A session, he stated his case and shared well-informed opinions on any current political issue or trend on the country's plate in 2023. He stated firmly U.S. citizens have a responsibility to learn and understand the U.S. Constitution. He referred to the U.S. signing of the Constitution in 1787 as the country's "Big Bang" event. 

Prof. Amar, a Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science and an acclaimed scholar on the topic, was a guest lecturer for the Scarsdale Forum and YWAA Speaker Series at the Scarsdale Library.   In 2016, he spoke at a similar YWAA-Scarsdale gathering, presenting his book The Law of the Land: A Grand Tour of the Constitutional Republic. At that time, he focused on the 2016 presidential election. 

At the Scarsdale lecture Jan. 29, Prof. Amar addressed the Constitution's importance and impact in 2023. As the worst of the pandemic disappears, Prof. Amar said he wanted to be the "virus" that infects U.S. citizens to encourage them to read, study and understand sections of the Constitution.  The Words that made the U.S. (the Constitution), he said--pun intended, are "the words that made us."

About 50 community members and Yale alumni attended the lecture in person; another 17 dialed in via Zoom. 

He highlighted the differences in what other popular Yale-graduate historians (Ron Chernow '70 and David McCullough '55) write about (American history) vs. what he teaches and writes about (American history and Constitution Law). 

For the alumni in the audience, he provided data to show the vast influence of Yale graduates in U.S. Government, based on top leadership positions in all three branches today and through history (U.S. Congress, Supreme Court and the U.S. Presidency). Many in those roles today, he appointed out, had been his students at Yale. 

To purchase the book, click The Words That Made Us.

For more about other speakers in the YWAA Lecture Series, click LECTURES.