William ("Bill") Nightingale '53, impassionate, devoted, eager and dedicated alumnus to all matters and traditions related to Yale, died Oct. 6 shortly after an accident at the Yale Club of New York.
In the days before his death, he was on the phone making calls, agitating and scratching out an outline to plan the annual Yale Westchester Debate Competition, a successful event he had led in various ways since 1997.
Whether in Westchester, at Yale or in the office of a Yale official, Bill had a persevering hand in Yale affairs on all fronts: Collegiate debate, his Class of '53, his residential Silliman College, Westchester admissions and alumni interviews (for which he helped lead for decades), Yale a cappella singing groups (whom he regularly invited to sing for Westchester audiences), and Yale alumni assemblies. The list is too long to enumerate.
Wherever there was an event in Westchester, in Manhattan, or in New Haven, Bill prioritized Yale. He showed up (often along with his beloved wife Nancy), got involved and engaged, and raised his voice to express striking opinions on how Yale could be better or do better and how Yale should set a standard that exceeds that of Princeton and Harvard.
If a call had to be made (to a professor, to a Yale president, to a Yale singer or debater, or to a young alumnus or alumna), Bill made it. If an event had been planned or organized and if the event involved Yale, promoted Yale, or boosted Yale's prominence within the Ivy League ranks, Bill attended. Bill picked up the phone to make the call and kept calling until he got others to join his mission. Of if Bill couldn't make the call, he summoned Nancy to reach out on his behalf.
When called to take on Yale leadership roles (in Westchester, at Yale in New Haven, for Yale admissions, within in his class, or for any special endeavor or task), Bill raised his hand, while, of course, encouraging others heartily to join in his involvement. He was a master at nudging fellow alumni on behalf of Yale.
Among Yale alumni interviewers in the area, Bill championed Westchester candidates and stayed critically involved in an admissions process that in recent years involved applicants who were six decades or more younger than him.
His role in admissions and his unrelenting coaxing of Westchester alumni to interview candidates in their neighborhoods and push for higher representation of Westchester students on Old Campus went all the way back to 1960. In some way or another (in interviews, in correspondence, and at admitted-students receptions), Bill may have had input or encouragement--directly and indirectly--in over 500 Westchester students who attended Yale.
For many years starting in 1983, Bill was Class of '53 Treasurer, assuming all roles, responsibilities and fund-raising that come with that post. He was also instrumental in organizing annual Class of '53 reunions at the Yale Club in New York and did so for over 18 years. In 1963 and for many years afterward, he used his resources as an advertising art director to publish a Class of '53 directory every five years.
At the Yale Westchester Alumni Association, Bill served as secretary from 1980 until recent years. He continued as a board member and attended the board's most recent meetings in 2018-19.
Six years ago, the YWAA paid tribute to Bill for his contributions to the alumni community and for his sterling leadership of the debate competition. At the dinner organized by former YWAA Chair Merrell Clark '57 '70 MAR, Yale president Peter Salovey '86 Ph.d., who couldn't attend, sent a statement that read, "It is especially fitting we share a last name. Salovey means nightingale in Russian! And the nightingale has a sweet, usually nocturnal song. I appreciate the knowledge that together we can sing for the greater good of our shared alma mater."
At a different alumni function that year, Salovey told his audience a story about waiting to be interviewed for the job as Yale president. He sat nervous not about the upcoming interview, but about the time on the clock. He said he kept glancing at his watch to make sure he could depart the interview promptly, escape New Haven, and be in attendance on time for a Yale Westchester alumni dinner organized by Bill. Salovey, the main speaker for the event, appeared just in time.
At the 2013 dinner in Bill's honor, long-time YWAA director B.K. Munguia '75 spoke, "Whenever Bill calls, I try to say yes. He's so much fun. He only asks for what he gives--100-fold." YWAA director Scott Sherman '71 said, "I'm a lawyer. I can't run events. It's an honor to watch him get people to do things."
"A Knight and a rare bird" is how YWAA and Yale alumni leader Clark described Nightingale at the dinner. He highlighted Bill's "creativity, bright ideas, clear thinking, artistry, innovation, determination, follow-through, humor, diligence, writing skills, planning or anything to do with leadership, ebullience and success."
Years ago Clark said he thought "(Bill) was nuts" when he presented the idea of starting a debate program. But a fleeting idea pushed through in 1997 and has resulted in over 20 debate nights involving Yale competing against other Ivy schools (Brown, Princeton and Harvard). After the collegians debate, teams from several high schools will compete.
The debate is often held at a Westchester high school (at Ardsley, the Hackley School, the Masters School and Byram Hills in recent years) and attracts a large turn-out of alumni, high school students, and community members. Debate judges have often include local politicians and judges. In 2018, with Bill on the front row monitoring the affairs of the evening, Yale defeated Princeton; Harrison won the high school competition (held at the German International School in White Plains).
Yale alumni and friends know Bill best in his unheralded position as cheerleader and campaign manager for Yale activities off campus and in the New York area. Beyond Class Treasurer and YWAA secretary and leader in the Westchester Alumni Schools Committee, he stepped into other formal positions or received formal recognition. Under president A. Barlett Giamatti '60, he served on the University Communications and Publications Council. He received a Yale University Outstanding Service Award in 2000 at a banquet organized by Clark and where New York Governor George Pataki '67 spoke.
Featured below are pictorial highlights of Bill's involvement in debate and other YWAA activities since 2013.
"If you want to inspire young alumni," Mark Dollholpf '77, then Yale Alumni (AYA) Executive, said in 2013, "then hold out the leadership examples of Bill Nightingale."
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| Bill Nightingale '53, Merrell Clark '57, Mark Dollhopf '77 at the William Nightingale Debate Fund Dinner in Nov., 2013 |
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| Nightingale is honored at a dinner in Westchester in Nov., 2013, above and below (YWAA photos) |
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| Nightingale receives recognition for alumni and community leadership from Yale president Peter Salovey '86 Ph.d. and from the City of Yonkers |
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| Nightingale acted as debate emcee, along with Susan Kaminsky '86, when the event was held at Hackley School (AYA photos), above and below |
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| Nightingale is pictured with YWAA president Tim Mattison '73 and Eve Rice '73, Yale Corporation trustee |
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| Debate night at Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY, in 2014 (AYA photos) |
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| Nightingale emcees once again to kick the event off for Debate Night at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry (AYA photos), above and below |
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| In 2016, Nightingale spoke to a large crowd of students and parents at the Yale-Princeton debate competition in Ardsley, NY, in 2016, above and below (AYA photos) |
