New associate dean leads medical school's advancement program

Jane E. Reynolds, Ed.M., who established a national reputation as dean of admission at Amherst College over the past nine years, has been appointed associate dean at the School of Medicine. She will oversee the school's program in institutional advancement with responsibility for development, alumni affairs and publications.

“I cannot imagine having anyone more effective and more experienced on our team,” Dean David A. Kessler, M.D., said in announcing her appointment. “I am thrilled she decided to come to Yale.”

Ms. Reynolds holds an Ed.M. degree from Harvard in administration, planning and social policy, and a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross. Over the past 20 years, she has held increasingly responsible positions at Harvard, Trinity College, Tufts University and Amherst, where she led the admissions program from 1989 to 1998. According to Dr. Kessler, whom she met at Amherst when he received an honorary degree from his alma mater, “She helped diversify the student body at Amherst and encouraged an international approach to recruitment.”

The next several months will be a period of assessment and action, Ms. Reynolds said. As this issue of Yale Medicine went to press, medical school administrators were pleased to hear that the Yale Corporation had given preliminary approval for a strategic facilities plan for the School of Medicine. The centerpiece of the plan is a proposal for a new Congress Avenue Building providing modern laboratory space for disease-specific research, a state-of-the-art anatomy laboratory and histology labs, and core facility space for expanded capability in magnetic resonance imaging. (See Scope.)

Other likely fund-raising goals, Ms. Reynolds said, will be to increase the amount of financial aid available to students, and to establish additional endowed chairs to mark the University's 300th anniversary in 2001.

Dean Kessler said her background in admissions and the reputation she has established nationally and internationally, will serve her well in her Yale role. “She is one of the most respected figures in the admissions world and we're lucky to have her here,” he said.

Ms. Reynolds, who says she was drawn to Yale “by David Kessler's intellectual energy and his vision for the school,” is eager to apply that experience. “The most kindred talents are being a spokesperson for an institution, being able to understand what makes an institution tick, and getting out to the appropriate constituency to tell that story,” she says. “You have to be able to relate to a wide variety of publics to achieve the goal.”

In her new position, Ms. Reynolds will work closely with Charles J. Pagnam, who became the University's vice president for development on Jan. 1. Mr. Pagnam, one of seven officers of the university, began his career in development in 1977, when he joined The Campaign for Yale. Mr. Pagnam assumed increasing responsibilities over the subsequent two decades and in 1995 became director of development for the University. He played a pivotal role in the “… and for Yale” campaign, which raised $1.7 billion over a five-year period ending June 30, 1997. He succeeds Terry Holcombe, who retired at the end of last year.

Although the University is in strong financial shape, Mr. Pagnam said it needs to raise about $200 million every year. “We still have to raise significant money to continue the project of refurbishing the facilities,” he said, adding that another top priority is financial aid for students.

He is aware of the medical school's financial needs as well, he says, and plans to work out a dynamic development strategy with Ms. Reynolds. Part of his job is to coordinate fund-raising efforts among the college and Yale's 11 graduate and professional schools.

As a Hamden native and current resident of North Haven, Mr. Pagnam also takes an active interest in New Haven affairs. “It is to our benefit to have a very healthy city,” he says. “It's not a matter of remembering what New Haven was like. It's more what New Haven can be. It's a small community that cares about itself.”