Celebrating New Haven’s future

It is a privilege for me to introduce, on behalf of Yale University, the Register’s annual “Senior Spotlight” series. Throughout the summer, you will find in these pages the profiles of terrific New Haven-area high school seniors and their plans for the future. I am sure you will enjoy learning about their hard work, creativity and community spirit.

Graduation season is an excellent opportunity to salute our young people and their many accomplishments. It is also a time to express our gratitude, recognizing the families, friends and community members who generously support young scholars and help them fulfill their dreams. That is what makes graduation such a special community celebration.

As a proud New Haven resident, I am grateful for the ways this city has provided a wonderful home for me and my wife, Marta, for 38 years. During this time, I have seen many exciting changes come to New Haven. Today, as new businesses open and new opportunities emerge for our young people, we are creating an even stronger, more innovative and creative city for the next generation.

Education is key to ensuring a bright future for our young people. Yale is the founder and primary funder of the New Haven Promise program, which provides college scholarships for New Haven residents who graduate from a New Haven public school and attend college in Connecticut. The average Promise Scholarship is approximately $5,000 per student each year, and Yale provides up to $4 million per year every year for the program’s students. In addition, Yale has funded nearly 400 paid internships for Promise Scholars.

Yale also offers many enrichment and academic programs for young people throughout the year, such as Pathways to Science. Taught by Yale faculty and students, the program partners with the New Haven, West Haven and Orange public school districts to provide high-quality STEM education to thousands of school children. These and other open-to-thepublic events on campus — like Science on Saturdays and Pathways to the Arts and Humanities — harness Yale’s resources to benefit the next generation of New Haven citizens.

Yale research spills over into the local economy, creating jobs and life-saving discoveries that benefit the world. A new “innovation corridor” on campus, including the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY), the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design and the recently renovated Greenberg Engineering Teaching Concourse, promises to enhance our city’s reputation as a center for technology and innovation.

As a catalyst for economic activity, Yale invests in research and ideas that bring jobs to the city. New Haven startups with ties to Yale employ over 1,000 people in the city. In recent years, entrepreneurs have launched over 130 companies based on ideas from Yale faculty or students. Companies with ties to Yale that are located in Connecticut have attracted more than $10 billion in total investment, including $1.8 billion in financing for new companies within just the past five years. For example, in January, we celebrated the opening of Quantum Circuits Inc., a startup founded by Yale investigators who are advancing pioneering work in quantum computing. Arvinas, a drug-discovery and development biotech company founded by a Yale investigator now employs over 100 people in Science Park. In addition, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals currently employs more than 75 people in its renovated headquarters near the New Haven Green.

New Haven is vibrant, growing and welcoming — a place where many languages are spoken, different religions are practiced, and diverse ideas and cultures are celebrated. New retail, dining and cultural attractions draw visitors from across the region, nation and world. One of my favorite annual events, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, showcases our city’s diversity and vitality. Festivals, parades and celebrations throughout the year reflect terrific community spirit. Like many of you, this spirit of hope and resilience is one reason I have made New Haven my home for nearly four decades.

As graduates say thank you to family and friends who have supported them, so I say thank you to our city and its remarkable residents. Thank you for partnering with Yale to improve our city and our world. Thank you for working with us to solve great challenges. And thank you for teaching, mentoring and cheering on our young people: their promise and optimism remind us of the great future that awaits our beloved city.