A few weeks back I had the opportunity to visit the gorgeous Yale campus for work. For one whole day I got to feel like an Ivy Leaguer. Let me tell you, it feels good to be on top! 😉 In all reality though, I do believe my college (Go MSU!), and all those out there, are just as credible as any Ivy League school… but, they are Ivy League for a reason and definitely live up to their status, both academically and aesthetically. Not only did I get to work with some of their great faculty, I got to see the entire campus on my own personal guided tour. [So I was smarty pants and royalty for the day, can we say bonus points!] Besides taking in the beautiful buildings, which are just one after another, after another, after another (okay, you get it!), I got to see the beautiful fall foliage (p.s. it was 70 in November) and learn a lot about their history – and some quirky facts too. Shout out to my fabulous guide Nick, who is bound to do big things in this world!

• While most of Yale looks several centuries old, much of the buildings were constructed in the 20th century, primarily under instruction of famous architect James Gamble Rogers. To make buildings look older than they were he used tricks such as pouring acid down the facade and burning hay bales on the roof. He sure fooled me!
• James Gamble Rogers wanted to design a cathedral for the University, but when the school said no he had to come up with another plan. This plan turned into the Sterling Memorial Library, which looks very much like a cathedral. The ceilings are domed, there are wings on each end, and stained glass all around. There is even altar, which is the check out desk. It’s quite stunning!
• Instead of living in dorms, the students reside in residential colleges. This is like a community within the larger university. They are assigned to their residential college freshman year and remain with it through graduation. Most students live on campus 3 of their 4 (or so) years. Spending junior year off campus, and coming back to their college for senior year fun.
• They had the first “quad” at a university.

• They had the first college mascot. His name is Handsome Dan (you have to click the link and look at the most recent puppy…he is a heart-melter) and he has been around since 1889. Well the mascot has, but the university is currently on its 18th live dog.
• Memorial Hall (rotunda pictured below) was constructed to honor the 1,020 Yale alumni who died in America’s wars, from the Revolution through Vietnam. It is made up of many marble tablets lining the walls, with names engraved on them. It gave inspiration to architecture student Maya Lin, who entered a contest in the early 1980’s to design a Vietnam Veterans memorial in D.C. Over 1,400 entries were submitted and judged anonymously. Maya was entry number 1,026, the winning contestant. Yes, that is her work you see on the National Mall today! Oddly enough, she used the entry for an assignment and only received a B grade. Rumor has it her Professor also entered the contest and was a little sour they did not win.
• They have roughly 6,000 undergrad students and 6,000 graduate students.
• Campus is laid out in a large rectangle.
• Yale is located in New Haven, Connecticut, approximately 80 miles Northeast of New York City.

Signed with Style,