Yale World Fellows Class of 2012 announced

Yale University has selected 16 World Fellows for 2012. The Yale World Fellows Program is the University’s signature global leadership development initiative and a core element of Yale’s ongoing commitment to internationalization.

Each year since 2002, the University has welcomed a group of exemplary mid-career professionals from a wide range of fields and countries for an intensive four-month period of academic enrichment and leadership training.

This year’s World Fellows include an executive with China Construction Bank; a British military officer who served in command and staff appointments in Afghanistan; an Algerian private equity entrepreneur; a former Argentine minister of economy; and a women’s empowerment activist in India.

“We are thrilled once again to welcome an outstanding group of World Fellows to Yale,” said Dr. Michael Cappello, director of the program and professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. “The 2012 fellows were selected from a global pool representing thousands of innovative difference makers. We are proud to offer them this unique opportunity to develop their leadership skills while enriching the Yale community through active participation in campus life.”

“We will be so fortunate to have these extraordinary men and women at Yale,” said Yale President Richard C. Levin. “The University community is always so enriched by the World Fellows. We hope they take full advantage of all our community has to offer them.”

This year’s cohort brings the total number of Yale World Fellows to 221, representing 79 countries.

“This is an incredible program,” said Roz Savage, a 2012 World Fellow and 2010 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. “I am looking forward to discussing global issues with the other fellows and sharing my own experiences with the Yale community.”

The mission of the Yale World Fellows Program is to cultivate and empower a community of globally engaged leaders committed to positive change through cross-disciplinary dialogue and action. It has at its core three main goals: to provide advanced training to emerging leaders from diverse disciplines and countries, to link this network of world leaders to each other and to Yale, and to expand and deepen international understanding at Yale.

From August to December, the 2012 World Fellows will enroll in a specially designed seminar taught by leading Yale faculty; audit any of the 3,000 courses offered at the University; participate in weekly dinners with distinguished guest speakers; receive individualized skill-building training; and meet with U.S. and foreign leaders.

Visit www.yale.edu/worldfellows for a list of the 2012 World Fellows and for more information on the World Fellows Program.