Snapshots of 2025: A gallery

Each year, Yale News photographers capture the people and places of Yale — producing images of curiosity and creativity, beauty and joy, tradition and innovation. Here are a few of our favorite frames. 

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2025 commencement

2025 commencement

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Stefan Hurlburt working on a metal display piece

Stefan Hurlburt, lead exhibition preparator at the Yale Peabody Museum; he and his team engineer and assemble the supports, pedestals, and furnishings for the museum’s displays

Photo by Robert DeSanto
Clouds over Harkness Tower on a frigid January afternoon.

Clouds over Harkness Tower on a frigid January afternoon.

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Silhouette of costumed actors in Kilele

In the play “Kilele: Una Epopeya Artesanal,” produced by students at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, costumes included a wearable puppet with moving wings

Photo by Allie Barton
A vibrant behind-the-scenes moment at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.

On campus, moments of beauty can happen in unexpected places  — as here, a tableau of color and texture captured backstage at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.

Photo by Allie Barton
Yale College students at a buttery

For Yale College students, residential college butteries — student-run late-night snack bars — offer a place to reconnect and make new friendships.

Photo by Allie Barton
The Sculpture Hall at the Yale University Art Gallery

The Sculpture Hall at the Yale University Art Gallery includes these Assyrian bas reliefs, circa 883-859 B.C.E. 

Photo by Robert DeSanto
People holding hands in Battell Chapel

At Yale’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration in Battell Chapel, Bishop William J. Barber called on audience members to come to the front and join hands in a show of unity. 

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Shawkat Toorawa

Every Tuesday, Shawkat Toorawa, the Brand Blanshard Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, invites members of the campus and New Haven communities to a short presentation on “three things worth knowing.”

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy, and Kevin McCarthy

Actor Ryan Reynolds, at right, and director Shawn Levy, center, at Woolsey Hall in a conversation, hosted by Yale Schwarzman Center and moderated by film critic Kevin McCarthy, about the entertainment industry, the nature of cinematic storytelling, and their unique collaborative dynamic.

Photo by Dan Renzetti
David Joyner retrieves a requested item from inside the stacks of the Yale Library Shelving Facility.

David Joyner retrieves a requested item from inside the stacks of the Yale Library Shelving Facility, which houses over 8.5 million books, documents, maps, film reels, and other items.

Photo by Robert DeSanto
Maurie McInnis reading to children

In the days leading up to the inauguration of President Maurie McInnis, more than a dozen events, held on campus and across New Haven, celebrated the important connection between Yale and its host city. Here, McInnis takes part in New Haven Read’s story time at the CitySeed Farmers Market. 

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Maurie McInnis with university leaders on Woolsey stage

In a ceremony on Sunday, April 6, Maurie McInnis was symbolically installed as the university’s 24th president

Photo by Robert DeSanto
A fisheye view of Woolsey Hall during President Maurie McInnis’ installation ceremony.

A fisheye view of Woolsey Hall during President Maurie McInnis’ installation ceremony.

Photo by Robert DeSanto
A moment of joy from Yale’s 324th Commencement ceremony.
Photo by Dan Renzetti
Detail from 2025 ROTC Commissioning Ceremony

Yale honored its graduating Air Force, Naval, and Army ROTC graduates during the traditional joint commissioning ceremony May 19th, during which they received their official appointments as military officers. 

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Vaughn Steele, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, administers a non-invasive treatment known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to a patient with treatment-resistant addictions

Vaughn Steele, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, administers a non-invasive treatment known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to a patient with treatment-resistant addictions. TMS uses electromagnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain, with the hope of activating or inhibiting certain nerve cells; Steele and members of his lab are studying whether the treatment can help patients in early recovery disrupt addiction cravings and reduce future use

Photo by Allie Barton
Faculty members Anjelica Gonzalez and Enrique De La Cruz, along with other heads of residential colleges, enter Yale’s Opening Assembly.

Faculty members Anjelica Gonzalez and Enrique De La Cruz, along with other heads of residential colleges, enter Yale’s Opening Assembly

Photo by Dan Renzetti
People viewing Celestial Garden light show

Yale Schwarzman Center kicked off its fall 2025 programming season with a 360-degree, immersive light and sound installation created by New York City-based artist Leo Villareal ’90, called “Celestial Garden.”

 

Photo by Allie Barton
Facing buildings: Living Village and Sterling Divinity Quadrangle

Yale Divinity School celebrated the opening of the Living Village student-housing complex (left) in October. Every aspect of the complex, from its utility systems down to the component materials that give it form, is designed to meet the world’s highest environmental standards.

Photo by Allie Barton
Casey Dunn standing on rocks on Horse Island

Casey Dunn, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, looks out at the Long Island Sound from the shore of Horse Island. Dunn’s Yale College course “Invertebrates,” focused on marine invertebrates, is the first to meet weekly and incorporate a lab on the uninhabited island, which is managed by the Yale Peabody Museum. 

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Squash Haven composite photo

At Brady Squash Center, local students take part in Squash Haven, a free after-school program that introduces them to both the sport of squash and academic support. Through a longstanding partnership with Yale’s Athletics Department and squash teams, the program offers coaching, tutoring, mentorship, community service options, college prep, and career readiness.

Photo by Robert DeSanto
João Luiz Rezende on Morse Recital Hall stage

This year, award-winning performer, composer, and scholar João Luiz Rezende joined the Yale School of Music as an associate professor adjunct of guitar. At Yale, he said, “There’s so much opportunity for collaboration and access to incredible musicians, both faculty and students. That’s something that excites me and is pushing me to write more.”

Photo by Robert DeSanto
Jonathan Haidt lecturing in Battell Chapel

In a Yale visit, part of President Maurie McInnis’ Presidential Lecture Series, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt offered a warning on the pervasiveness of social media and smartphones, and shared tips for minimizing the negative effects

Photo by Dan Renzetti
Yale mascot Boola greets young fans in the Yale Bowl during the 141st playing of The Game.

Yale mascot Boola greets young fans in the Yale Bowl during the 141st playing of The Game.

Photo by Allie Barton
Yale wide receiver Nico Brown scores a touchdown during The Game.

Yale wide receiver Nico Brown scores a touchdown during The Game. Yale’s 45-28 win over Harvard earned the team a berth in the national Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Photo by Dan Renzetti