Vice President and University Secretary Linda Koch Lorimer received a Special Elm and Ivy Award for her contributions to economic and human development in New Haven as well as to neighborhood revitalization.
While Elm and Ivy Awards generally are reserved for Yale students or city residents, the special award typically is given to a Yale administrator for notable contributions to the city. Lorimer joined a dozen other Elm and Ivy Award recipients at a May 5 luncheon, where awards were bestowed by New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and President Richard C. Levin. (See related story, on left.)
Lorimer received the Special Elm-Ivy Award for "her efforts that embody Yale's finest traditions of education for service and leadership, and for her inspired efforts to help Yale prepare for its future with positive and strengthened relations with its neighbors in New Haven," according to the awards citation.
As part of her charge to strengthen town-gown ties, notes the citation, Lorimer created Yale's Offices of New Haven Affairs and University Properties, and introduced a number of initiatives, including the Yale Homebuyer Program, which has helped more than 300 Yale employees purchase homes in New Haven; comprehensive partnerships with the New Haven Public Schools; a multi-faceted partnership with the Dwight/Edgewood neighborhood that has attracted funding from the federal government; a strengthened commitment to technology transfer and biotechnology; and new investments in the downtown area, including the Shubert Theatre, Broadway shopping area, and the Town Green Special Service District.
The citation also praised Lorimer's characteristic zeal, untiring commitment and unflagging optimism, as well as her ability to motivate and inspire her colleagues within the University while encouraging other partners in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. "She has been an entrepreneur par excellence," the citation said. "Having seen the Office of New Haven Affairs grow and become well-established, she has now turned over the reins of this thriving operation to Bruce Alexander [new vice president for City and state affairs] as she returns to other continuing responsibilities and new duties within Yale."
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