Fellows

Davenport College has an active and enthusiastic Fellowship. Davenport’s Fellowship includes Fellows (distinguished Faculty and Staff at the University) and Associate Fellows (often Davenport alum or people who have made important contributions to New Haven and the larger society).

A (1) | B (13) | C (11) | D (5) | E (1) | F (4) | G (11) | H (11) | J (1) | K (8) | L (8) | M (7) | N (3) | O (2) | P (5) | R (6) | S (11) | T (4) | V (3) | W (5) | Z (1)

Kenneth A. Thomas, MD, JD, FACOG

Doctor of Medicine, Attorney at Law

Biography

I have been in the independent solo private practice of general OB/GYN since July 1, 1985. I also obtained a JD from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2011 and passed the Connecticut Bar in June 2011 but am not presently practicing law. My father, RAdm. Gerald E. Thomas was Master of Davenport from 1991 until 2001 and I have been a Davenport Fellow since then. My initials, as well as those of my two siblings, are visible on the globe in the corner of my father's portrait in the Davenport dining hall.

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Gerald Torres

Professor of Environmental Justice and Professor of Law

Biography

Gerald Torres is a Professor of Environmental Justice at the Yale School of the Environment and a Professor at Yale Law School. He is the former Association of American Law Schools President and has taught at Stanford and Harvard Law Schools. Professor Torres served as Counsel to the Attorney General on environmental matters and Indian affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice. Professor Torres served on the Board of the Environmental Law Institute and the EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and was the founding chairman of the Advancement Project. He is board chair of EarthDay Network and a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He was a consultant to the United Nations on environmental matters. Torres is a life member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations. I am the father of two wonderful, grown children. My wife, Frances, and I recently celebrated our 40th anniversary. I am a musician (professionally recorded and performed) and a published poet. I enjoy the outdoors and feel most comfortable in the woods.

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Joe Tsai

Chairman, Alibaba Group

Biography

Yale College ’86, Yale Law School ’90

Joe Tsai is a co-founder and chairman of Alibaba Group, a global Internet technology company based in China. His career at Alibaba spans over 25 years, including serving as the company’s chief financial officer and overseeing strategic investments. He has served on the Alibaba board since the company’s inception in 1999. Tsai is chairman of sports and entertainment company BSE Global, which owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and the teams’ home arena Barclays Center. He has a passion for lacrosse, having played for the Yale men’s varsity lacrosse team, and he is a consistent supporter of the Yale men’s and women’s lacrosse programs. He owns professional indoor lacrosse teams – the San Diego Seals and Las Vegas Desert Dogs, and is an investor in professional field lacrosse – the Premier Lacrosse League. In 2017, Tsai received the George H.W. Bush ‘48 Lifetime of Leadership Award, which honors alumni athletes for significant leadership contributions in their lives after Yale. Through the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, Tsai and his wife Clara are active philanthropists supporting initiatives in education, research, social justice, economic mobility, the arts and humanitarian relief. Tsai is a founding board member of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), a non-profit that provides resources to Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to combat hate and discrimination and support AAPI advocacy, prosperity and representation. In 2021 and 2022, Tsai was a Visiting Fellow with the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY) where he gave lectures and hosted discussions for programs including Pathways in Innovation, Tsai CITY Talks and Advanced Founders Program. In addition, he co-taught the Leading in Crisis reading group at Yale Law School with Dean Heather Gerken. Prior to Alibaba Group, Tsai worked in private equity for Investor AB, the holding company of Sweden’s Wallenberg family. He practiced tax law as an associate with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York.

John Tully

Sterling Professor Emeritus

Biography

After finishing postdoctoral studies, I joined the research area of Bell Laboratories, where I developed theoretical models to predict how atoms and molecules move and exchange energy during chemical reactions. In 1996, I left Bell Labs and joined the Yale faculty where I led a research group to further advance theoretical understanding of chemical events on the atomic scale. My deceased wife Mary and I had 3 children and 6 grandchildren. I have always been active (but not excellent) in sports, e.g., as an undergraduate spending countless hours playing touch football on the Davenport College courtyard. In later years I played tennis and racquetball, and was a volunteer coach of soccer, basketball and baseball.

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