Blue Leadership Ball Set For November 21
Donaldson, Gelb, Duderstadt, Downey and Brummel To Be Honored

NEW HAVEN, Conn. The Yale Athletic Department announced today the 2003 George H.W. Bush Lifetime of Leadership Award recipients, who will be honored at the Nov. 21 Blue Leadership Ball at the William K. Lanman Center inside Payne Whitney Gymnasium the night before the 120th gridiron edition of Yale and Harvard.

The Class of 2003 Bush Award winners include: William Donaldson ‘53, the Chairman of the Security and Exchange Commission and a former Yale hockey player; Richard Gelb ‘45, a former Yale track star and Chairman Emeritus of Bristol Myers Squibb Company; James Duderstadt ‘64, an ex-Yale gridiron player who became President of the University of Michigan; John Downey ‘51, a former Bulldog football and wrestling standout who became a Judge Trial Referee after being held prisoner by the Chinese Government for 21 years as a CIA agent; and Lisa Brummel ’81, the corporate Vice President for Microsoft’s Home and Retail Division and a former Eli volleyball, basketball and softball player.

The athletic department recognizes Yale University alumni athletes who in their lives after Yale have successfully satisfied the leadership needs of their professions and their countries. A broadly representative alumni honors committee selected five honorees who exemplify Yale’s rich athletic heritage as an important component of the undergraduate educational experience.

“The development of a competitive temperament to ignite the trained intellect may explain many of the contributions this university has made to our planet’s insatiable appetite for global leadership,” said Jack Embersits ’58, the chairman of the leadership honors selection committee and the captain of the 1957 Yale football team. “These selected recipients echo the successful and selflessly committed lifetime of leadership which George H.W. Bush -- the 41st President of the United States -- embodied.”

“This group of honorees is indicative of the quality of leadership that the Yale athletic program produces. These are all extraordinary people. The choice was extremely difficult as there is a remarkable pool from which to choose,” said Chris Getman ’64, the chairman of the Blue Leadership Ball and a former Yale baseball letterman.