Welcome To the Newly Anointed Pierson Knights
The gates have opened. The hour has come.
From among the multitude, you have been chosen to dwell within the hallowed walls of Pierson College—a place of story and of spirit, where generations have walked before you and where your name shall now be written into the living scroll of Yale’s long and noble saga. You are the Class of 2030. Yours is the dawn.
Long ago, in the year 1933, Pierson College rose upon this earth, its tower reaching skyward to ring out the hours of both study and celebration. It took its name from Abraham Pierson, a founder of the Collegiate School—a man whose vision would become Yale University. Today, Pierson stands as one of the mightiest of Yale’s fourteen great colleges, rooted in tradition, yet alive with innovation.
You enter not only a college, but the best college at Yale. A fellowship and loving community. A house of learning and of laughter. Here, you will find a double-tiered gymnasium for the testing of the body, a music room and studio for the quickening of the soul, a printing press and potter’s wheel where creation is shaped by hand, and a theater where truths are spoken aloud. Within Pierson’s domain, you shall find the Buttery for late-night hungers, a library that watches over your hours of thought, and a green courtyard that bears witness to every season of your becoming.
You do not walk alone.
Though your first adventures begin in Vanderbilt Hall, your true home within Yale is Pierson College, where the watch is kept by Head of College Professor Crystal Feimster—known throughout the realm simply as Prof C. As Keeper of the College, she shapes the intellectual, social, and cultural life of the college. At her side stands Associate Head Professor Daniel Botsman, her trusted companion in the stewardship of the Pierson kingdom. Together, from their home in Leitner House, they tend the hearth, welcome every Knight, and help ensure that Pierson remains a place where all may flourish.
Gathered around them is a loyal fellowship of stewards. Dean Tasha Hawthorne serves as your chief academic guide through the adventures and trials of Yale life. Assistant Director of Operations Ms. Kirsten Dudley keeps the kingdom running with quiet precision, while Senior Administrative Assistants Ms. Taunya Williams and Ms. Carla Zaratzian stand ready to answer questions, solve mysteries, and point weary travelers in the right direction. Facilities Superintendent Ms. Sheila Dawson watches over the halls, courtyards, and tower you will soon call home. Service Assistant Ms. June Graves ensures that warmth, welcome, and good cheer are never in short supply in Leitner House. Alongside them stand your Student Aides, FroCos, Peer Leaders, and Pierson Fellows—a fellowship of seasoned Knights pledged to help you find your way, discover your strengths, and remind you that no quest is ever undertaken alone.
Whether you are a first-year, a transfer student, or an Eli Whitney scholar, Pierson is your sanctuary. Your stronghold. Your harbor in the fog. Even if you dwell beyond its walls, the spirit of Pierson shall claim you, welcome you, and lift you into its fold.
In the coming days, check your messages. Awaken your Yale email. Watch for the signs. You will receive sacred knowledge: your suite assignment, your companions’ names, the rites of orientation, and the academic scrolls to prepare.
We look ahead to August, when you shall cross our threshold and the rite shall be complete. You will kneel in tradition—and rise in belonging—as a true Knight of Pierson.
Until then, guard your spirit and walk with anticipation.
As Always,
Prof C
Head of Pierson College
First-Year and New Student Resources
From Pre-orientation programs to peer and academic advising to the Calendar for Opening Days, Yale College has resources(Link is external) in place to ease the transition to life on campus.
About Pierson College
Pierson was founded and built in 1933, and was extensively renovated in 2004. Today, it is one of the largest residential colleges at Yale with approximately 500 students. Pierson’s spacious courtyard, lined with red bricks and white columns, can take on many different functions, including makeshift sports arena, dance floor, and tanning station. Pierson and its unofficial rival, Davenport, share many wonderful basement facilities, including a three-room and double-level gym, a dance studio, a music room, a printing press, a basketball gym, and a movie theater. Pierson also has its own set of facilities, including a laundry room, two game rooms with air hockey, ping pong, and pool tables, a buttery, a kitchen, and a seminar room.
First-years in Pierson live in the lovely Collegiate Gothic structure Vanderbilt Hall (known as Vandy), a few steps from Pierson College but they will still become a huge part of Pierson life through the Head of College and the Dean, the Intramural Secretaries, the Pierson College Council, the Student Activities Committee, and your First-year counselors (FroCos). This wonderful community of Piersonites, with the help of the Pierson Adminstrative- and Dean’s offices, comes together to create study breaks, outings, the Halloween Inferno dance, Pierson Day, and a variety of other college activities that make Pierson wonderful. Check out all the information on the website to learn more about all that Pierson has to offer.
