Silliman College opened in September 1940. It was the last of the original ten Yale residential colleges to be completed. The Vanderbilt-Sheffield dormitories and Byers Hall (now the Common Room, Dining Hall, Sillibrary, and Head of College’s and Dean’s Offices), dating from the early 1900s, were retained in the plans. All of the brick structures, including the Head of College’s House, were built between 1938 and 1940. The college’s architecture is eclectic: though architect Otto Eggers completed most of the college with Georgian buildings, the college also incorporates two early-20th century buildings in the French Renaissance and Gothic Revival styles.

The college’s mascot is the salamander. Students in the college refer to themselves as Sillimanders.

Notable alumni include director George Roy Hill, the transgender tennis player Renée Richards, writer Strobe Talbott, newscaster Stone Phillips and actor David Hyde Pierce.

See the latest about Silliman on the Yale website.

Elias Clark

Master, 1962-1981

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