Alumni Fault Yale in Loss of Bass Gift

In an attempt to mend fences between Yale University and Lee Bass, members of the class of 1937 have sent a letter to Mr. Bass’s father absolving the younger Mr. Bass and blaming the university for errors that resulted in the Texas oil heir reneging on a $20-million pledge.

But the missive may only obscure, rather than clarify, the university’s position on the troubled Bass gift.

In 1991, Lee Bass agreed to give Yale $20-million to support a series of courses in Western civilization. But he withdrew the offer in 1995, when Yale balked at giving him a voice in selecting faculty members for the courses.

In a letter to Perry Bass, a member of the class of 1937 and father of Lee, classmates of the elder Mr. Bass wrote last month: “Contrary to some public opinion, Yale is at fault from start to finish and Lee cannot be held responsible for what happened.”

The alumni further asserted: “This letter has been read by President [Richard C.] Levin and his administrators and they are in agreement with the facts.”

While the alumni seemed to be contending that the Yale administration had changed its position regarding the Bass gift, a university spokesman said it had not.

The spokesman, Thomas Conroy, said that Mr. Levin had already admitted, in a March 1995 letter to Yale graduates, that Yale had made mistakes in designing the courses and selecting faculty members. But Mr. Levin also said in his letter that it would be inappropriate to “delegate authority over faculty appointments to a donor, even one as generous as Lee Bass.”

That statement, according to Mr. Conroy, continues to represent Yale’s official position.