Yale University. Yale University Schmidt was the president of Yale University from 1986 to 1992. In academics, he instituted several new and successful programs, but his attempt to reduce faculty stirred up controversy. He anticipated the need to repair the university's physical infrastructure, which had fallen into disrepair, but widespread renovation was not carried out until the arrival of Schmidt's successor Rick Levin. Most impressively, Schmidt raised over a billion dollars for Yale, a faster-growing endowment than at any other university. Answering faculty reports of poor writing abilities among incoming freshmen, Schmidt convened a committee to review the issues, and after reflecting upon committee's recommendations, he made significant changes to the writing programs, such as instituting writing tutors at each of the residential colleges, a program which remains today. Under Schmidt's leadership, Yale established the Ethics, Politics and Economics (EP&E) program, which was modeled on the University of Oxford's PP&E program, and a number of interdisciplinary programs, including environmental sciences, molecular biology, and international studies. Schmidt questioned the validity of other academic programs, although his proposal to reduce the faculty by 11 percent was not well received. Schmidt was criticized for maintaining his primary residence in New York City during his tenure as president of Yale, with his wife Helen Whitney, a documentary filmmaker. Schmidt collaborated with then-Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut John C. Daniels to hammer out a land deal that netted the City of New Haven $2.3 million, in 1990, and millions more in subsequent years. Edison Schools From 1992 to 1997, Schmidt served as the chief executive officer of Edison Schools, a for-profit venture, later renamed EdisonLearning, a for-profit corporation. The organization operates public schools in several districts; President from 1992 to 1997, and Chief Education Officer from 1998 to 1999. From 1997 to 2007, Schmidt served as Edison's Chairman and later a director on the board. City University of New York On May 6, 1998, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani appointed Schmidt the chair of a special task force to evaluate longstanding systemic issues at City University of New York, along with committee members Herman Badillo, Heather MacDonald, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; former New York State Senator Manfred Ohrenstein, Jacqueline V. Brady, a vice president of Nomura Securities International, Incorporated; Richard T. Roberts, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development; and Richard Schwartz, president and