"For better or worse, Yale has not always taken a deep interest in its host city's arts scene. Townies have variously characterized this attitude as snobbery, obliviousness, academic myopia, or the mutual aww-who-needs-'em-anyhow segregation of town and gown. For Frances "Bitsie" Clark, the cultural divide between Yale and New Haven has been happily dissolving since the mid-1980s, and she gives the credit to President Levin. Clark headed the Arts Council of Greater New Haven for 19 years, then became alderwoman for Ward 7 (which encompasses the Audubon and College streets arts districts). "When I came to the arts council in 1983, there was a great arts community, doing incredible things. But they didn't all work together. It was not connected." Worse, "the university was an enclave. They always had this attitude that Yale didn't relate to the [New Haven] community. When Levin became president, that all changed. He said, 'We have to pay attention to the environment.'"" Bitsie Clark.
