Sperling is seen as having an edge over two other leading contenders, investment banker Roger Altman and Yale University President Richard Levin.

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In a letter to Yale's President Richard Levin, the PLO representative in Washington, DC Maen Rashid Areikat, demanded that the university disassociate itself from the conference.

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But many other Yale professors are keen to teach at the new college, Yale University President Richard Levin said at a press conference on Wednesday, saying that there's still a lot of enthusiasm about the joint venture back in New Haven, Conn.

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