H&S Dean Beasley Steps Down
Malcolm Beasley will step down as dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences at the end of the academic year and return to teaching applied physics. Since he took office in 1998, the school has recruited a number of key senior faculty and secured a $20-million donation for a planned 85,000-square-foot laboratory for the departments of biological sciences and chemistry. "Moreover," says President John Hennessy, "the needs assessment process he and his staff are now engaged in will prepare the school for innovative academic programs and faculty development for years to come."
New Associate H&S Deans Named
John Bender, professor of English and comparative literature, has been named associate dean for the humanities in the School of Humanities and Sciences and chair of the Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages. Bender is a specialist in 18th-century British and European literature and has taught at Stanford since 1967. Stephen Krasner, professor of political science, has been named cognizant dean for the social sciences in H&S. Krasner's research interests include the political determination of international economic relations and American foreign policy and the changing nature of sovereignty. He has taught at Stanford since 1981.
Not Your Father's Oldsmobile
General Motors will fund a $3-million research lab in the School of Engineering for a three-year study of "work systems" -- the ways people use materials and information to create products and services. About 20 faculty members will work with GM engineers and scientists to use new information technologies and virtual models, rather than soldering irons and steel, to develop products and services. "Stanford is at the heart of much of this new technology," says GM vice president for research and development and planning Larry Burns.
For Vice Provost, a Superior Court Judge
LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge for 19 years, has been named vice provost and special counselor to the president for campus relations, effective March 1. An advocate for social justice, 51-year-old Cordell, JD '74, was the first judge in California to order convicted drunk drivers to install breath detectors in their cars. She also designed a program that trained senior citizens to monitor court-ordered visits between children and noncustodial parents. Cordell was assistant dean for student affairs at the Law School from 1978 to 1992 and led a minority admissions program there.
Vive la France and Pass the Hat
More than $100,000 has been raised for the Ralph M. Hester Endowment Fund for French Studies, to support writing prizes, research and internships for students of French. Hester, who has taught French at Stanford for 37 years and plans to retire this year, chaired the department of French and Italian twice, founded the Interdisciplinary Institute of French Studies and has written one of the most widely used French textbooks in the United States. The fund was launched by Laurence Franklin, '70, jd/mba '76, who raised more than $2 million in 1999 for an endowed fund to hire a director for the Stanford Band, and who studied in Tours, France, in 1969-70, when Hester directed the overseas studies program there.
Freedom of Speech Online
The Law School has established the new Center for Internet and Society to study technology litigation and Internet law cases. Lawrence Lessig, who used to head a similar center at Harvard, will direct the new nondegree-granting program. He told the San Francisco Chronicle that it will allow researchers to "think about the relationship between the architecture of cyberspace, civil liberties and innovation." For example, researchers might look at issues involving broadband, a type of service that provides high-speed Internet access by carrying multiple channels of data on a single line.
For CFO, a Specialist in Interactive TV Software
Randall S. Livingston, executive vice president, chief financial officer and director of OpenTV, the leading interactive television software company, has been named vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer by President John Hennessy. Livingston, '75, mba '79, has served as a consultant and part-time cfo for Silicon Valley technology companies specializing in genomics, e-commerce, medical devices, chemical synthesis and enterprise software. He succeeds Mariann Byerwalter, '82, who is returning to the private sector.
Eek! A Mouse with Migrating Marrow!
Stanford researchers have shown that adult bone marrow cells can migrate to the brain, suggesting that an individual's own cells, if genetically modified, might be used to treat such degenerative conditions as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's. The discovery came out of the laboratory of Helen Blau, professor and chair of molecular pharmacology, and was made by graduate student Timothy Brazelton. The team found that engineered bone marrow cells injected into the tail veins of mice showed up in their brains six months later.
