A New Dean for the Education School
Deborah Stipek, a professor at UCLA and an expert on early childhood, has been named dean of the School of Education. She succeeds Richard Shavelson, who will step down August 31 after six years in the post. An academic who has also helped shape public policy related to children and families, Stipek has taught at UCLA's Graduate School of Education since 1977. She holds a doctorate in developmental psychology from Yale University. Denis Phillips, the associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Education, will serve as interim dean until Stipek arrives in January 2001.
To Save the Dish, a Ban on Dogs and Picnics
It's not exactly a park, but for decades locals have flocked to the Dish to hike and walk their dogs. Now the well-loved Foothills are deteriorating, and native species like the red-legged frog and the California tiger salamander are in jeopardy. "Increased use of this area. . . [has] over time despoiled the environment and caused erosion of the hillsides," said President Gerhard Casper in an April statement announcing the designation of the area as a habitat-conservation preserve. Starting September 1, dogs and picnics will be banned and hikers and joggers will be limited to approved paths.
For Stanford's Hospitals, Two New Chiefs
Two veteran Medical Center administrators -- Malinda Mitchell and Christopher Dawes -- have been named chief executive officers at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals, respectively. Officials hope the pair can lead Stanford's hospitals past the tumultuous UCSF Stanford Health Care merger, which dissolved this spring. Before the merger, Mitchell was chief operating officer of Stanford Hospital and Dawes was executive vice president and chief operating officer at Packard Children's. Both held high-level administrative posts at the merged company. "They are both spectacular managers," says Eugene Bauer, vice president for medical school affairs. "They understand the subtleties of what it takes to bring this organization back into the Stanford fold."
Banding Together to Replace Barnes
Their exploits are legendary -- flailing about during halftime shows, dropping their pants at midfield, ending up in the end zone in the middle of The Play. The Stanford Band developed that unique character under the tutelage of Arthur Barnes, emeritus professor of music and the group's inspirational director for 34 years. Since his retirement in 1997, the Band has had a part-time leader. Now, thanks to a yearlong, $1.5 million campaign run by the Stanford Band Alumni Board, the group will have a full-time leader, who has yet to be named. The endowment is named in Barnes's honor.
Slow Progress in Hiring Female Faculty
The message was a familiar one: the increase in numbers of women in Stanford's professoriate is slow but steady. Total female faculty rose by 23 last year, or 7.7 percent. Women now make up 19.8 percent of the 1,634-member faculty. But some schools -- notably engineering -- lag behind. "Progress is still slower than we would like," vice provost Pat Jones told the Faculty Senate in April. A recent anonymous gift, announced at the same meeting, could help. A donor has given Stanford $20 million to help attract and retain women faculty and students in science and engineering.
A 'Staggering' Faculty Housing Bill: $40 Million
Between 1990 and 1998, the eight communities around Stanford generated about 79,000 new jobs but allowed only about 9,000 housing units to be built. The result: skyrocketing housing costs that in turn are hurting the University's ability to recruit faculty. The Faculty Senate in April heard proposals from a faculty committee looking at the problem. The group suggested boosting Stanford's housing assistance programs for faculty and adding new options, including a home-remodeling loan program and a rental assistance program. But administrators warned that the costs to the University would be "staggering" -- around $40 million a year -- and that final decisions would be up to the Board of Trustees.
Casper Pulls the Plug on His Asia Scholars
Gerhard Casper envisioned it as a Rhodes scholars program for Asia. Up to 25 graduate students a year would come to Stanford from across the region as Asia/Pacific scholars. The idea was that these men and women would be their countries' future leaders and that the ties they formed here -- with each other and the rest of the Stanford community -- would strengthen regional and international relations. But three years after its start, the program will be suspended. Fund raising remains $30 million short of the $50 million goal.
More Than Ever, Applicants Say 'Yes'
Stanford's rising popularity continues to yield good news for the admission office. The school admitted 1,921 students for the Class of 2004, and 66.5 percent of them accepted. That yield rate is up 2 percentage points from last year and is Stanford's highest since 1968. Admission dean Robert Kinnally credits favorable press coverage and athletic success for the increase. The admission office deserves some credit, too -- the yield rate jumped 6 points in 1996 after Stanford began offering early admission. And don't forget Mother Nature. Officials blamed the 1989 Loma Prieta quake for a large yield-rate dip in the early '90s. Twelve quake-free years seem to have eased any fears of prospective students.
