Star Astrophysicists to Head New Institute
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center director Jonathan Dorfan calls them the “dream team.” This fall, Caltech astrophysicist Roger Blandford and Columbia physics department chair Steven Kahn will come to the Farm to serve as director and deputy director, respectively, of the new Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. The institute is expected to bring together scientists from SLAC and the main campus to answer fundamental questions of physics. Says physics department chair Doug Osheroff: “This is the most exciting thing that has happened to physics at Stanford in the past 15 years, and that includes four Nobel Prizes in a row.”
Hennessy Reaffirms Affirmative Action
In a statement before the Faculty Senate on January 23, University President John Hennessy reaffirmed Stanford’s commitment to affirmative action in achieving a diverse student body. The Senate spontaneously and unanimously passed a motion of support for the statement, and applauded Hennessy’s intention to work with peer institutions on an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case about the University of Michigan’s affirmative action policies. “The consideration of race and ethnicity as one factor among many in [the] admission process is consistent with our history as an institution and our belief that the next generation of leaders must reflect the strengths and talents of all our nation’s citizens,” Hennessy’s statement read in part.
For the Eastern Trail, a Step Toward Resolution
In December, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to proceed with environmental review of three possible eastern trail routes on Stanford land, dropping consideration of a fourth route that University administrators had called too intrusive, and allowing consideration of a fifth route only if the first three prove infeasible. Under the terms of its 10-year General Use Permit, Stanford is required to dedicate two trails for public use: an eastern one near Page Mill Road and a western one near Alpine Road.
Trying to Keep Tuition Increases in Check
It’s a dilemma: how much to raise fees when both the University and students’ families are hit by the slumping economy? The Board of Trustees settled on a 4.8 percent increase in undergraduate tuition, room and board, which will total $37,613 in the 2003-04 school year. “It’s slightly less than [last year’s 4.9 percent increase], which I think is good under the circumstances,” says board chair Isaac Stein, JD/MBA ’72. He also points out that “in an economy like this, you give back much of your nominal tuition increase in the form of higher financial aid.” Most graduate students will see a 5 percent tuition increase; tuition at the Graduate School of Business will go up 8.9 percent.
