Among the numerous accomplishments Gerhard Casper can claim for his presidency is the initiation of a president's column in Stanford magazine. It seems wholly appropriate, then, to use part of my first column to comment on President Casper's many contributions to Stanford.
First and foremost, of course, are the advancements he brought to teaching, learning and research. Stanford has long excelled in these areas, but Professor Gerhard Casper renewed our focus on the academic enterprise, especially the undergraduate academic culture.
The most important part of that revolution Stanford Introductory Studies affords all undergraduates the opportunity to study in a small classroom setting with a regular faculty member during their freshman or sophomore years. You can see the benefits of this program in many places: in the way faculty teach, in undergraduates actively pursuing research opportunities, and in students finding their intellectual passions earlier in their academic careers.
President Casper's academic initiatives were not limited to undergraduate programs. He spearheaded a campaign that raised $200 million to endow more than 300 Stanford Graduate Fellowships. The program helps Stanford attract the best graduate students in science and engineering, while giving those students the opportunity to select the faculty member with whom they want to work.
If I were to single out one other indelible mark Gerhard Casper leaves on Stanford, it would be his leadership during a period of major physical transformation on campus. From the time he arrived in 1992, he eagerly took on oversight for an unparalleled program of building and restoration that has signaled Stanford's architectural rebirth. Gerhard's vision for aesthetic excellence in our new buildings and the use of competitions to select world-class architects has been at the core of this rebirth.
This rejuvenation has included the four buildings in the Science and Engineering Quadrangle, the renovation of the Stanford Museum and its artful expansion into the Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, and the recently dedicated Center for Clinical Sciences Research. But perhaps no restoration project reflects Gerhard's aesthetic and scholarly outlook more than the interior of the Bing Wing of Green Library. One need only visit the Lane Room or the Bender Room to see the emphasis that Stanford and Gerhard Casper put on scholarship, contemplation and great books and the extent to which architecture can enhance that emphasis. Next time you are on campus, take a walk through the new Science and Engineering Quadrangle, explore the Cantor Center or visit the Bing Wing. I am sure you will appreciate what these additions bring to our campus.
It is an honor for me take the helm of Stanford in light of all that has been accomplished in the last eight years. Nonetheless, the challenges that remain are real. One of our most significant challenges will be to continue to attract the best faculty, staff and students, given the high cost of housing and living in the Bay Area.
Along with the challenges, the new century brings many opportunities to take advantage of our considerable strengths. Perhaps our most extraordinary opportunity is to build on the recent innovations in undergraduate education at Stanford.
Closely related to our improvements in the undergraduate program are the opportunities to strengthen and enhance the arts and humanities by building on the successes of the Presidential Chairs in the Humanities and the Presidential Lectures in the Arts and Humanities, and on the expanded presence of the Cantor Center. As President Casper noted in his final State of the University address, we must ensure that, as the University engages itself in the fast-paced, entrepreneurial world of science and technology, we do not lose sight of those disciplines that add depth and the human element to our lives.
Pursuing these opportunities as well as still unidentified ones is a task that will require the engagement of the entire Stanford community: faculty, students, staff, friends—and, of course, the alumni. The relationship between the University and its alumni, in fact, is yet another opportunity to strengthen Stanford at its core. We have already made much progress in the short time since you voted to integrate the alumni association with the University.
When President Casper began writing his column for the magazine in 1994, it was followed by a postscript that read, "Stanford magazine has extended an invitation to University President Gerhard Casper to address the alumni each issue on a topic of his choosing." This invitation has contributed to what I believe is one of our great accomplishments in the last few years: we now feel more like a true family, all gathered at the same table, joined by our commitment to the University.
I am full of enthusiasm about the journey ahead and look forward to working with all those who share this devotion and passion for making Stanford the best it can possibly be.
