While the photographer snapped a few formal shots of Warren Christopher, I wandered over to his window to steal a second look at the view from the seventh floor of the State Department. Straight ahead was the Lincoln Memorial; just east of that was the National Mall, anchored by the Washington Monument and, in the far distance, the Capitol. As a 10-year Washingtonian only recently returned to Stanford, I found a certain comfort in these familiar surroundings.
But in the conversation that followed, we talked about how the world beyond Washington is in fact growing less familiar. Secretary Christopher, who two weeks later would announce his resignation, described how the fall of communism changed U.S. foreign policy. The very job of secretary of state, he said in an interview with Stanford (page 56), is different since the Cold War ended. With the "paradigm of containment" gone, he said the United States now is addressing what for years have been secondary international concerns: nuclear proliferation, trade and global environmental problems.
The interview with Christopher is the sort of feature we consider a mainstay of the magazine. Whether it's U.S. diplomacy, the commercialization of sports or the challenge of caring for an aging parent (all topics we visit in this issue), we like to use the experiences of Stanford alumni to open a window on the world. When we're not writing about alums, we try to focus on issues that might intrigue you--from higher education policy to Stanford history to what's happening on campus today.
It's these categories of stories that form the backbone of our feature section and occupy much of the staff's time. Lately, however, we've been working not just on the content of the magazine, but also on the structure and mechanics. A look behind the scenes:
Partnership with the University We've now published six issues of the new bimonthly Stanford, a partnership between the Alumni Association and the University News Service. During its first year, we have attempted to make the 32-page News Service section, Stanford Today, fit comfortably with the rest of the magazine, which is produced here at Bowman Alumni House. To that end, we have, since the partnership began last March, revamped the shared table of contents page, expanded the space for letters to the editor and tried to smooth the transition pages that lead into and out of Today. I work particularly closely with News Service Director Alan Acosta on the cover of the magazine, which is drawn, on a rotating basis, from both sections. (This month, for example, it depicts a story from Stanford Today.) It's an unusual arrangement, but one we believe can serve alumni well by providing a wealth of news and features from on and off campus.
Online magazine I'm the last person you'd choose to oversee a website. Until I took this job a year ago, I didn't even have an e-mail account and I thought surfing the net was something that happened off the coast of Hawaii. But I had the good sense to surround myself with experts, including consultant Alis Weigle, a roller-blading twentysomething who had the vision and know-how to put our magazine in cyberspace. In meetings last summer, we grew accustomed to Alis shouting, "Yahtzee!" (Rough translation: good idea.) Now we've hired Mike Andren, '97, to help us maintain and update the magazine's site, which went live in November. The object is to put up not just the print version of each issue, but also some web-only features that invite interaction with readers. Check it out at www.stanfordmag.org.
Class Notes The Class Notes section is among the most popular in the magazine; many of you turn there first. According to recent research we conducted, only the feature articles draw a more loyal readership. (Sixty-seven percent go to one or more features regularly; 61 percent to Class Notes.) Given this popularity, it seemed a shame that some Class Correspondents were collecting more news than we had space to print. So I'm pleased to announce that, beginning with the March magazine, we will be adding at least four pages to Class Notes in each issue.
None of these initiatives is going to bring peace to the Middle East or stop the spread of nuclear weapons. The modest goal of these changes is to help us build a more informed and cohesive community. That's a worthwhile mission, whether you're an international diplomat or just a magazine editor.
