Posts by Persis Drell

February 14, 2019

A window into the work of the long-range vision design teams

I’m delighted to announce the launch of a new video series capturing the work of some of Stanford's long-range vision design teams. Here, in the first of five videos, we focus on IDEAL — Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in a Learning Environment — which is one of three presidential initiatives designed to help advance our mission and put our values into action on our campus, in our local community, and in the world.

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January 30, 2019

The proposed Title IX regulations

The U.S. Department of Education proposed new regulations late last year for how colleges and universities manage Title IX cases. The department has been holding a public comment period that is now closing. At Stanford, we have been reviewing these proposed regulations in detail. Our focus has been on how the regulations would affect our support for students – both complainants and respondents in Title IX cases – and ensure a fair and effective Title IX process.

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November 16, 2018

On the Education Department’s proposed Title IX rules

As you may have read, the U.S. Department of Education has issued proposed new rules for colleges and universities to use in managing Title IX cases. We welcome the opportunity to provide input to the federal government on the proposed new rules. And we fully intend to continue our efforts to reject sexual violence in our community, to support survivors, to hold perpetrators accountable and to have fair adjudication processes.

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October 28, 2018

Standing in solidarity

We write to express the horror and sorrow of the entire Stanford community at yesterday’s attack on worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. We deeply value and support every member of our community, of every background and identity, here at Stanford. And we affirm our commitment to counter hatred in our nation, and to promote the fundamental values of our university and our nation that call for tolerance and mutual respect.

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October 4, 2018

Preparing for our next climate survey

In April, I wrote with the news that based on the recommendation of an advisory committee of students, faculty and staff, Stanford will be joining the student campus climate survey that will be administered by the Association of American Universities in the spring of 2019. I want to provide an update on our process to prepare for this survey.

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September 24, 2018

Welcome to fall quarter!

We are delighted to welcome so many new and familiar faces to Stanford for the fall quarter. As we think about all that we have to look forward to in a new academic year, we are especially encouraged by the work going on around campus to build a strong and engaged Stanford community.

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September 21, 2018

Rethinking the conversation

Last fall Marc and I launched Cardinal Conversations as an opportunity to advance the university’s commitment to the free exchange of ideas and to fostering an inclusive campus culture. Advancing both ideals together continues to be an imperative and a challenge for our community, and I want to update you on what we are doing for the coming year.

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September 18, 2018

Leland Scholars Program: preparing for success

One of my favorite tasks during the summer is meeting the 60 students enrolled in the Leland Scholars Program (LSP). Started in 2011, LSP is a four-week residential transition program for incoming first-year undergraduates who are the first in their families to attend college or who come from under-resourced schools.

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August 7, 2018

A Title IX case in the news

I’ve spoken and written many times about our continuing efforts at Stanford to strengthen our work in preventing and responding to sexual assault, along with our efforts to share much more information about the cases heard in our adjudication process and their outcomes. Some of these issues also were addressed in a story in the San Francisco Chronicle last weekend. The story looked at a particular case that was heard in our Title IX process two years ago.

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May 17, 2018

Envisioning Stanford’s future

This afternoon at the annual meeting of the Academic Council, we presented a high-level vision for Stanford’s future, building on the input of many hundreds of people from across the university community over the last year. We’re excited to share this vision with our community. We believe it reflects the optimistic, pioneering, energetic spirit of a community eager to strengthen Stanford’s foundations and to expand its contributions.

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