Posts by Persis Drell

December 20, 2017

The tax bill and Stanford

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have passed tax reform legislation that now awaits the president's signature. For higher education, the final bill contains mixed news. At Stanford, our attention now turns to addressing the effects of this legislation on our community.

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November 28, 2017

Spotlight on sexual misconduct

In recent weeks, there has been a spotlight on sexual assault and sexual misconduct perpetrated by individuals abusing their positions of authority and influence in every industry and organization, including higher education. Women are coming forward and their voices are being heard, including women who have been part of the Stanford community. It is a spotlight that I welcome.

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November 7, 2017

Advancing free speech and inclusion

Like many of you, we have been following what has been going on at other campuses and in our own Stanford community around issues of speech and expression. We have been reflecting on how we at Stanford can advance both our unwavering commitment to the free expression of ideas and our equally steadfast goal of an inclusive community.

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October 17, 2017

Four stories of alumni contribution

I was honored last Friday to participate in one of the highlights of Reunion Homecoming weekend – the induction ceremony for the Multicultural Alumni Hall of Fame.

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October 11, 2017

Supporting the DREAMers

In recent days, there has been more news from Washington about the effort to protect the students and others who have been covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. I want to share a few things Stanford is doing both externally and internally at this very difficult time for many in our community.

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September 25, 2017

A new academic year

We want to take the opportunity of a new fall quarter to extend a warm welcome to you, whether for the first time or once again. Yet as we write we are also reminded of the challenges facing some members of our community, with the announcement just hours ago of an updated travel ban affecting visitors to the United States from several countries.

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September 21, 2017

Summer explorations

Summer is a time to refresh the soul. I spent a small part of my summer doing that by spending some time as a student of the arts.

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September 7, 2017

Our commitment to battling sexual assault

Stanford has no intention of retreating, in any way, on the subject of sexual assault and harassment; we continue our commitment to move forward. Some thoughts following a speech delivered by the U.S. Secretary of Education regarding Title IX.

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September 5, 2017

On the federal administration's plans for DACA

Following the decision by the federal administration to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Stanford is urging congressional action in support of our country’s DREAMers. Here is the statement the university issued.

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