March 14, 2018

On the contemplative garden

Questions continue to be asked by members of our community about a contemplative garden we built last summer at the site of a sexual assault that happened in January of 2015. I would like to correct any misimpressions that have arisen.

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March 2, 2018

Provide your input!

Students and other members of our community often ask me how they can have a voice in decision making at the university. One way is by providing input when we have comment periods on important issues before the university. We have several comment periods under way right now.

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February 23, 2018

Stanford's commitments to undocumented students

This continues to be a time of anxiety and uncertainty for many people in our country, as the federal government works to define a future for those who have been covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Stanford continues to stand in firm support of our community, including undocumented students.

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February 15, 2018

A letter on Cardinal Conversations

In a letter published in The Stanford Daily, we address student concerns regarding the Cardinal Conversations series and an appearance by Charles Murray.

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February 13, 2018

Expression and inclusion, part 2

Multiple recent incidents on campus have underscored the depth of challenge we face in simultaneously ensuring inclusion and free expression. They call on us to embrace a higher level of awareness and engagement with others.

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February 1, 2018

The long-range planning white papers

We're excited to have reached today a new milestone in Stanford's long-range planning process: the release to the campus community of 37 white papers that summarize more than 2,800 ideas we received for guiding Stanford's future.

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January 29, 2018

Hoop Dreams: thoughts on diversifying our faculty

Recently I met with Jennifer Widom, dean of the School of Engineering; Stacey Bent, the senior associate dean of engineering; and legendary Stanford women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer at the Faculty Club. The topic was the challenge of improving faculty diversity at Stanford.

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December 27, 2017

In memory of Ben Barres, a personal tribute

As we mourn today the loss of our colleague and dear friend Ben Barres, I thought it would be fitting to share a piece that I wrote in tribute to Ben almost a year ago. I was honored to deliver it as an introduction to a symposium held in Ben’s honor on January 12, 2017.

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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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December 13, 2017

Leveraging Stanford's many strengths

In the School of Engineering we must continuously ask ourselves: Are we doing enough to encourage and enable students to take full advantage of Stanford’s breadth of excellence?

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