Zipperstein named to advising post

BY RAY DELGADO

For the first time in its history, a faculty member will help lead the Undergraduate Advising Center in an attempt to encourage more faculty involvement and improve the center's reputation among the students it serves.

Steven Zipperstein, the Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History, has assumed the role of director of undergraduate advising on a part-time basis while he maintains his teaching workload.

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education John Bravman said that Zipperstein's position was part of an overall attempt at restructuring the leadership positions within the center. Rather than having one director of undergraduate advising, the restructuring calls for the center to have a faculty director and also a managing director.

"We need to have many things change with advising and mentoring at Stanford, and many of those changes entail faculty engagement," Bravman said. "That requires a faculty peer leader."

Zipperstein will work half time in his new position while maintaining his other teaching obligations and serving as co-director of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies. The search for the managing director will occur after Zipperstein has a chance to get used to his new position, said Carol Porter, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education. Lori White, the former director of undergraduate advising, left the position in June of last year to accept a job at San Diego State University.

Bravman said he hopes that Zipperstein will be able to increase faculty participation in undergraduate advising, which has dropped from about 45 percent to 15 percent over the past 10 years. Although much of the drop can be attributed to faculty members' increasing involvement in freshman and sophomore seminars, undergraduate research programs, mentoring and other programs, Bravman said higher faculty involvement is critical to improving the undergraduate advising experience.

"In the face of much hard work and honest effort from many people, there remains a significant level of dissatisfaction with undergraduate advising," Bravman said. "What I really wanted was a faculty colleague to spend a significant amount of his time thinking about this."

Zipperstein said he will take some time in his new role to study the ways in which the center functions before coming up with any substantial changes.

"It seems to me it's an opportune moment to look at the full range of all undergraduate advising at Stanford," Zipperstein said. "As you amass details and get a sense of the complexity of things, you start to identify areas that need improvement."

He also said he would like to place more emphasis on sophomore advising to help sophomores grapple with the tensions involved in choosing a major as they start their junior year.

"I want to underline the importance of wandering around their decision [of which major to choose]," Zipperstein said. "It's a choice that could haunt them for the rest of their lives or one they'll never regret."

Steven Zipperstein

• Undergraduate Advising Center