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Stanford Report, August 4, 2004

Alumna tapped to coordinate university's strategic academic initiatives

Former Netscape executive will work with faculty, deans on multidisciplinary programs

President John Hennessy has appointed Roberta Katz, a Stanford alumna and former senior vice president and general counsel of Netscape Communications, to the position of associate vice president of strategic planning.

The new position was created to coordinate strategic academic initiatives across the university, Hennessy said. Katz will provide senior-level coordination and assistance to faculty and deans in a number of the university's high-profile multi-disciplinary programs, including Bio-X and the new environmental initiative.

Katz is a resident of Palo Alto and earned her bachelor's degree in anthropology from Stanford. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University and a law degree from University of Washington School of Law.

"Roberta's experience defines the very notion of a multi-disciplinary approach," Hennessy said. "Her strong academic background, law degree and business acumen bring a tremendous range of talent to this job. This combination of skills will help Stanford focus its long-range planning and coordination of the multi-disciplinary initiatives that are critical to the university's future as a leader in higher education."

Katz said she was enthusiastic about her new role at Stanford and looked forward to working with faculty, students and administrators on a variety of academic projects.

"The multi-disciplinary initiatives are a powerful expression of Stanford's identity as an innovative educational leader," Katz said. "There is no doubt that universities must find better ways to prepare students for the complexity and interrelatedness of contemporary issues. I'm grateful for the opportunity to add my experience to the Stanford team addressing this critical task."

Katz recently served as president and CEO of the Technology Network (TechNet), a nonprofit advocacy group for the high tech and biotech industries. She also served as senior vice president and general counsel for McCaw Cellular (now AT&T Wireless) and was a corporate partner at San Francisco-based Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe. The National Law Journal named her one of "The Fifty Most Influential Women Lawyers in America." She is the author of Justice Matters: Rescuing the Legal System for the 21st Century.

Katz has been an active volunteer at Stanford and has served on a number of corporate and nonprofit boards. She will begin the new position on Aug. 16.