New diversity cabinet, athletic director search group formed

At last week’s Faculty Senate meeting, Provost John Etchemendy announced the formation of a permanent university cabinet dedicated to issues of diversity.

A permanent university cabinet dedicated to issues of diversity has been formed to replace the 4-year-old Diversity Action Council, Provost John Etchemendy announced Thursday at the Faculty Senate meeting.

The Diversity Cabinet will be made up of key officials from various parts of the university. “This will be an ongoing body that will, I hope, make sure that the university’s goal to have a diverse faculty, staff and student body will be kept on the front burner,” Etchemendy said. “The cabinet will consist of executive officers who have the power to make key decisions. We expect the group to provide us with strategic advice on how to continue to improve campus diversity.”

Biological sciences Professor Pat Jones, vice provost for faculty development, will serve as the convener of the cabinet. The cabinet will be structured in a way that key positions will always be included on the cabinet, regardless of who is in the position. The positions (including the names of the people who currently fill them) are: chair, Committee on Graduate Studies (Sylvia Yanagisako); chair, Committee on Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid (Hazel Marcus); associate vice provost for faculty recruitment (Sally Dickson); vice provost for undergraduate education (John Bravman); interim dean for student affairs (Greg Boardman); associate dean for graduate policy (Gail Mahood); director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (Larry Bobo); dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid (Rick Shaw); executive director, Human Resources (Diane Peck); senior associate dean for diversity and leadership, School of Medicine (Hannah Valentine); and director, Diversity and Access Office (Rosa Gonzalez).

Athletic director search

Etchemendy also announced that he will chair a search committee for a new athletic director to succeed the outgoing Ted Leland. The other committee members are John Bravman; Pat Jones; Mariann Byerwalter, a member of the Board of Trustees; Patrick Dunkley, senior university counsel; Dick Gould, former men’s tennis coach; Larry Mohr, a member of the board of directors of the DAPER Investment Fund; Njideka Nnamani, a member of the women’s volleyball team; Jerry Porras, professor emeritus at the Graduate School of Business and a former faculty athletic representative; Krista Rappahahn, a member of the women’s basketball team; Tim Warner, vice provost for budget and auxiliaries management; and Howard Wolf, president of the Stanford Alumni Association.

Thanksgiving break

In other senate business, senate Chair Eric Roberts announced that this year’s experiment with giving students and faculty a week off for Thanksgiving would be repeated during the 2006-07 academic year while the university evaluates the impact that the one-week closure had this year. Roberts said Etchemendy was interested in getting feedback from students and faculty on the effects of the one-week break on class attendance, student stress and student travel plans.