Stanford Report, May 24, 2006

Cardinal Chronicle

BY MICHAEL PEÑA

CELESTE FOWLES, student services officer in the undergraduate degree progress division of the Office of the University Registrar, is named after a brigantine abandoned off the coast of Portugal in 1872. The mystery enjoys legendary status in England, where a documentary featuring Fowles aims to clear the air this week on British TV. Her great-great-great-uncle was captain of the Mary Celeste, which was sailing from New York to Genoa with 1,700 barrels of industrial alcohol. The cargo was still there when another crew found the ship, but the only clues that someone else had been on board were sailors' pipes strewn on deck and an imprint of a child in the captain's cabin's bed. But he, his crew and his family had vanished. The ship was considered cursed because of a prior collision and the death of its first captain on its maiden voyage. A short story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, before he created Sherlock Holmes, immortalized the Mary Celeste as a ghost ship. "I don't think people will ever really know what happened," said Fowles, who has been promised a copy of the documentary once it airs.

Besides being a record-keeping unit that tracks students' academic progress, the registrar's office also handles high-tech equipment in the classroom and books department-sponsored events. The office receives about 4,000 scheduling requests every year, assistant registrar SHARON VELTEN said during a presentation at the May 17 meeting of TIPS (Team to Improve Productivity at Stanford). To see which rooms, auditoriums or outdoor spaces are available, go to http://resource25.stanford.edu. The website also allows users to filter their search by building, seating capacity or features such as smart panels. Request forms can be found at the Office of Student Activities' website, http://osa.stanford.edu.

Stanford has been ranked among the "best workplaces for commuters" since 2001, but a new program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation that recognizes colleges and universities for comprehensive alternative-transportation programs also gives the nod to Stanford. The entire list of 72 campuses—released this week—does not rank them, but "Stanford has one of the, if not the most comprehensive program in the country," said BRODIE HAMILTON, director of Parking and Transportation Services.