Stanford Report, September 13, 2006

Cardinal Chronicle

BY MICHAEL PEÑA

The campaign to promote the annual Silicon Valley Walk to Cure Diabetes kicks off on campus today with a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Tresidder Union's Oak Lounge. The campus community has participated in the last three walks, and chairing the Stanford contingent this year are history Professor CLAYBORNE CARSON, director of the Stanford Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, and his wife, SUSAN, managing editor of the King Papers Project. They will lead the Stanford team with CHARMIN SMITH, an assistant women's basketball coach and a top fundraiser in last year's walk. The Stanford walkers' goal is to raise at least $10,000 for diabetes research, and whoever raises the most individually will win a football jersey signed by RONNIE LOTT. To get involved, send an e-mail to lcordell@stanford.edu or cathy.jensen@stanford.edu. The walk will be on Oct. 8 at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale.

New Athletic Director BOB BOWLSBY will speak about Stanford Athletics and the new football stadium tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at the Faculty Club. The event is open to club members and their guests, as well as university employees interested in the talk or in becoming a member. Bowlsby, who took over as head of athletics on July 10, gained a national reputation for his skill and integrity during his nearly 15 years at the helm of the University of Iowa's athletic program. Anyone interested in attending should RSVP by calling 723-9313.

There are a few male employees on campus who wear kilts. Not all of them are Scots, but they are unflappably confident in their manhood and clothing of choice: the Utilikilt. When staffers KENT SAFFORD and DONNOVAN SOMERA YISRAEL saw each other in a HIP class last spring, Safford instantly recognized the breezy attire Yisrael was sporting. A Utilikilt is an update of the Scottish original, except with wider pleats, cargo pockets on the sides and an added layer of fabric that hangs over the front and weighs the kilt down where it counts. Safford said his colleagues in the Humanities Center have gotten used to his kilt, which he and his unfettered friends wear on Fridays, when they usually meet in the afternoon for coffee at Moonbean's. If you'd like to learn more, feel free to send an e-mail to donnovan@stanford.edu.