printable versionPresident, panel discuss ambitions for a 21st-century campus to council
BY MICHAEL PEÑA
In an address to the Academic Council on May 15, President John Hennessy reviewed the university’s accomplishments over the past year and spoke of Stanford’s goals in building a campus for the 21st century—namely, constructing state-of-the-art research and residential facilities, continuing to make sustainability a priority and employing responsible land-use practices.
In addition, Hennessy emphasized the importance of adhering to the original campus plan by the famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. “Throughout Stanford’s history, we have been shaped by a profound sense of place,” he said. “During Gerhard Casper’s tenure, we began a process of returning to the original Olmsted plan for the campus, which relies on strong axes and quadrangles as the primary structural elements.”
Hennessy began his address by highlighting several notable events from the past 12 months. He said that the Office of Admission recently reported receiving more applicants than at any time in the university’s history: 25,298 students applied for the Class of 2012. The result was the lowest admit rate in Stanford’s history—less than 10 percent, Hennessy said.
He also noted the launch in February of a new financial aid policy that, starting in the fall, will relieve families with annual incomes of less than $100,000 of having to contribute to tuition if their student attends Stanford; families that earn less than $60,000 will not be asked to contribute to tuition or room and board.
Other achievements included the naming of three Stanford students or recent alumni as Rhodes Scholars this year, as well as professors Gretchen Daily, Daphne Koller, W. E. Moerner and Harold Mooney each winning a distinguished prize for significant contributions to their various fields. In that vein, Hennessy mentioned that six Stanford researchers were among the scholars who contributed to the Nobel Prize-winning work of the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change, which received the 2007 Peace Prize along with former Vice President Al Gore.
Hennessy also updated the council and campus community on the progress so far of The Stanford Challenge, both in terms of fundraising and the campaign’s major initiatives. In addition to receiving pledges for more than $3.5 billion since its launch, Hennessy said the university has been able to move forward with the design of a 900-seat concert hall. He added that, for the past several years, much fundraising effort has focused on new facilities, such as a new campus for the Business School, new buildings in engineering and new educational facilities in the Medical School.
“To support the wide range of new activities from the Medical School to the arts to the Business School, we will need to be innovative in how we design and build our facilities, as well as in our research and teaching,” Hennessy said. “Our facilities must be more flexible and adaptable over time, but they must still meet the demands of cutting-edge research, and they must be designed and built in a way that enhances our campus both aesthetically as well as environmentally.”
Hennessy was joined by a panel of top administrators from across campus to discuss their perspectives on the goals for building a 21st-century campus. The panelists included Ann Arvin, vice provost and dean of research; David Kreps, senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Graduate School of Business; David Lenox, university architect and director of campus planning; and Joseph Stagner, executive director of sustainability and energy management—Stanford’s first.
Among other issues, Arvin spoke of the need for labs and educational spaces to be built in a way that fosters interdisciplinary work.
“We understand that we need to focus on a design that will support our interdisciplinary research goals,” said Arvin, the Lucile Salter Packard Professor in Pediatrics and professor of microbiology and immunology. “That is a process that has to begin with planning and then has to be managed optimally going forward.”
The panel also took questions from faculty and staff who attended the late-afternoon event, held in Cubberley Auditorium. Hennessy, in introducing Kreps, posed a question of his own, asking why Stanford needs a new Business School campus.
Kreps began his answer by noting that, 20 years ago, an MBA education was largely one-size-fits-all—with classes and activities that were well suited for rooms in the traditional, tiered-horseshoe design, which accommodates 50 to 60 students and rise from a central pit. But Kreps said the type of education and programs that the school now offers no longer work well with those large, inflexible spaces.
“Twenty years ago, we would’ve never guessed what today’s program looks like,” Kreps said. “We’re trying as much as possible to leave ourselves with as much flexibility as possible, which I assume means much less concrete.”