Stanford Report, January 21, 2009

Ric Weiland Graduate Fellowships recipients announced

Twenty-three doctoral candidates in the School of Humanities and Sciences have been awarded the first round of Ric Weiland Graduate Fellowships, which include stipends, tuition support and grants for travel, language study and other research needs.

Ric Weiland, '76, was one of the first five employees of Microsoft Corp. He died in 2006. A portion of his bequest to Stanford established the fellowship program.

The school chose the inaugural fellows from a pool of applicants in their third year of study. The goal of the fellowships is to encourage students to engage with faculty and students across disciplines.

"Ric Weiland cared deeply about the exchange of ideas across academic disciplines and organizational boundaries," said Richard Saller, the Vernon R. and Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences. "This extraordinary unrestricted gift allowed us to match the school's highest priorities with a program that honors Ric and his values."

The fellows are studying a diverse set of topics, from Japanese Buddhist literature to the statistics of genetic processes involved in cancer.

Weiland was also a generous supporter of Stanford during his life. He established endowed professorships named for his parents: the Martha Meier Weiland Professorship in the School of Medicine, now held by cardiologist Paul Yock, and the Richard Hershel Weiland Professorship in the School of Humanities and Sciences, now held by theoretical physicist Stephen Shenker.

Weiland also funded other graduate fellowships, multidisciplinary programs, The Stanford Fund and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Resources Center, where he served as an adviser.