Spring 2022 update on Stanford Neighborhoods

Dear undergraduates,

We would like to congratulate the 5,577 of you who completed the housing assignment process! We are writing to:

• share data and updates on what will be happening in the neighborhoods next year
• ask for your thoughts and ideas for neighborhood programs and experiences
• Invite you to get involved in exciting opportunities

Overview of Neighborhoods

The assignments process each year can be filled with excitement and stress. It comes with the challenges of figuring out who you would like to live near, where you would like to live, and all of the affiliated trade offs. This mix of emotions and experiences is not new with the advent of neighborhoods. Students have wrestled with these challenges for decades.

What the neighborhoods provide is support for what students have told us they value most — the ability to continue living with the people and community they know. The choice to change to the neighborhood model was a choice to prioritize relationships over real estate. Students who want to explore outside their neighborhood are able to do so through the 30 options for theme housing or through applying to switch neighborhoods; and those who want to stay around their fellow community members can easily do so.

Data

Explore the initial data we are tracking to understand the impact and effectiveness of the neighborhoods.

Coming Up for 2022-2023

Here are a few exciting ways to leave your mark on Stanford in the next year!

Naming Neighborhoods

The S-T-A-N-F-O-R-D names of neighborhoods have been a temporary placeholder while we got feedback from students, alumni and university stakeholders on what the long-term names of our neighborhoods should be. We are thrilled to share that each neighborhood will be named after a tree species, in honor of the Stanford band mascot and the long standing tradition of naming buildings after the beautiful trees that cover our campus. Next year, community councils will take a leadership role in recommending options for tree names that we hope will represent their neighborhood for generations to come.

Building on This Year & Starting New Traditions

Our community councils have started the process of creating traditions for their neighborhoods. You can see what they have been up to here. We are eager for next year’s community councils to build on these events and start new traditions that will continue for years to come!

Opportunity for Sharing Your Ideas

The neighborhoods are new and we are continually taking in feedback to improve the student experience. We encourage you to check out some of the changes we’ve made to the neighborhoods already, in response to student feedback earlier this year. We ask that you share your thoughts and experiences with us directly by going to this link. We will use your suggestions to continue to improve our residential campus for you and future Stanford students.

Get Involved

Of course it will take time to realize our vision for lively neighborhood communities. You are the founders and co-creators of the neighborhood experience. In this process, you will be building incredible memories, and probably will experience some growing pains, as we develop our dorms and neighborhoods into homes for future generations of Stanford students. Join us and help build Stanford of the future!

• Interested in getting involved in your neighborhood community council? Let us know here!
• Apply to be a Neighborhood Programs Intern!

We are thankful to the many students who are actively working to bring life to the neighborhoods through their community councils, neighborhood events, being student staff, and serving as interns. It will take all of us to make our campus what we want it to be, and planning for 2022-2023 is a big, exciting step forward.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Brown
Assistant Vice Provost for Residential Education

Susie Brubaker-Cole
Vice Provost for Student Affairs

Sarah Church
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Shirley Everett
Senior Associate Vice Provost for Residential & Dining Enterprises
Senior Adviser to the Provost on Equity and Inclusion

Mona Hicks
Senior Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

Imogen Hinds
Executive Director for Residential & Dining Enterprises Student Housing Operations

Tim Warner
Vice Provost for Budget and Auxiliaries Management