Dear Stanford community,

As we look to the future of Stanford University, the Board of Trustees has formed a committee to lead a comprehensive search for the university’s 13th president. The 20-member presidential search committee has been thoughtfully assembled to reflect our community’s diverse perspectives as we seek the next leader for Stanford.

The committee includes faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students, a postdoctoral scholar, staff, and trustees, who will seek community input and provide a recommendation to the full Board of Trustees for consideration. Trustees Gene Sykes and Lily Sarafan and Professor Bonnie Maldonado will serve as co-chairs. The full list of committee members can be found on the presidential search committee site. Collectively, these individuals bring a deep understanding of Stanford and our strengths – including our commitment to excellence and integrity in research, education, and clinical care – and how we can build on these strengths for the future.

The success of our committee will hinge largely on its ability to engage with the community in defining the values, traits, and abilities that our next leader should embody. To this end, the search committee will host a number of listening sessions within each of Stanford’s seven schools, and will offer opportunities for engagement with other members of our community and alumni networks. Details about these listening sessions will be shared during fall quarter.

A dedicated email address – presidentialsearch23@stanford.edu – has also been established for anyone to share their thoughts, including direct nominations, with the search committee for consideration. While the search will require a certain level of confidentiality (for the sake of the individuals and candidates involved and integrity of the process), we are committed to sharing updates on the presidential search website as the search progresses.

As I shared with the community several weeks ago in the Stanford Report, selecting the university’s president is one of the most important tasks an institution can undertake. More than just finding an individual to serve in that capacity, this is an opportunity for us to collectively shape the future of our university, and to help write the next chapter for how Stanford will lead.

We are committed to ensuring a thorough and diligent search process, and we look forward to your engagement in the exciting journey ahead.

Sincerely,

Jerry Yang
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Stanford University