Stacey Bent, who has completed a five-year term as vice provost for graduate education and postdoctoral affairs, will step down from her position in early 2025. To ensure continuity and to help with the transition, she will stay in the vice provost role while the search for her successor is conducted. She will then return to teaching and research at Stanford.

“It has been a privilege to serve in this role. I’ve had the opportunity to engage with our incredibly talented students and postdocs and, together with dedicated colleagues across the university, help ensure they receive top-quality education and training,” said Bent.

Provost Jenny Martinez praised Bent’s contributions to enhance the lives of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. 

“We’re grateful to Stacey for her efforts to help our graduate students and postdoctoral scholars have successful and fulfilling experiences at the university in support of their quest to make important contributions to their fields and to our world. Under her leadership, the office has worked effectively and collaboratively across the university to enhance and enrich graduate education and the postdoctoral experience at Stanford,” said Martinez. 

Highlights of Bent’s tenure as vice provost include the launch of several initiatives to address the costs of graduate education. Among those is the Research, Action, and Impact through Strategic Engagement fellowship program (RAISE), developed in collaboration with the Haas Center and Stanford Impact Labs, which supports doctoral students across disciplines who want to pursue community-engaged work. 

She also helped secure enhanced financial packages for graduate students and postdocs, which include a funding commitment for all doctoral students for 12 months over the first five years of their doctoral program; an increase in family grant programs to pay for childcare and other expenses for grad students and postdocs; and an increase in the Cardinal Care subsidy to 100% for all graduate students with support through fellowships and/or TA positions.

In support of postdocs, Bent also helped initiate the PRISM Baker postdoctoral fellowships, a pilot program for researchers in academic fields across the university from identity groups underrepresented in academia who are working to develop research independence. In addition, she oversaw the launch of a new transitional housing pilot program for postdocs. 

Bent has made many other contributions as a Stanford leader. During the pandemic, she participated as a member of the COVID-19 Academic Policy Group to set pandemic response policies for the university, and co-led, with former Dean of Research Kam Moler, the COVID Academic Policy Group Research Recovery Team. 

Former Provost Persis Drell, who appointed Bent in 2019, characterized her as “a great university citizen.”

“Stacey was an effective member of the executive cabinet and an essential partner during the difficult years of the pandemic,” said Drell. “While we were ‘shut down’ Stanford was still home to thousands of graduate students who had unique support needs. As part of the academic policy group, Stacey made sure those needs were met where possible.” 

“In addition, Stacey was a core member of the IDEAL team working to ensure that we better prepare all students, including those from diverse backgrounds and experiences, for future careers in academia and elsewhere. I have always admired her clarity of thought in analyzing complex situations, and her courage and strength in the face of challenges,” said Drell.

More about Stacey Bent

Bent is the Jagdeep and Roshni Singh Professor in the School of Engineering and a professor of chemical engineering. Since 2022, she’s also been a professor of energy science and engineering in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

Bent was appointed vice provost of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs in 2019. She previously served as senior associate dean for faculty and academic affairs in the School of Engineering from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, she was chair of the Chemical Engineering Department, the first female chair of the department. Bent also served as the inaugural director of the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy and has served in that position for 10 years. She has been teaching at Stanford since 1998. She holds a PhD in chemistry from Stanford and a BS in chemical engineering from UC Berkeley. 

Bent’s research lab focuses on understanding and controlling surface and interfacial chemistry and applying this knowledge to a range of problems in semiconductor processing, micro- and nano-electronics, nanotechnology, and sustainable and renewable energy. 

“I’m eager to return my attention more fully to advancing our exciting research and having more time to teach. I also look forward to having more flexibility in my schedule that will allow me to spend time with my family,” said Bent.