Ira Lit, professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and faculty director of the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP), will become the Peter E. Haas Faculty Director of the Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford’s hub for community-engaged learning and service, in fall 2026. He will succeed Juliet M. Brodie, who has served as the Haas Center faculty director since 2021.
Lit arrived on campus as an undergraduate in 1986, just months after the center was established as Stanford’s new hub of public service. He credits his involvement at the center with helping him find his footing at Stanford and inspiring him to be of service in the world. Lit obtained a BA in political science, an MA in educational administration and policy analysis, and a PhD in teacher education from Stanford, as well as an MSC from the College of Notre Dame. He was appointed to the faculty at Stanford in 2007.
“Ira’s journey – from undergraduate student to stellar faculty member dedicated to inspiring his students and advancing the common good – speaks to the transformative nature of a Stanford education and Ira’s tremendous impact on our university and greater community,” said Jay Hamilton, the Freeman-Thornton Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. “The Haas Center will benefit immensely from Ira’s leadership and vision for years to come.”
Ken Goodson, vice provost for graduate education and postdoctoral affairs, said, “Ira is deeply committed to Stanford with a trajectory of contributions dating back 40 years. He is an accomplished scholar and educator on topics linking academia to service, and has a legacy of students and projects that have prepared him perfectly. We are very excited and thankful that Ira will be the next Haas faculty director.”
Beyond his faculty appointment with the Graduate School of Education, Lit has been involved in STEP in multiple leadership capacities since 2007, becoming its faculty director in 2021. He also co-led the Stanford Graduate School of Education’s initiative on Learning Differences and the Future of Special Education, and was the faculty sponsor of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE).
Committed to community engagement
Lit has cultivated an extensive career rooted in community-engaged scholarship, teaching, and service. Before joining the Stanford faculty, he was an elementary classroom teacher in the Palo Alto Unified School District and served as a clinical supervisor for the Santa Clara University Program in Elementary Teacher Education. Lit is a Governor-appointed member of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and he also served as a senior policy advisor to Sen. Cory A. Booker through a Stanford Scholars in Service fellowship. Since 2009, Lit has served as a National Advisory Board member to East Palo Alto’s Foundation for a College Education. He has also been a Stanford resident fellow and is a member of the faculty advisory board for Bing Nursery School.
“The Haas Center for Public Service is one of Stanford’s true treasures, and in many ways the Haas Center served as a catalyst for my own career – one steeped in community-engaged scholarship, teaching, and service,” said Lit. “I am honored and enthusiastic for the opportunity to give back to and advance the Haas Center, in collaboration with the many wonderful students, staff, faculty, and engaged communities we collectively serve.
Yi-Ching Ong, associate vice provost and executive director of the Haas Center, praised outgoing faculty director Juliet Brodie, professor of law and director of the Stanford Community Law Clinic, for her five years of leadership.
“Juliet brought an exceptional ability to understand and balance the needs and assets of multiple constituencies – students, community partners, faculty, and staff – while tirelessly working to advance experiential and community-engaged learning for Stanford students,” Ong said, adding, “I’m thrilled to work with Ira, whose deep commitments to community-engaged scholarship and teaching, along with his decades of experience leading initiatives at the intersection of academia and public service, make him an inspiring leader for the Haas Center’s next chapter.”
Lit’s appointment as the new Haas Center faculty director will begin on September 1, 2026.
Writer
Virginia Bock
