Eight Stanford faculty members have been honored for their extraordinary contributions to undergraduate education with appointments in the Bass University Fellows in Undergraduate Education Program.

“Stellar teachers have a transformative effect,” said the Freeman-Thornton Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Jay Hamilton, who was named a Bass Fellow in 2023. “They connect students with new ideas, people, and experiences in a way that sets the stage for lifelong learning. The breadth of disciplines presented in this year’s Bass Fellows reflects the strength of undergraduate instruction across Stanford.”

Bass Fellows are invited to join the Bass Council of Fellows, which meets quarterly and advises the vice provost for undergraduate education on various issues.

The 2026 Bass University Fellows begin their five-year terms in the 2026-27 academic year; once faculty rotate out of their individual fellow appointments, they become Bass University Fellows in Undergraduate Education in perpetuity.

The fellows program was established in 2001 and named in honor of Anne T., MLA ’07, and Robert M. Bass, MBA ’74, who provided matching funds to launch it. Each of the university fellow appointments is named in recognition of donors who made significant gifts to the Stanford Endowment for Undergraduate Education.

2026 new and reappointed Bass Fellows

Nicole Ardoin, a professor of environmental social sciences and a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, has been reappointed as the Barbara and Buzz McCoy University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Adrian Daub, the J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities and a professor of German studies and of comparative literature, has been reappointed as the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Lynn Hildemann, the Wayne Loel Professor of Sustainability, has been reappointed as the Gerhard Casper University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Tomás Jiménez, the Joan B. Ford Professor, has been reappointed as the Robert and Ruth Halperin University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Lianne Kurina, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Professor of Human Biology and a professor (teaching), by courtesy, of epidemiology and population health, has been appointed the Duca Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Karla Oeler, an associate professor (teaching) of art and art History, has been appointed the William R. and Gretchen B. Kimball University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Chris Piech, an associate professor (teaching) of computer science and, by courtesy, in the Graduate School of Education, has been appointed the Dunlevie Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Ross Shachter, an associate professor of management science and engineering, has been reappointed as the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.