The Faculty Senate will receive a report on efforts to increase collaboration between the Hoover Institution and the rest of Stanford as a result of a sometimes contentious debate involving issues of academic freedom and freedom of speech.
At its first meeting of the winter quarter, the Faculty Senate heard a presentation on the Hoover Institution and passed proposals intended to deemphasize the importance of wealth in undergraduate admission decisions.
In its last meeting of the autumn quarter, the Stanford Faculty Senate condemned the COVID-19-related actions of Hoover senior fellow and presidential adviser Scott Atlas. The Faculty Senate also approved a new policy on Open Access to make scholarly works more widely available.
The Faculty Senate on Thursday heard that, despite the pandemic, social unrest and the economic downturn, the Long-Range Vision initiatives are inspiring Stanford supporters even as the university adapts to a changed fundraising environment.
Members of the Faculty Senate on Thursday encouraged the university to accelerate its target dates for completing its transition to at least net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and endowment.
Judith L. Goldstein, who is the Janet M. Peck Professor of International Communication in the Department of Political Science and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, is serving as chair of the 2020-21 Faculty Senate of the Academic Council.
As Stanford faculty members disagree – often publicly – about the best way to confront COVID-19, questions about the responsibilities and limitations of academic freedom and the university’s relationship to the Hoover Institution have arisen.
At the Oct. 22 senate meeting, Provost Persis Drell provided an update on the university’s finances and the senate voted on a proposal to add exemptions and exceptions to a policy setting a 100-unit limit for undergraduate majors.
Provost Persis Drell announced a task force charged with recommending a new framework for the study of race and the impacts of race on society at Stanford. The senate also heard a report on a school focused on climate and sustainability and approved a proposal urging instructors to support civic engagement on Election Day.
The speakers at the Faculty Senate meeting included Provost Persis Drell, Kathryn Ann “Kam” Moler, vice provost and dean of research, and Vianna Vo, president of the Associated Students of Stanford University.
