Lara Tohme is the Lead Academic Advising Director for West Campus with Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR), a unit under the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE). Lara works with undergraduates of all majors and all classes, with a focus on helping freshmen and undeclared students find their academic home. With students, she addresses topics such as academic planning, exploring interests, identifying goals, choosing majors, assessing academic progress, connecting with faculty, finding opportunities for research and service, applying for grants and fellowships, and understanding university requirements and policies. Lara also serves as the Stanford liaison for the nationally competitive Beinecke Scholarship (for Juniors), which supports graduate study in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Prior to coming to Stanford in 2013, Lara was a faculty member at Wellesley College, the Boston Architectural College, and Dartmouth College. She is trained as an architectural historian of the medieval Mediterranean and has taught courses on Medieval and Islamic art and architecture. She has lived and worked in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington, Italy, Spain, France, Tunisia, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.