Stanford Report, May 11, 2011

Task force reviewing undergraduate education will give Faculty Senate a progress report Thursday

The senate will hear a presentation by Professor James Campbell, history, and Professor Susan McConnell, biology, co-chairs of the Study of Undergraduate Education at Stanford (SUES).

The Faculty Senate will hear a report Thursday from the co-chairs of the Study of Undergraduate Education at Stanford (SUES). It will be the second update from the task force, which will present its final report and recommendations this autumn.

Since the task force reviewing undergraduate education last briefed the senate, the group has met with University Librarian Michael Keller, the Black Student Union and the Committee on Undergraduate Standards and Policy. It has also conducted an alumni survey of the Classes of 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2005.

The task force, known as the Study of Undergraduate Education at Stanford, was appointed in January 2010 and presented its first update to the senate in November  2010. Stanford asked the 18-member task force to "review our curriculum, to reaffirm or revise our goals for undergraduate education and to ensure our requirements reflect our stated goals."

The task force, which includes faculty, students and staff, is examining how the world, Stanford students and the university have changed since the Commission on Undergraduate Education (CUE) issued its comprehensive report in 1994.

The co-chairs of the task force, James Campbell, the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in U.S. History, and Susan McConnell, the Susan B. Ford Professor, biology, will present a progress report Thursday during the third senate meeting of spring quarter.

The other members of the task force are:

  • R. Lanier Anderson, associate professor of philosophy
  • Aysha Bagchi, undergraduate, history and philosophy, '11
  • Jonathan Berger, Denning Family Provostial Professor, music
  • Sarah Billington, Clare Booth Luce Associate Professor, civil and environmental engineering
  • Timothy Bresnahan, Landau Professor in Technology and the Economy, economics
  • Chris Edwards, associate professor of mechanical engineering
  • Stephanie Kalfayan, vice provost for academic affairs, Provost's Office
  • Julie Kennedy, associate director and senior lecturer, Earth Systems Program
  • Kathryn A. Moler, associate professor of applied physics and of physics
  • Rob Reich, associate professor of political science
  • Jennifer Summit, professor of English
  • Ravi Vakil, professor of mathematics
  • Nayoung Woo, undergraduate, chemistry, '12
  • Scott Calvert, director of finance and administration, Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (staff)
  • Sharon Palmer, associate vice provost, Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (staff)
  • LaCona Woltmon, '04, assistant director, Residential Education (staff)

The task force has established seven subcommittees: writing and oral communication; residential and co-curricular learning; the freshman year; beyond the freshman year; breadth; education for citizenship; and student learning.

It is expected to present its final report and recommendations in the autumn quarter of 2011.

The meeting will begin at 3:15 p.m. in Room 180 of the Law School. Discussion is limited to members of the senate, but members of the Stanford community may request to attend by contacting Assistant Academic Secretary Trish DelPozzo at 723-4992 or at delpozzo@stanford.edu.