A Conversation with the Deans of the School of Humanities and Sciences, 1988-2018
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Five former deans of the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences reflect on the nature of the dean’s job and the school’s organization; key events, accomplishments, and frustrations during their tenure; and change over time in the H&S budget, departmental evaluation, faculty recruitment, and more. The participants, whose deanships spanned from 1988 to 2018, are Malcolm Beasley (1998-2001), Sharon Long (2001-2007), Richard Saller (2007-2018), John Shoven (1993-1998), and Ewart Thomas (1988-1993). Historian David M. Kennedy moderates the panel.
- Summary
- Introduction of panelists • What does a dean do? • Unique mission of the School of Humanities and Sciences • Strategies for retaining key faculty in the face of competition • Reflections on the organizational architecture of H&S • Senior associate deans • Change over time in H&S financial resources, including role of H&S Council and story of the Hewlett Gift (announced in 2001) • Difficulty of budget planning given lag time surrounding faculty appointments and efforts to rectify • Reflections on budgetary discipline needed to eliminate deficit • Comparison of H&S organization with other universities • Impact of moving Department of Computer Science from H&S to the School of Engineering • Undergraduate education, including Commission on Undergraduate Education, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, minors versus double majors, and the ability of the dean’s office to privilege teaching in tenure review • Distinct issues facing the three sectors of H&S: humanities, social sciences, and sciences, including departmental differences in tenure recommendations • Strategies for assessing and improving departmental health • Reflections on interdepartmental programs (IDPs) • Closure of the Food Research Institute during John Shoven’s deanship • Reorganizing the Division of Literature, Culture, and Languages (DLCL) with help from Keith Baker and John Bender • Impact of rising housing prices in the Bay Area on recruitment and efforts to address • Frustrations and disappointments of deanship • Chicana student hunger strike and establishment of the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity during Shoven’s deanship • Impact of the Loma Prieta earthquake and the indirect costs recovery crisis during Thomas’s deanship • Significant accomplishments as dean • Advice for future deans
Description
Type of resource | text |
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Extent | 1 text file |
Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Date created | June 5, 2018 |
Language | English |
Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
Interviewee | Beasley, Malcolm R. | |
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Interviewee | Shoven, John B. | |
Interviewee | Thomas, Ewart A. C. | |
Interviewee | Saller, Richard P. | |
Interviewee | Long, Sharon R. |
Subjects
Subject | Stanford University. School of Humanities and Sciences |
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Subject | Deans (Education) > United States |
Subject | Universities and colleges |
Subject | Undergraduates |
Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
Audio |
|
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Finding Aid | |
Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/jt269jj8022 |
Location | SC0932 |
Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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