Announcements

Home equity will no longer be a factor in the financial aid calculation for undergraduates.

Read Provost Drell's letter to the Stanford community about the release of a new report on cases of prohibited sexual conduct involving students, staff and faculty during the 2017–18 academic year.

As you may have read, the U.S. Department of Education has issued proposed new rules for colleges and universities to use in managing Title IX cases. These proposed rules would replace previous guidance that had been issued by the Obama Administration.

On Sunday the New York Times published an article regarding a possibility that the federal definition of gender will be limited to a biological, immutable condition established at birth. This possibility has left many at Stanford — especially those in our transgender, intersex and ally communities — feeling fearful, angry and uncertain about legal rights and protections.

We write to express the horror and sorrow of the entire Stanford community at yesterday’s attack on worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

In April, I wrote with the news that based on the recommendation of an advisory committee of students, faculty and staff, Stanford will be joining the student campus climate survey that will be administered by the Association of American Universities in the spring of 2019.

Last fall Marc and I launched Cardinal Conversations as an opportunity to advance the university’s commitment to the free exchange of ideas and to fostering an inclusive campus culture. Advancing both ideals together continues to be an imperative and a challenge for our community, and I want to update you on what we are doing for the coming year.

Earlier this academic year, I asked an advisory committee of students, faculty and staff to give me advice on how Stanford should approach its next campus climate survey. I’m writing now to share the news that, informed by the committee’s very helpful input, we are planning to join the Association of American Universities (AAU) survey that will be conducted in spring 2019.

The School of Humanities and Sciences has received an $800,000 gift from engineers and entrepreneurs ROUZBEH YASSINI-FARD and ANOUSHEH ANSARI to establish a graduate fellowship in memory of mathematics Professor MARYAM MIRZAKHANI. The Maryam Mirzakhani Graduate Fellowship will support graduate students in the Department of Mathematics.

This continues to be a time of anxiety and uncertainty for many people in our country, as the federal government works to define a future for those who have been covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.