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Archive for December, 2010

Annual Report on Undergraduate Education highlights scholarships

December 16th, 2010

arue_cover_flattenedThe newly posted Annual Report on Undergraduate Education 2009-10, created by the Office of Development, introduces viewers to recipients of Stanford scholarships and illustrates how the university invests support given by alumni, parents and friends.

In 2009-10, 31,892 donors gave more than $20.2 million to The Stanford Fund. Seventy-seven percent of the gifts were allocated to undergraduate financial aid, 15 percent to student life and 8 percent to academic experience.

Among the students featured is BEN AREVALO, Class of 2011, who submitted a report from the new Bing Overseas Studies Program in Cape Town, South Africa. That program received start-up funding from The Stanford Fund and the vice provost for undergraduate education. A feature on Student Life highlights Blackfest 2010. The committee that organized the event is one of the more than 100 student groups supported by The Stanford Fund. A feature explaining athletic scholarships profiles SHAYNE SKOV, Class of 2013, who is one of more than 500 student-athletes supported by endowed athletic scholarships and Buck/Cardinal Club Scholarships.

Also listed are endowed scholarship funds established in 2009-10, along with testimonials from students who thank the donors who supported their educations. Individual class-giving results are also listed. Kudos to the Class of 1959 for a 59 percent participation rate in 2009 and the Class of 1984 for the most Stanford Fund dollars raised.

Faculty who were named Bass University Fellows in Undergraduate Education in 2009-10 are listed, including computer scientist DAPHNE KOLLER, the Rajeev Motwani Professor in the School of Engineering and the Oswald G. Villard University Fellow. She is quoted as saying, “Receiving this fellowship helped cement even further my long-standing involvement in undergraduate education at Stanford.”

Visit the Annual Report on Undergraduate Education website.

Fangio named defensive coordinator of the year

December 15th, 2010

FangioDefensive coordinator VIC FANGIO is the latest football player or coach to be recognized with a national award. Fangio was named Footballscoop.com’s Defensive Coordinator of the Year.

Fangio is in his first season as Stanford’s defensive coordinator after spending the previous 24 years coaching in the NFL, including the last four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

Fangio, along with fellow defensive coaches RANDY HART and DEREK MASON, coached the Cardinal defenders into posting three shutouts this season, the most since 1969, while allowing just 17.8 points per game — 11th best in the nation. That mark also leads the Pac-10.

“He has an impressive knowledge of the game and he’s able to teach that,” head coach JIM HARBAUGH recently told reporters. “He’s organized and it’s a belief our players have bought into. There’s an identity forming. You can see it in their confidence and execution. … He is one of the top coaches out there in all of football. I’m learning a lot of football from him.”

Read more on the Stanford Athletics website.

Soccer star Christen Press named finalist for Hermann Trophy

December 14th, 2010
Christen Press

Christen Press

Stanford senior CHRISTEN PRESS has been named one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy, which recognizes the best college women’s soccer player in the country.

Press will be joined by Notre Dame’s Melissa Henderson and California’s Alex Morgan for the awards ceremony Jan. 7 in St. Louis. Press could become the second Hermann winner from Stanford, after teammate KELLEY O’HARA, who won last year.

Press is the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year after leading Stanford to its second consecutive perfect conference season and into its third consecutive NCAA College Cup. The Cardinal reached the NCAA championship final for the second consecutive year and once again, Press was named to the College Cup All-Tournament team, for the third time.

Press also established herself as the most prolific scorer in Stanford history, breaking career records in goals (71), assists (41) and points (183). She also matched O’Hara’s year-old single-season record for goals. In addition, Press was named the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s soccer and is a first-team Academic All-American.

Read more on the Stanford Athletics website.

Marecic is finalist for football’s Hornung Award

December 13th, 2010
Owen Marecic

Owen Marecic

Senior OWEN MARECIC, who Coach Jim Harbaugh calls the “perfect football player,” is a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award, which honors the nation’s most versatile football player.

Marecic, who is an AFCA All-American and CoSIDA Academic All-American, joins TCU’s Jeremy Kerley and Kentucky’s Randall Cobb on the final list. The winner will be announced in early January.

“Owen Marecic plays football the way we did years ago — tough, fearless, relentless,” said Hornung.

Marecic averages 110 plays per game as both the team’s starting linebacker and fullback.

Read more on the Stanford Athletics website.

Andrew Luck talks about his Heisman Trophy nomination

December 9th, 2010
Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck

Stanford’s star quarterback ANDREW LUCK displayed his enthusiasm, intelligence, humility and savvy with the media during a press conference this week. The articulate Luck took time off between finals to answer questions from reporters about his Heisman Trophy nomination. Luck joins Auburn’s Cam Newton, Oregon’s LaMichael James and Boise State’s Kellen Moore as finalists for college football’s top individual honor.

Luck and the three other finalists will be on hand for the presentation of the Heisman Trophy in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 11. The winner will be announced during a live televised special on ESPN beginning at 5 p.m. PT.

Luck told the press he was “honored” and “excited to be included.” Reporters pointed out that the money is on Auburn’s Cam Newton to win the trophy this year. Luck shrugged and said, “But it’s still a trip to New York.” He says he is just excited to “be part of the discussion.”

And who did Luck call for advice about the ceremony? None other than friend and alumnus TOBY GERHART, last year’s runner-up for the Heisman who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings.

“I called Toby, first to congratulate him for scoring his first touchdown a couple of weeks ago,” Luck said, adding, “I know my mom called his mom, which is probably the more important call.”

Luck said Gerhart told him “what to expect and what clothes to bring.” He said his mother gave him the “green light to buy a new suit. She said I’m not going to grow anymore.”

Luck laughed when reporters asked if he had an acceptance speech yet. He doesn’t. That doesn’t surprise people who know the humble young man from Texas and say he is as nice in person as he seems.

Luck also talked about his pride in the Stanford football program and gave his perspective on the tough Virginia Tech defense he and his teammates will face in the Discover Orange Bowl on Jan. 3.

Watch the news conference on the Stanford Athletics website.

Linda Darling-Hammond wins 2010 Brock Prize

December 8th, 2010

darling-hammond_headshot_2-08_0LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, has been named the 2010 recipient of the Brock International Prize in Education.

The prize is given annually to an individual who has made a specific innovation or contribution to the science and art of education, resulting in a significant impact on the practice or understanding of education.

Darling-Hammond was selected for her lifelong dedication to the pursuit of excellence and equity for all children and for her focus on effective instruction, which has sparked important conversations about what it takes to reform education. Given by the Brock Community Foundation, the Brock International Prize in Education consists of $40,000, a certificate and a sculpted bust of Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee syllabary. Darling-Hammond will receive the award at a public ceremony during the Brock Symposium on Excellence in Education at the University of Oklahoma on April 8.

Visit the School of Education website to read more.

Country stars aid in fundraising for Women’s Cancer Center

December 7th, 2010

garthty-299x300Country singing stars GARTH BROOKS and TRISHA YEARWOOD visited last week to help raise nearly $1 million for the WOMEN’S CANCER CENTER at Stanford. The program, part of the Stanford Cancer Center, involves some 80 faculty and staff in a comprehensive effort to improve survival and cure rates for breast and gynecologic cancers.

The two stars flew in from their home in Oklahoma to perform a half-hour set and to talk about their passion for the issue of women’s health.

“The Stanford Women’s Cancer Center is for our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and all of us who love them,” the couple told about 300 guests at the Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club. “We are honored to be able to share in the celebration of this vision coming to life.”

Current proposals call for conversion of space in the Blake Wilbur Building across the street from the Stanford Cancer Center to provide centralized clinical care for women with breast and gynecologic cancers. The 13,800-square-foot space will serve as the new home for the Women’s Cancer Center, doubling the existing clinical space for patients with these cancers. The center is expected to be completed next summer.

Read more about the event.

MBA students ring the NYSE closing bell

December 6th, 2010
Stanford bell1

Photo: Steve Castillo/Stanford

Hundreds of MBA students from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business were on hand for the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange Dec. 2. They were joined by the school’s dean, GARTH SALONER, and NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer. Students and faculty rang more than 300 bells during a live satellite feed from campus. Niederauer was at the Business School to speak with MBA students as part of the View from the Top leadership speaker series; he also spoke at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research on the role of capital markets, innovation and the entrepreneur in job creation.

Visit the Bowl Center website for the latest football news!

December 3rd, 2010
Andrew Luck is Stanford's star quarterback

Andrew Luck is Stanford's star quarterback

Can’t get enough Stanford football news? Eager to find out what’s going to happen in terms of bowl invitations for the 11-1 Stanford Cardinal?

Then be sure to tune in on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 5:15 p.m. (PST) for the BCS Countdown show on ESPN television. In the meantime, visit Stanford Athletics Bowl Central for the latest in bowl news, ticket sales, fan travel package deals and bowl merchandise. The website also has a nifty chronology of the Cardinal’s bowl history dating back to 1902.

At this point, the Cardinal is ranked fourth in the nation, which means the team is in contention for such games as the Rose Bowl, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the Discover Orange Bowl, the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the BCS National Championship.

According to the website, on Monday, Dec. 6, bowl ticket applications become available to the general public, fan travel packages become available for sale and — at 9 a.m. — the Stanford Athletics Ticket Office will begin to accept ticket orders.

Go Cardinal!

SLAC welcomes new CFO Linda Rakow

December 2nd, 2010

Photo: Brad Plummer

Linda Rakow (Photo: Brad Plummer)

LINDA RAKOW joined the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory last month as chief financial officer, bringing with her decades of experience in the Department of Energy’s national laboratory system. She has held a variety of senior-level financial positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), most recently serving as CFO there.

“Coming to SLAC is exciting because I can take my 25 years of experience at LLNL and apply it to important operations initiatives here,” Rakow said. Her highest priority is to implement a strategic business system for the lab, which will transform and modernize the way business is done and provide significant enhanced capabilities and state-of-the-art business processes.Prior to joining the LLNL, Rakow spent 10 years at the Nevada Test Site, now the Nevada National Security Site.

Read the full announcement on the SLAC Today website.