DIRECTOR'S UPDATE
Hello From Palo Alto,
Early last week, the Office of Undergraduate Admission released the
remaining 100 or so freshmen applicants holding a space on our extended waitlist. With an over-enrollment of approximately 40
freshman expected to arrive in September, it had become increasingly clear that no new space would materialize in our Class of 2012. As a
result, Dean Shaw reluctantly decided to release the remaining students from the list earlier than expected. However, Stanford's
committment to providing access to transfer students remains and we are pleased to have been able to offer admission to a small number of students on
the transfer waitlist.
If you are
a counselor and looking for a wonderful professional development opportunity, please think about the institute we are hosting here on campus this
summer in conjunction with the National Association of College Admission Counseling. On July 13, we welcome nearly 100 counselors from around
the world to our Directing a
Dynamic College Counseling Program. Deans and Directors from Boston University, UCLA, the
University of Delaware, Emory University, Lewis and Clark College, Northwestern University and Trinity University will be on campus to help guidance
counselors return to their schools with an understanding of the national college
admission landscape.
Watch next month for a special edition of The Dish, as we formally unveil our new pilot program for alumni
interviewing!
Shawn
Shawn L. Abbott
Director of Admission
HAPPENING
HERE
Oprah Winfrey, a global media leader and philanthropist, delivered the Commencement
speech on Sunday, June 15th to Stanford’s graduating class of 2008 and a crowd of 25,000
at the Stanford Stadium. In her speech, Oprah drew upon her own experiences and said that "in order to move forward, you have to give something
back." She noted that while money is nice, its greatest value is being able to put it to good use. Helping others—even when times
are tough for the benefactor—allows people to join what Winfrey called "the greatest fellowship of all: the sorority of compassion and the
fraternity of service." Staying true to her tradition of giving audience members gifts, graduates found two ribbon-wrapped books—Eckhart
Tolle's A New Earth and Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind—on their seats, gifts from Winfrey that she also highlighted in her
speech about feelings, failure and finding happiness. You can click here to see Oprah's address in its
entirety.
Stanford's 117th Commencement and Baccalaureate ceremonies were
part of a two-day celebration for graduates, their families and friends, and members of the Stanford community. The 4,666 graduates did the
Wacky Walk, Stanford’s version of the traditional graduation procession, where graduates burst onto the stadium field with Frisbees, beach
balls and Chinese parade dragons. Students dressed in togas, as bowling pins and some were costumed as the Marguerite campus shuttle bus.
The degrees conferred included 1,702 bachelor's degrees, 2,017 master's degrees and 947 doctoral degrees. Departmental honors were awarded to
340 undergraduates; 268 graduated with university distinction; 90 graduated with multiple majors; 407 completed minors; 49 graduated with dual
bachelor's degrees; and 134 graduated with combined bachelor's and master's degrees.
GO CARDINAL
For the 16th time in program history, the Stanford baseball
team headed to Omaha for the College World Series. Stanford was the only team to advance to the
World Series that was not ranked in the top 8 nationally. Stanford beat third-ranked Florida State with an 11-run ninth inning in the Series
opener. The Cardinal went on to eliminate #1 Miami to make it to the final four before ultimately falling to Georgia. Seven current
Stanford players have been selected to the 2008 MLB First-Year Draft. They were picked by
the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, New York Mets and the Cleveland Indians.
Before baseball track and field had even finished their seasons,
Stanford won its unprecedented 14th consecutive Directors' Cup. Stanford teams boasted 12 top-five
finishes this season, taking home the women's cross country championship, placing second in women's volleyball, women's basketball, men's gymnastics,
and men's golf, third in men's and women's swimming, women's gymnastics, women's water polo, and fifth in women's indoor track and field and women's
tennis.
NEWS FLASH
Stanford will once again host the 2008 Western Association for College
Admission Counseling Northern California College Tour and Program on Wednesday, July 30. Stanford is one of 13 stops on the tour that is
expected to draw 40 counselors from across California and the rest of the country. In addition to the tour, the program will feature
presentations about the college process that are designed to meet the needs of high school, independent and college-access-program
counselors. Visit the WACAC website for more details and to register for the program.
QUICK
TIP
The 2008-2009 Common Application launches July 1! The Common App Online
system offers a new design, new college search engine and other new features including the ability to upload fully formatted essays. Also, 34
new members have been added for the upcoming year, bringing the total number of institutions using the Common Application to 347. A preview of
the new system can be found by clicking here.
PUBLIC EYE
According to a recent Forbes magazine story, Stanford University ranks #2 in
American universities/colleges ‘producing’ the most billionaires. Stanford boasts 30 billionaire alumni including Nike co-founder
Philip Knight, discount brokerage mogul Charles Schwab and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page (worth nearly $19 billion each). San
Francisco/Silicon Valley also ranks in the top 10 cities for billionaires, with 19 billionaires holding an average net worth of $3.1 billion.
Other schools in the top 5 include Harvard University (#1 with 50 billionaire alumni), University of Pennsylvania (#3 with 27), Yale University (#4
with 19) and Columbia University (#5 with 15). The Forbes article
credits factors such as offering excellent educations, networking, specific programs (such as business schools), strong research programs in
developing areas of technology and selectivity in admission for what makes certain schools billionaire factories.
ON CAMPUS
This month marked the launch of the next major space observatory, the Gamma-ray Large Area Space
Telescope (GLAST). GLAST, designed with participation between scientists at the Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center and the main campus, will be gathering new information about subatomic particles, black holes, and the birth and evolution of the
universe. The Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center (SLAC) managed the development of GLAST's main instrument, the Large Area Telescope
(LAT), and integrated the instrument from hardware fabricated at laboratories around the world. The LAT operates more like a particle detector
than a conventional telescope, and uses 880,000 silicon strips to detect high-energy gamma rays. This new technology provides unprecedented
resolution and sensitivity, filling in gaps in understanding left by previous missions, and pushing new boundaries in particle physics and
astrophysics. A multi-step process makes the LAT at least 30 times more sensitive than any previous satellite detector and will allow it to
survey the entire sky several times per day. Physicists and astronomers expect that this unprecedented look at the gamma-ray sky will reveal
vital information about subatomic particles at energies far greater than those seen in ground-based particle accelerators, about the accelerating
powers of supermassive black holes. Stanford will continue to be involved after the launch, as SLAC runs the Instrument Science Operations
Center (ISOC), which will process the LAT data for the duration of the mission.
AROUND TOWN
The Contemporary Jewish Museum recently celebrated the grand opening at its new
home in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena cultural district. Designed by famed architect Daniel Libeskind, the new 63,000-square-foot building
offers visitors bold contemporary spaces dedicated to galleries, performances, and education programs. The new space enables the CJM to continue
its commitment to engage audiences of all backgrounds through exhibitions and programs that explore contemporary perspectives on Jewish art, culture,
history, and ideas. At the center of its programming is a focus on education and outreach to the broader community with the ultimate goal of
encouraging interfaith and intercultural dialogues.
BY THE NUMBERS
No car, no problem!
2: The number of new Zipcars that arrived at Stanford in May 2008
8: The total number of Zipcars at Stanford
5: The number of campus locations that offer Zipcars
$8: The starting hourly rate to rent a Zipcar
Since December 2007, Zipcar has provided Stanford affiliates with convenient, hourly car rentals starting at $8 an hour,
including gas and insurance. In keeping with Stanford’s efforts to be “green”, Zipcar provides environmentally-friendly,
fast, convenient and affordable access to a car for those who use alternative transportation or who choose to live without a car. Zipcars are
available whenever they need one — 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week.
ALUMNI
Sandra Day O’Connor recently made a three-day visit to Stanford University,
during which she met with students and faculty to talk about topics ranging from public service to ranching and the role of women in the
workplace. Since graduating from Stanford, she has been called the one of the world’s most powerful women, and her case-by-case approach
to legal issues brought praise and criticism during her quarter-century on the bench. O’Connor, who originally planned to study
economics, switched her studies to law at the encouragement of Henry Rathbun, one of her first professors. Rathbun, who taught at the Stanford
Law School for more than 30 years, was known for hosting students, including O'Connor, at his home for discussions on ethics, philosophy and religion
and for giving annual lectures on the meaning of life. O’Connor returned to campus as a Rathbun Visiting Fellow, and completed her visit
with the inaugural lecture in a series titled "Harry's Last Lecture on a Meaningful Life.” The lecture series, inspired by Rathbun’s own tradition, was sponsored by a recently created endowment, the Harry and
Emilia Rathbun Fund for Exploring What Leads to a Meaningful Life. "When I came here, I don't know that I had a very clear philosophy of life,"
she told the audience in a packed Memorial Church. "My years here helped shape that. Harry Rathbun helped shape it. And the succeeding
years have continued to do that. Am I finished with that process? Probably not. I hope not."
