‘Distinguished Alumni Scholars Day’ aims to promote interest in academic jobs
Stanford has invited nearly two-dozen female and minority academics teaching at colleges and universities across the country—from Reed College in Oregon to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland—to participate in the third annual "Distinguished Alumni Scholars Day" on May 5.
The purpose of the event is to inspire students whose cultural groups are underrepresented in academia in the United States, including women in the sciences, math, technology and engineering, to pursue faculty careers in higher education.
The visiting scholars earned degrees at Stanford from 1978 to 2006, and are now assistant, associate and full professors at private and public colleges and universities.
The invited guests include Gary Sandefur, PhD '78, a professor of sociology and dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose daughter Rebecca Sandefur is an assistant professor of sociology at Stanford, and Kofi Agawu, PhD '82, a music professor at Princeton who is considered one of the leading musicologists in the world.
The rest of the 19 visiting scholars teach and conduct research in a variety of fields, including anthropology, biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, English, law and physics.
At the event, whose theme is "envisioning the future," moderators will lead discussions and question-and-answer sessions with the visiting professors about life in academia, from their decisions to pursue academic careers to advice on how to prepare for the job market.
Undergraduate workshops will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (including lunch), at five student community centers. Each workshop will be loosely centered on academic themes:
A graduate student seminar will be held from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. (including light refreshments) in the Cypress Room at Tresidder Union.
The event will close with an invitation-only dinner from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Main Dining Room of the Faculty Club with Provost John Etchemendy and Vice Provost for Graduate Education Patricia Gumport. The evening will conclude with an informal poster session.
