Dean Jon Levin writes to the Stanford GSB community on Mother’s Day, sharing updates on COVID-19 in India, faculty awards, and AAPI Heritage Month.
Happy Mother’s Day! It has been an extra challenging year for many moms, with added demands at home that are only just starting to lessen. I’d like to take this opportunity to express appreciation for all the faculty, staff, and student moms who have persevered. I hope you enjoyed a well-earned break today.
It has been delightful this week to walk over to campus and see students and faculty coming out of classrooms and enjoying Town Square. Local infection rates remain low, and I encourage anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to take advantage of the readily available appointments that Stanford is offering.
The last few weeks also have reminded us of our relative good fortune, especially with the crisis in India and parts of Latin America, where we have many members of the extended Stanford GSB family. The Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, which works in India, has developed an extensive resource page. One of our alumni, Somesh Dash, also has written a reflection on the crisis, that provides ways to get involved and lend support.
School Updates
- Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Maggie Neale, Sarah Soule, Hannah Yanow, and Lori Mackenzie have crowdsourced a month-long learning journey, with contributors from across Stanford GSB and the university. I encourage you to explore the daily information and inspiration from our AAPI community and allies.
- Faculty Awards. I have the pleasure this week of recognizing two major faculty honors. Michele Gelfand, who will be joining the faculty this summer, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, a rare honor for a social scientist. In addition, Susan Athey has been nominated to be the next President of the American Economic Association. She will be the first Stanford GSB faculty member to serve in this role, and only the fifth woman in the Association’s 135 years. Congratulations to Michele and Susan!
- Research Restart. The relaxation in campus restrictions has enabled not only hybrid classes, but also for Stanford GSB research seminars to begin to add an in-person component. Here is John Kepler giving a talk to Stanford GSB finance lunch last week. This might have been the first in-person research seminar on the Stanford campus since last March.
- Graduation. Stanford will be holding Commencement ceremonies in the stadium the weekend of June 12–13. In addition, we will be holding a Stanford GSB Celebration of the Class of 2021 on the afternoon of June 7 in Frost Amphitheater. A big thank you to the student Graduation Task Force, the MBA Student Life office, and the many staff across the school who are working to plan a memorable celebration to end the year.
Closing
I hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather and bright sun.