Lucy Arnold – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 00:58:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Lucy Arnold – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 BEAM launches certificate program to help students find ‘meaningful’ careers https://stanforddaily.com/2017/01/17/beam-launches-certificate-program-to-help-students-find-meaningful-careers/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/01/17/beam-launches-certificate-program-to-help-students-find-meaningful-careers/#respond Tue, 17 Jan 2017 08:39:47 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1121489 Currently piloted for majors in the humanities and natural and social sciences, the program brings together existing resources at BEAM to guide students toward fulfilling careers.

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Last week, BEAM, Stanford’s career education center, celebrated the launch of the Meaningful Work Certificate, a program designed to guide students toward work that they will find fulfilling.

Currently piloted to majors in the humanities and natural and social sciences, the program incorporates a number of resources and services already offered at Stanford and BEAM into a three-phase experience of designing, exploring or “venturing into” and, finally, pursuing potential career opportunities.

“It’s an easier entry point that gives [students] a place to start,” said Farouk Dey, associate vice provost and dean of career education. “Once students start and figure things out and have answers to their questions, then we believe and have confidence that they will be able to take it from there.”

Students participate in the program over winter and spring quarters. They meet in cohorts three times during that period for self-assessment and reflection activities as well as to plan individual program activities and future quarters.

In the “design” phase of the program, students work with career coaches and their cohorts to identify their interests and strengths, eventually taking part in a networking opportunity where they practice interacting with possible employers. In the “venture” phase, students choose three immersive experiences — such as shadowing, career treks, alumni mentorship and interaction with employers — to prototype how they might achieve meaningful work.

Then, in the final “pursue” phase, students complete two job-search activities to gain confidence and experience in landing a desired position or career. This can involve job interviews, job applications, resume polishing, LinkedIn profile building or participation in a job search web seminar for humanities and science.

The three-tiered design is intended to make the career-exploration and pursuit process less intimidating. Program organizers said a major reason BEAM created the program was its recognition that students can be overwhelmed by the abundance of resources and career paths at Stanford.

“Majors in the School of Humanities and Sciences sometimes lead to a direct career, but oftentimes, they can lead to multiple careers,” said Urmila Venkatesh, assistant dean of career education and associate director of the Career Catalysts Curriculum and Life Design Lab, which are other BEAM programs that help students to capitalize on their skills and develop professionally. “So the most important part is for students to start figuring out what brings meaning to them, what they like and what they are interested in, and we wanted to start this group to give them a structure for figuring out what they really want to do and how to get there.”

Margot Gilliland, assistant dean of career education and associate director of career communities, emphasized that career connections are at the heart of the program.

“It’s about connecting … to the opportunity around jobs and internships and then connecting with alumni, employers or, really, with each other too,” Gilliland said.

Students who complete the program will receive a notation in the digital “locker,” called MyLocker, that also contains their transcripts. The certificate itself will be separate from the transcript, but it will be easily accessible for use when applying to jobs.

BEAM began developing the program over the summer and decided to launch it this quarter after receiving positive feedback from students. Venkatesh said the enthusiastic responses at two launch events last week confirmed for the program’s creators the importance of not only career discovery but also community with other students.

“Students showed a strong interest in having a community of peers and knowing that there are people on campus with similar problems and questions,” Venkatesh said. “What we saw at the launch event was a room full of students excited that they were not alone — that they had peers with similar career concerns.”

The program’s creators hope to eventually expand the program to many other groups, including graduate students, underrepresented minorities and students in other academic fields.

“The concept of meaningful work is universal,” Dey said. “Everyone relates to it, no matter what your major is, what your background is. Everyone wants to connect with that, but their concerns and the issues that they deal with are different based on their life situations. So we’re going to learn a lot from the experience of piloting this with the humanities and sciences, and then we are going to make this program bigger and better.”

 

Contact Lucy Arnold at lucywa20 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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State commission clears judge of wrongdoing in Turner sentence https://stanforddaily.com/2016/12/22/state-commission-clears-judge-of-wrongdoing-in-turner-sentence/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/12/22/state-commission-clears-judge-of-wrongdoing-in-turner-sentence/#respond Thu, 22 Dec 2016 18:27:09 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1121063 The California Commission on Judicial Performance has cleared Judge Aaron Persky ’84 M.A. ’85 of wrongdoing in his sentencing of Brock Turner.

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On Monday, the California Commission on Judicial Performance cleared Judge Aaron Persky ’84 M.A. ’85 of wrongdoing in his sentencing of former Stanford student Brock Turner, who received six months’ jail time – later reduced to three – for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.

Although many criticized the sentence as excessively lenient, the commission report called Persky’s ruling “within the parameters set by the law and therefore within the judge’s discretion.”

An independent state agency, the commission also said that it had closed investigation into claims of Persky’s misconduct. According to the report, no evidence of bias or abuse of authority was found to suggest that Perky is guilty of judicial wrongdoing and requires discipline.

The investigation began after the commission received thousands of complaints that Persky’s sentencing for Turner reflected bias based on gender, race and socioeconomic status. Many complained that a nonwhite, less privileged defendant would have received a stronger penalty. Others linked Persky’s sentence to his own status as a Stanford alum or cited the fact that Turner faced a 14 year maximum prison sentence.

The commission examined various aspects of Persky’s record to reach its conclusion.

After reviewing Persky’s decision-making process in the Turner case, it determined that Persky took both Turner and the victim’s positions into account as he reached his ruling. It also found that his sentence aligned with the probation officer’s recommended sentence of time in county jail coupled with three years’ probation and sex offender treatment.

Upon looking into four other cases judged by Persky, the commission found no sign of bias. Its report stated that Persky’s continued ties to Stanford and any potential connection to his sentencing were “insufficient to require disclosure or disqualification.”

Michele Dauber, Frederick I. Richman Professor of Law at Stanford and leader of a campaign to recall Persky from the bench, was not surprised by the commission’s decision to clear Persky.

“This commission almost never imposes judicial discipline and has been criticized extensively for the lack of transparency in how it conducts investigations,” Dauber said. “Recently, it was the subject of a huge controversy and successful effort to get an audit of its past cases for the first time in 56 years, so this is not a body that has a lot of public trust.”

The commission dismisses 90 percent of the public complaints it receives and disciplines judges at a much lower rate than do similar agencies in Arizona, New York and Texas.

Dauber said that the current report is based on serious factual mistakes, calling the investigation one-sided and a “closed-door proceeding in which the only participant appears to be Judge Perksy’s lawyer.”

A recently passed piece of California legislation (AB-2888) expands the legal definition of rape and increases the penalty for assault of unconscious victims. While Dauber said that the new law is a “fine reform,” she also emphasized that it is not necessarily a panacea for the situation; the problem with Turner’s case was not the law, she said, but Persky abusing his discretion.

“You shouldn’t tie the hands of a thousand good judges to deal with the problem of one bad one,” Dauber said. “And a judge who is willing to abuse their discretion and act from a place of bias can do it just as easily under the new legal regime as under the old one.”

Dauber said the campaign to recall Persky will continue. If the campaign can gather enough signatures in April, the issue will appear on the Santa Clara County ballot next November. Dauber is confident that the measure will pass. Independent polling of Santa Clara County residents in July  found 66 percent support for the recall as well as four-to-one support among women.

Dauber remains excited about what the recall could mean for those who believe that Turner was dealt with too leniently.

“For people who are thinking that we need to fight back, this election provides a tremendous opportunity because we are literally putting rape culture, yes or no, on the ballot,” she said.

 

Contact Lucy Arnold at lucywa20 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

A previous version of this article incorrectly quoted Dauber as saying, “the commission almost never opposes judicial discipline.” The Daily regrets this error.

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Stanford endowment, assets grow in 2016 fiscal year https://stanforddaily.com/2016/12/19/stanford-endowment-assets-grow-in-2016-fiscal-year/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/12/19/stanford-endowment-assets-grow-in-2016-fiscal-year/#respond Tue, 20 Dec 2016 07:37:09 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1121053 Stanford’s recently reported financial results for the fiscal year 2016 (FY2016), which ended Aug. 31, show a 1 percent increase in the University endowment and a 4 percent ($1.4 billion) increase in consolidated net assets.

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Stanford’s recently reported financial results for the fiscal year 2016 (FY2016), which ended Aug. 31, show a 1 percent increase in the University endowment and a 4 percent ($1.4 billion) increase in consolidated net assets.

The endowment and net assets are now valued $22.4 billion and $37 billion, respectively.

Consolidated net assets encompass the financial positions of the University, Stanford Health Care (SHC), the Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford (LPCH) and other majority-owned affiliates of those entities. Non-consolidated net assets that exclude SHC and LPCH increased 4 percent to a total of $31.7 billion, while LPHC’s net assets increased 8 percent or $157 million to $2.2 billion. SHC’s net assets decreased by $6 million or 0.2 percent.

The endowment’s payout rose 7 percent to $1.1 billion, funding 23 percent of the fiscal year’s expenses. At the same time, Stanford’s operating revenues reached $5.2 billion after a $260 million or 5 percent increase from the last fiscal year.

Randy Livingston, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, asserted that Stanford maintains a strong financial position.

“Consolidated FY2016 financial results benefited from positive investment performance, strong health care services revenues and the continued generous donor and community support,” Livingston told Stanford News.

However, he said that financial growth faces obstacles as well.

“The prospect of weaker investment returns, pressure on tuition and federal-sponsored research funding, the high cost of Bay Area housing and changes in health care services will continue to challenge us,” Livingston said.

FY2016 results were first shared with Stanford’s Board of Trustees on Dec. 6. They can now be found on the University bondholder website.

Contact Lucy Arnold at lucywa20 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Former foreign minister of Estonia discusses her country’s future https://stanforddaily.com/2016/11/10/former-foreign-minister-of-estonia-discusses-her-countrys-future/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/11/10/former-foreign-minister-of-estonia-discusses-her-countrys-future/#respond Thu, 10 Nov 2016 09:08:19 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1119532 Former Foreign Minister of Estonia Marina Kaljurand discussed causes for both hope and worry for Estonia's future.

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On Tuesday, former foreign minister of Estonia Marina Kaljurand came to campus to discuss causes for both hope and worry as Estonia moves forward from its 25th anniversary of restored independence from the Soviet Union.

In the Bender Room in Green Library, Kaljurand spoke with pride and optimism about her country’s role in global affairs and its growth as a proactive democracy.

“What has been most important in Estonia is regaining its position globally,” Kaljurand said, later calling Estonia the “most integrated state in Europe” in terms of its involvement in international organizations.

According to Kaljurand, this integration stems especially from Estonia’s membership in the European Union and NATO. Estonia is also becoming more involved on the global stage by running to become a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council from 2020 to 2021.

Kaljurand stressed that Estonia’s membership in these organizations is about more than mere presence; it is about having a voice in what issues receive global attention, as Lithuania did when it forced greater emphasis on the Crimean occupation while it was on the Security Council a few years ago.

“We are committed to our part in defending Europe because we know what solidarity means,” Kaljurand said. “We’ve learned from history that we need to be together to solve problems.”

Those themes of international cooperation and security received particular attention in her talk because Estonia and other small Baltic countries have faced a number of threats from Russia in recent years. Kaljurand asserted that Russia’s violations are unacceptable dangers to the democracy that Estonia has worked so hard to achieve. She also emphasized her support for any nation that wishes to carry out democratic reform.

“Democracy must be cherished and protected, and if needed, fought for,” Kaljurand said. “One country can’t change international law or order, but one country can challenge or undermine it. Russia is challenging our vision of Europe — whole, free and at peace.”

Melissa Weyant/THE STANFORD DAILY
Melissa Weyant/THE STANFORD DAILY

Discussion then turned to how Russia’s aggression has been dealt with thus far. Kaljurand expressed great faith in the efficacy of the current sanctions and non-recognition of Russian-occupied Crimea, partly because non-recognition of the Soviet regime in Estonia was a cornerstone of Estonia’s eventual independence and reform efforts. At the same time, the former minister stated that Estonia must be prepared for possible aggression.

“People in Estonia are not thinking much about possible military attack, but we have to be prepared for military provocations,” she said.

Other major topics of Kaljurand’s talk included terrorism and the immigration crisis. Kaljurand said that last year’s terrorist attacks on Paris and later Nice and Brussels were especially difficult for her and her country, partly because the Nice victims included two Estonians.

“The attacks reminded us that terrorists feel no mercy for anyone or anything,” Kaljurand said. “Nothing can justify terrorism and we must fight it globally, and Estonia is part of that global network.”

On the matter of immigration, Kaljurand elaborated upon Estonia’s current policy. Estonia willingly accepts up to 6,000 foreigners each year and has also agreed to take 500 refugees from Syria. However, Kaljurand said that the process of incorporating migrants and refugees is a complex, long-term process that must be carried out responsibly.

She also implored the audience to adopt a more informed perspective of Europe’s response to the current immigration crisis, reminding the crowd that the number of migrants and refugees the region received last year accounted for less than half a percent of the European population.

Kaljurand went on to highlight Estonia’s positive relationship with the United States, citing Estonia’s gratitude for the harsh stance that the U.S. government has taken on Russian violations and for President Obama’s assurance that the U.S. will come to Estonia’s aid in the case of Russian aggression.

On the whole, Kaljurand expressed great optimism for Estonia, even as both internal and external factors threaten its security.

“Never before since the restoration of Estonian independence has war been so close to our borders or have we been subject to terrorist attacks,” Kaljurand said. “But I’m confident that our future is bright and that we can do great things in the world.”

Estonian native Sten Tamkivi MSM ’14, a graduate of the School of Business, was impressed with the talk.

“It’s great to hear from such a visible diplomat who is getting very involved with both internal and international politics,” Tamkivi said. “She’s quite a character, and she has very clear and articulate views on what is happening in Estonia and in the world, which are very important for us today.”

 

Contact Lucy Arnold at lucywa20 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Cardinal Service Notation expands to all undergraduates https://stanforddaily.com/2016/10/31/cardinal-service-notation-expands-to-all-undergraduates/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/10/31/cardinal-service-notation-expands-to-all-undergraduates/#respond Tue, 01 Nov 2016 05:58:30 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1118996 The Cardinal Service Notation notes a student’s dedication to public service on his or her Stanford transcript.

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All undergraduates can now apply for the Cardinal Service Notation, a distinction piloted last year that notes a student’s dedication to public service on his or her Stanford transcript.

(Courtesy of Peggy Stern Propp)
(Courtesy of Peggy Stern Propp)

A student becomes eligible for the Cardinal Service Notation either by taking 12 units of Cardinal Courses — courses with a significant community engagement component — or by participating in a Cardinal Quarter, a quarter-long public service experience in local or international settings. In the pilot program last spring, only graduating seniors were able to apply for the notation so that its founding committee could work out any issues with the process.

Program details

The application for the notation includes submission of a current unofficial transcript and an “academic integration statement” of at least 2000 words in which students describe how their Cardinal Service experiences allowed them to apply academic knowledge to community issues and contributed to their intellectual and civic development. The autumn deadline to apply for the notation was Oct. 30, while the spring deadline is April 16.

According to Luke Terra M.A. ’08 Ph.D. ’14, associate director of the Haas Center, the notation is a product of an ongoing cross-University conversation about how to better honor service at Stanford.

“We have talked at the Haas Center and with some of our faculty colleagues for a long time about how to recognize students’ public service experiences and how to help them signal to both graduate schools and future employers that public service was a part of their undergraduate experience,” Terra said.

Terra said that the idea for the notation came about last year after the launch of Cardinal Service, an initiative designed to promote student service.Terra and others at the Haas Center began discussion with the registrar, faculty and students across campus to gauge if a transcript notation of public service would be a reasonable and valuable addition to Cardinal Service. Positive feedback spurred the notation’s eventual creation.

In creating the notation, Stanford sought to take advantage of the service momentum built by Cardinal Service programs. Both student participation and opportunities in these programs have increased dramatically over the past few years, with the three-year-old Cardinal Courses program alone progressing from 46 course offerings in 2013 to 131 this year. In the same time frame, the percentage of graduating seniors who have participated in at least once Cardinal Course has risen from 18 percent to 27 percent.

In light of this growth, Cardinal Service wanted to continue making its opportunities more visible to students.

“We feel that public service has always been at the core of what a Stanford education is all about,” Terra said. “It’s what Jane Stanford originally designed Stanford to offer… The Cardinal Service Notation is another piece of making sure that service stands out as a distinctive feature of a Stanford education.”

According to Terra and Larry Diamond ’73 ’78 Ph.D. ’80, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and faculty leader of the Haas Center at the time of the notation’s development, the notation was also motivated by a desire to better recognize service-minded students and to work toward a more inclusive vision of the transcript.

“The transcript is evolving, and I think in very imaginative ways,” Diamond said. “It develops the potential to record more fully the academically-related accomplishments of students at Stanford, and not necessarily only in the classroom.”

Service reflections

As the process of developing the notation continued, Terra and others involved also began to see the academic integration statement in the application as a unique opportunity for students to reflect on what their service experiences have meant to them.

“By asking students to put that in writing, we give them a chance to think about how public service has informed their own development during their time at Stanford, and how it’s shaping or influencing their trajectory as they think about moving out into the world,” Terra said.

Students who completed the application process last spring have expressed appreciation for the format and style of the application.

“The written statement was a good chance for me to reflect on my experiences, in particular how they differed from my original learning plan,” wrote Sophia Cristel ’15 M.A. ’17, a notation recipient from last spring, over email. Cristel’s biggest undergraduate service project was the creation of interpretive signs for the Palo Alto Baylands wildlife reserve. She wrote about her pride in this work and its impact on her application.

On the other end of the application process, faculty and Haas Center officials involved in creating and awarding the notation found reading student statements like Cristel’s to be especially rewarding.

“It was great for me to even see our hard-nosed faculty hit in their soft spot because students were commenting on such amazing work that they were able to accomplish through their service experiences,” Terra said.

At the same time, Diamond stressed that the notation itself may not directly impact Stanford service. Rather, the notation is a piece of the Stanford service puzzle, and it will hopefully facilitate further growth.

“I think that it’s not the notation that will have an impact, it’s Cardinal Service,” Diamond said.

Program goals

Moving forward, the Haas Center has several goals for further development of the Cardinal Service Notation and Cardinal Service in general. These goals include recognition of Cardinal Service Notation recipients at commencement ceremonies — possibly at the department or major commencements at first — and the incorporation of “Cardinal Commitment” into the notation.

Cardinal Commitment refers to long-term service commitments separate from Cardinal Courses or Cardinal Quarter. However, this program and its integration into the notation are still in the early stages.

Students who have received the notation emphasized that although the notation was a welcome source of validation, the inherently rewarding nature of their service is much more important. However, they appreciate that students who may not have otherwise become involved in service may now have a greater incentive to do so.

Vy Tran ’15 M.A. ’17, a Fulbright Scholar and another recipient of the notation last spring, believes that the notation is a positive step forward.

“Public service changes you whether you go into it for the right reasons or not–you really can’t help people without feeling it in your heart,” Tran said. “You will inevitably be transformed by the experience.”

 

Contact Lucy Arnold at lucywa ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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