Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences

The School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) is the center of a world-class liberal arts education at Stanford University. H&S encompasses 24 departments—from art and art history, English, and history to economics, mathematics, and biology—as w tory to economics, mathematics, and biology—as well as 25 interdisciplinary programs. As the university’s largest school, H&S serves as the foundation of a Stanford undergraduate education no matter which discipline students pursue as a major. All undergraduates take a range of courses in H&S that challenge them to think critically about the world and their roles in it. Graduate students work alongside world-renowned faculty to pursue and shape foundational research that leads to breakthroughs and discoveries that shed new light on the past, influence the present, and shape the future. Together, faculty and students in H&S engage in inspirational teaching, learning, and research every day. There is an ecosystem that is needed for that mission to thrive. Helping to ensure that ecosystem is a primary job of a dean, through fundraising; assisting with recruitments and retentions; and supporting a healthy and productive research and teaching environment. Of course, this ecosystem cannot be ensured by a dean or department chair or by any administrative offices alone, but that is the rationale that justifies having such offices. It is absolutely critical that the faculty voice remains at the core of our mission. This voice cannot be taken for granted: Because faculty governance is a “public good,” no individual faculty member has an incentive to contribute to it, as opposed to pursue their own research and teaching exclusively. But without faculty governance, our mission is endangered. ...view more