Stanford trustee Charles Young appointed to chair newly established Black Community Council; council members selected

Stanford trustee Charles Young chairs the newly formed Black Community Council. (Image credit: Erika Dufour)

President Marc Tessier-Lavigne has appointed Stanford trustee Charles Young as chair of the newly formed Black Community Council, which is charged with oversight of the initiatives focused on supporting the university’s Black community.

“I am so pleased that Charles will be leading this group,” Tessier-Lavigne said. “He is a thoughtful and engaged leader, and I am grateful to him for helping us advance our urgent racial justice initiatives.”

Tessier-Lavigne said that council members will provide feedback on issues affecting Stanford’s Black community and make recommendations directly to him and other university leaders.

“This committee will be a critical part of ensuring that we are listening and supporting our Black community with our initiatives and effectively measuring the outcomes,” he said.

Tessier-Lavigne laid out the charge for the Black Community Council:

• To assess the effectiveness of the Racial Justice Initiatives announced in June and determine if their intended impact on the Black community has been achieved;
• To establish and maintain holistic knowledge of what is going on with the Black community at Stanford and ensure that it is consistently communicated with the president and his senior leadership team;
•  To communicate effectively Stanford’s efforts and progress with respect to issues of diversity and racial justice to its alumni of color and to the broader alumni community;
• To recommend ways to meaningfully and effectively involve Black alumni and alumni of color within the life of the Stanford community to ensure the future success of the Racial Justice Initiatives and;
• To recommend an infrastructure for ongoing monitoring in the future once this committee completes its work and disbands.

“I am honored to play a role in supporting Stanford’s Black community,” Young said. “I applaud Stanford’s efforts to advance racial justice, and I appreciate the president’s desire to hold leadership accountable. I’m eager to connect students, faculty and staff with alumni to address issues that affect the Black community.” 

Young is chief operating officer and executive vice president of Invitation Homes. He was elected to Stanford’s Board of Trustees in 2018. Since earning his undergraduate degree in 1991 and his MBA in 2003 from Stanford, Young has been a dedicated volunteer and supporter of the university.

Young said that the council’s work will focus on oversight of three main areas: campus culture, academic programs and research, and enhanced support for current programs.

“The priorities for the council will be to develop an understanding of the needs and challenges experienced by the Stanford Black community, to serve as a resource and strategic thought partner for the university committees and groups tasked with developing new programs and solutions, and to institute a structure to ensure that these new programs and structures are sustainable,” Young said.

Council membership

The council is composed of student, faculty, staff and alumni representatives who were selected by the president in consultation with Young. Faculty, staff and alumni council members will serve for three years; student members will serve for one year, with the option to renew. The council will meet with the president a minimum of four times during the academic year.

Black Community Council membership is as follows:

Faculty:
Adam Banks, professor of education, Graduate School of Education; faculty director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts
Richard Ford, ’88 (AB Political Science), George E. Osborne Professor in Law, Stanford Law School
Odette Harris, professor and vice chair, Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford School of Medicine

Staff:
Shirley Everett, senior associate vice provost, Residential & Dining Enterprises
Paul King, president and CEO, Stanford Children’s Health
Bernard Muir, athletic director, DAPER

Students:
Danielle Greene, Ph.D. candidate in education
Kimya Loder, Ph.D. candidate in sociology; president, Black Graduate Student Association
John Okhiulu, undergraduate senior, African and African American Studies and Human Biology

Alumni:
Roger Clay, ’66, (AB Sociology), retired
Raquel Rall, ’04, (BA Human Biology, BA African & African American Studies), assistant professor of higher education at the University of California, Riverside
D’Neisha Simmons Jendayi, ’99, (AB Organizational Communication), associate director of special initiatives, New York University

Staff support:
James Jordan, ’93 (AB American Studies), director, Diversity & Inclusion, Stanford Alumni Association
Marita de Guzman, project manager, President’s Office Operations

For more information on other efforts Stanford is pursuing to advance diversity, inclusion and racial justice, visit the Office of the President website and the IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access in a Learning Environment) website.