Ortolano named Haas Center director

Leonard Ortolano, who has served as interim director of the Haas Center for Public Service since last June, has been named the permanent director of the center by Provost John Etchemendy.

Etchemendy, who announced the appointment Tuesday, credited the search committee for its diligent work that resulted in the recommendation.

"Without their careful and extensive survey of outside candidates, we might not have recognized quite what a jewel we have in Len," Etchemendy said. "I am truly delighted about this outcome and hope that everyone in the Stanford community shares my excitement about Len's agreement to continue at the helm of the center."

The 11-member committee chaired by Julie Lythcott-Haims, dean of freshmen and transfer students, and law Professor Barton H. "Buzz" Thompson, conducted a 10-month national search for a permanent director.

Ortolano, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and former director of the Program on Urban Studies, who also has served as a member of the Haas Center's Faculty Steering Committee for many years, had not applied for the permanent position. However, "as that process neared a close, it became evident to all that our ideal candidate was already among us," Lythcott-Haims said.

"As interim director, Len brought new excitement, vision and clarity to the Haas Center," Thompson added. "After interviewing a number of excellent candidates, the search committee came to the recognition that Len was the most talented person for the job. The issue then became whether we could convince him to accept the permanent position. The search committee unanimously recommended to the provost that he ask Len to remain on board as head of the Haas Center, and we are very pleased that Len has agreed to do so."

The Haas Center, established in 1985, is viewed as a model for service learning by educators worldwide. The center is home to more than 40 student service organizations and a range of university programs through which hundreds of students annually join staff, faculty, policymakers and community members in local, state, national and international service efforts.

As director of the Program on Urban Studies from 1980 to July 2003, Ortolano worked closely with Haas Center staff to establish a community organization track within the urban studies major and the Urban Summer Fellowship program for Stanford undergraduates. In addition, he collaborated with Nadinne Cruz, the former director of the center who left last June, to establish a sequence of courses for Public Service Scholars, students preparing senior honors theses that combine research and public service.

"The steering committee has been advocating for significantly more of a faculty role [in the center]," Ortolano said. "The fact that a faculty member would take this kind of role is indicative of a deeper level of faculty engagement. The health of the center will be enhanced significantly by integrating its programs more closely into the teaching and research activities of the university.

"During the next year we'll continue our work along these lines and at the same time give a somewhat higher priority to building relationships with our community partners," Ortolano added.

After earning his doctorate in water resources management at Harvard in 1969 and working as an environmental consultant in Connecticut, Ortolano came to Stanford to build a research program in environmental planning and management within what is now the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His recent research includes projects on the role of nongovernmental organizations in water and environmental management in India and China. He also supervises ongoing research that focuses on the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations in developing countries. Ortolano has been an adviser to environmental ministries in several countries and is currently working with the World Bank to improve its approach to integrating environmental considerations into the formulation of loans to support development policies.

"We are nothing short of thrilled and relieved to know he is willing to stay on board and continue moving Haas along the course he has charted," said Lythcott-Haims.