Stanford Report, February 4, 2004

YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE INSPIRATION might strike: DAN DEYOUNG, retired manager of facilities operations, was on vacation in Taos when he met artist GIOVANNA PAPONETTI, who in turn introduced him to TONY REYNA, a former governor of the Taos Pueblo. DeYoung struck up a friendship with the pair and started thinking how nice it would be if Native American students at Stanford would have the same opportunity. "As you can see, I get kind of excited about things," said DeYoung last week, at the conclusion of a three-day campus visit by Paponetti and Reyna that DeYoung set in motion. (The Stanford American Indian Organization, Native American Cultural Center, Cantor Arts Center and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education sponsored the visit.) Reyna talked with students, in class and over dinner at the Native American Cultural Center, about topics including sovereignty and leadership. Paponetti, who is Italian and Russian and has been commissioned to paint portraits of Pueblo elders and historical paintings of the Taos Pueblo for a mural series, gave a talk at Cantor Arts Center about preserving heritage in multicultural societies that was illustrated by her work. It was a very successful cultural exchange, said DeYoung. One of Paponetti's last stops on campus was to buy a Stanford sweatshirt.

FACULTY AND STAFF VOLUNTEERS ARE needed for Parents' Weekend, Feb. 27-28, said KATE CHESLEY, associate director of University Communications, which coordinates the annual event. Chesley is looking for people to help register parents at Tresidder Union ("always lively"), drive golf carts and perform other duties, like introducing speakers at special "Back to School" faculty lectures. (Volunteers get to stick around for the lectures, too.) All this, plus a free T-shirt. More information is available at http://parents.stanford.edu/weekend/volunteers.html, or questions can be directed to RYAN FOLEY, communications specialist at University Communications, ryan.foley@stanford.edu.

IT MAY BE WINTER OUTSIDE, BUT Dutch tulips, fall flowers and even a few dozen intricate "Escher Gardens" are blooming in the lobby of the Cubberley Building, which houses the School of Education. They are courtesy of the young artists at the International School of the Peninsula, who created a "Gardens Around the World" exhibit. The exhibit includes 36 artwork-covered panels and a sprinkling of student canvases mounted on columns. The Palo Alto-based school, which enrolls students in nursery school through eighth grade, offers Chinese and French immersion programs -- which account for the numerous lotuses and paintings done in the style of Chagall and Matisse. ELLIOT EISNER, the Lee L. Jacks Professor of Child Education, gave a welcoming address at the show's opening last Thursday; the exhibit will hang through Feb. 29.

Write to Barbara Palmer at barbara.palmer@stanford.edu or mail code 2245 or call her at 724--6184.

Barbara Palmer