Three Stanford faculty appointed to VPUE leadership positions

Stanford faculty Elaine Treharne (left), Lynn Hildemann (center), and Shashank Joshi (right).

Lynn Hildemann, senior associate dean for education in the Doerr School of Sustainability and professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Elaine Treharne, the Roberta Bowman Denning Professor of Humanities, professor of English, and professor, by courtesy, of German studies and of comparative literature, have joined the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) for three-year terms as senior associate vice provosts.

VPUE has also welcomed Shashank Joshi, professor (teaching) of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and, by courtesy of pediatrics at the Stanford University Medical Center and, of education,  into a newly created faculty role—assistant vice provost for academic well-being. Joshi will advise VPUE’s vice provost for undergraduate education, Sarah Church, on the impact of academic stress on student well-being and will help advance an emerging set of academic well-being initiatives during the 2022-23 academic year and beyond.

The faculty appointments began Sept. 1.

“As we seek to advance the goals for the undergraduate experience expressed in the Long-Range Vision, and as we continue to deal with challenges in the learning space caused by the pandemic and by on-going social issues,  it is important for us  to draw upon broad disciplinary perspectives and skills and to ensure that these are embedded within our highest priority areas,” said Church. “These include thoughtful analysis into several areas of strategic focus—educating scholars and citizens, supporting students from under-resourced high schools, tackling the negative consequences of academic stress, and building trust between faculty and students by increasing opportunities for engagement.”

She added, “Each of these highly respected faculty leaders brings substantial university knowledge and experience, as well as impressive records of deep collaboration around issues impacting undergraduate education at Stanford.”

Hildemann and Treharne succeed Olive H. Professor of Humanities Gordon Chang, who has returned to teaching and research full time following a three-year term as senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education. Chang’s role was recalibrated into two senior-level positions to help meet the most pressing issues facing undergraduate education at Stanford and to help deepen VPUE’s connections and collaborations with Stanford’s undergraduate schools and departments.

As the designated gateway to undergraduate education at Stanford, VPUE strives to connect students intellectually with the full range of Stanford educational opportunities and to promote the active engagement of all faculty, instructors and staff with undergraduate students. Established in 1995, VPUE serves as the nexus for key programs and initiatives and helps Stanford undergraduates define and achieve their intellectual ambitions. These include investigative introductory courses and seminars taught by faculty, classes in writing and rhetoric, undergraduate research support, community-engaged learning opportunities, study away programs, academic advising, as well as extensive pedagogical support, training, and resource development offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).