Strategic Assessment: The School of Earth Sciences is generally perceived by its faculty to be a small and friendly environment for research that optimizes faculty autonomy and independence. Our strategic assessment uncovered a perception, however, of an insufficient degree of intra- and interdepartmental collaboration, in part the result of organizational structures within the school. While some faculty have taken strong advantage of cross-departmental interactions, many, including junior faculty members, identified barriers to interaction in research and graduate training. Given the inherent interactions that will be required to address many of the questions assumed in our vision and mission, we have identified a number of strategies that should increase faculty, staff, and student exchanges and collaborations within and across departments and programs, both within the school and more broadly across the university. Our assessments also identified several needs of new faculty and faculty visitors related to navigating Stanford, and we have identified straightforward approaches that will make Stanford and the school more welcoming communities. Finally, we recognize that the school must take aggressive leadership with respect to diversity, given that the disciplines and fields represented in the school are notoriously non-diverse across the faculty, research staff, and student components.

Strategy 1: Provide opportunities to learn and share knowledge.
• continue to host the Earth Sciences Faculty Forum
• develop opportunities for faculty to present research to each other and to students through school-wide seminars and core courses for first-year students
• host school-wide social events
• host small faculty lunches with the dean
• continue regular Coffee Mondays
• meet regularly with the Graduate Student Advising Committee (GSAC) and promote GSAC activities
• dedicate space as a “commons” or lounge area, or find some other way to provide an informal community gathering place

Strategy 2: Expand and use the Earth Sciences Council as an important advisory body to identify concerns, needs, and opportunities.
• redefine and broaden the Earth Sciences Council to include chairs, program directors, interdisciplinary center leaders, and department-elected senior and junior faculty members
• meet quarterly to discuss appointments and promotions (with the Core Council of full professors) and to discuss issues related to the school’s strategic goals (with the Full Council)

Strategy 3: Encourage, recognize, and acknowledge faculty, staff, and student leadership.
• recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of members of our community
• use bonuses to acknowledge superior contributions to school activities and environment
• develop a mechanism to nominate faculty for university and national recognition and awards
• identify and develop opportunities for faculty and staff to develop leadership skills

Strategy 4: Develop and improve faculty mentoring and ensure that all faculty have access to mentoring and other support resources.
• provide mentoring opportunities and assistance with grant writing and other professional needs
• develop standards and implement mechanisms for regular voluntary mentoring, as per the 2004 School of Earth Sciences Committee on Diversity and Mentoring proposal

Strategy 5: Provide new faculty with a greater sense of School of Earth Sciences community.
• develop and implement an orientation program, including a tour of school facilities
• provide opportunities to present research to intellectual community, both within and outside the school
• develop and make readily available a school handbook of policies, resources, and practices

Strategy 6: Increase diversity of faculty, staff, and student populations.
• develop and implement an aggressive diversity plan and give it top priority
• institute recruitment strategies for undergraduate students, leveraging existing cultural organizations
• develop a more aggressive program to seek out qualified graduate applicants of ethnic minorities

Strategy 7: Strengthen administrative support for faculty related to grants, contracts, and faculty initiatives.
• identify key faculty needs, and develop a long-range plan to acquire the staffing resources necessary to address them
• take advantage of existing university resources for improving and streamlining grant “outreach activities” (e.g., Dean of Research)

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