News & Events
EVGR Building C Patio 740 Serra Street
Bring a cart: Haul home 35 pounds of food (15.9 kilos); make multiple trips with bags or suitcase: note in the signup 'proxy' field that you request a double allotment for 70 pounds to feed your kids
No information will be recorded or distributed (email address is now recorded): Proof of income level, citizenship, or food-security status is NOT REQUIRED
Walkups can take remaining food at 2:30 pm
Food insecurity: Defined by the USDA as the lack of consistent access to enough food to lead a healthy and active life; marked by reduced variety, quality, or desirability of diet as well as patterns of disrupted eating or reduced food intake
“Our children are the most vulnerable of the on-campus population, and we need their safety to be taken much more seriously,” Meservey, a mother in academia
This video is of the motion read into the vote that addresses the five issues that Parents-in-Academia in partnership with the SGWU's Solidarity Network COPE had been advocating for starting in 2016 as conditions of the University Building permit -- article by Gennady Sheyner / Palo Alto Weekly with background and larger explanation linked in title above.
5:55 public school tax revenue
6:35 grad + postdoc housing
6:45 childcare needs
6:50 support for school-aged children
6:55 lead paint issues
see building permit explanation from 2016 https://news.stanford.edu/2016/11/21/application-updated-long-term-land-use-permit/
Attend and speak for child care services on campus [image from SWR speaking at Planning Commission in 2019]
Resident and fellow physicians argue for better wages and support for housing, food and child care.
Stanford University graduate students have voted to unionize after an election conducted through the National Labor Relations Board came back with over 90% support Thursday.
Key Findings from Informational Studies - Provides key findings from the Municipal Services, Graduate Student Housing Affordability and Childcare Studies
"More than half of responding graduate students (60%), and faculty and staff (60%), ranked cost of childcare as “most concerning,” making it the single most concerning issue for both groups."
"Stanford should, in collaboration with the Graduate Student Council (GSC), conduct additional surveys of graduate students. Examples of this include: food insecurity, housing affordability, childcare and other costs of living."
Includes additional SCP Updates under consideration: "Other changes suggested by staff, including policies based on graduate student housing affordability, municipal services, and childcare."
“If we invest in student parents, our outcomes are going to be multifold. Parents who graduate from…[the] California public educational system, their children will ultimately benefit,” reflected Dr. Tina Cheuk, assistant professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. [and founder of Parents in Academia under names of Parent Alliance and Mothers in Academia 'MIA']
The Graduate Student Council (GSC) passed a unanimous vote of no confidence in the University on Feb. 14, following months of frustration with the University administration’s response to its affordability advocacy.
Graduate student representatives said the university is currently unaffordable for most graduate students and doesn’t provide a competitive cost-of-living-adjusted compensation.
The Graduate Student Council (GSC) passed a unanimous vote of no confidence in the University on Feb. 14, following months of frustration with the University administration’s response to its affordability advocacy.
Robin López, shown with his 7-week-old son, Ometeotl López, at his apartment at University Village at UC Berkeley, has been participating in the strike to seek increased child care support for campus workers.
Stanford prides itself on the diversity of its MBA class. However, when I started in the fall of 2020, joining Stanford’s largest-ever MBA class of 436, there was one demographic starkly missing: mothers.
Receive report relating to studies: Municipal Services, Graduate Student Housing Affordability, and Childcare to support policy development for the Stanford Community Plan Update. May 26, 2022
A summary presentation by County contractors and M-Group plus an aperance by SCoPE2035 !
Video: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/SplitView.aspx?Mode=Video&MeetingID=13990
Agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=13990 and links to Draft reports
Draft campus community services study was released for comment on April 19, 2022
(1) Municipal services study draft https://app.box.com/shared/static/b0jzk5l6geusspp7cklye08uhvp04s9w.pdf
"We have recommended that the County, Stanford, and the City of Palo Alto (as well as other affected jurisdictions) work collaboratively to identify and equalize payments in lieu of property taxes (“PILOT”) for any municipal services or public school services provided to the Stanford community."
(2) Child care services study draft https://app.box.com/s/ap89tri23nqzy441mxlcllnq5bjqu5ni
"This inability to access care at on-campus childcare facilities was a repeated theme throughout the primary research. Graduate students, faculty, and staff all noted that enrollment openings at on-campus facilities were highly prized, yet limited. "
(3) Affordable housing study draft https://app.box.com/shared/static/5fo64h4ud0zkr6gpzxk4du6fyfxyq5le.pdf
"Nearly 14% of graduate students with children have an estimated gap in resources to meet living expenses, triple that of graduate students without children. This estimate is after consideration of gap funding sources including Stanford’s Graduate Family Grant program..."
Information about each of three meetings (one for each study) https://app.box.com/shared/static/zjwqqbd4dmiwda0vsggk865p5x3bnqfb.pdf
email gbradley@m-group.us with questions
As Stanford and the surrounding community approach a post-pandemic reality, student couples, and families are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as renewed pressure to move back to campus.
Hoffs highlighted the importance of the Enhance Access to SNAP Act of 2021, which would treat attendance at an institution of higher education as fulfilling the work requirement to be eligible for the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
When Boris Beltinoff M.S. ’21 and his wife received word in July that their son was taken off the waitlist for Stanford’s on-campus daycare services, the couple let out a sigh of relief. They had been on the waitlist since early 2020. But when they saw the discount rates, their relief turned to shock: the discounts weren’t the same as those of their friends and neighbors.
Government funding is critical to raise wages for child-care workers on Oct 12, 2021 (Wash Post Op Ed by Justine Modica)
Champions insist that [The Budget Reconciliation Bill funding for universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds] will allow parents to return to work and help close the educational achievement gap between children of the affluent and the poor. But universal preschool offers an important additional benefit: It also expands the portion of the child-care workforce with salaries deriving from federal and state funding, potentially offering these workers an avenue to more bargaining power and employment stability.
Since Stanford signed its land-use agreement with Santa Clara County in 1985, the University has been responsible for funding and operating its own municipal services, meaning that the county is not obligated to provide Stanford with free period products as part of its plan.
Peterson is ... one of the founding members of SCOPE 2035, a student activist group focused on housing equity, he aspires to fight for the interests of Stanford workers, many of whom do not live in the district due to a lack of affordable housing.
As a working PhD student, I fought for affordable housing, universal childcare, and dependent healthcare through the Stanford Solidarity Network...
Parent Alliance advocates Carrie, Christianne, and Justine: “Stanford doesn’t provide really any childcare subsidies for graduate students with children,” said Justine Modica, a sixth-year history Ph.D. student interested in the relationship between childcare and gender equality in academia.
Equitable development is key issue among candidates for State Senate, State Assembly and East Palo Alto and Palo Alto city councils
“If there’s an issue you care about, talk to your colleagues and your neighbors. The Stanford Solidarity Network is a great place to start,” he said. “The GSC and graduate students are only as powerful as our connections with each other. That’s where our work begins.”
Many of the attendees had cut their teeth in organizing already, working with organizations including Fossil Free Stanford, the Stanford Solidarity Network and the First-Generation Low-Income Partnership. Others said they were new to community organizing.
The problem is not that students feel no one at Stanford cares about them — it is that they feel the people with the power to act are unwilling to do so.
The appreciation of department efforts and desire for University-wide action also reflects in a recent survey that Stanford Solidarity Network and the Stanford Student Parent Alliance conducted of students with dependents. Asked “How well do you think that your department, professors or advisors understand your present situation?” the mean response was 3.6/5. Asked “How well do you think that Stanford’s administration understands your situation and acts to help?” students’ mean response was 2.53/5.
With no visible response from the University, the onus is on dedicated students to stay vigilant about concerns not addressed by the administration and to utilize their own funds to raise financial support for workers’ families.
As the Stanford University Student Parent Alliance has shown, Stanford’s graduate student housing is unaffordable for graduate students with dependents and children. With summer funding not guaranteed for all graduate students, many are facing dire and imminent economic hardship.
In terms of ensuring a basic minimum level of welfare for all graduate students, we also see universities offering graduate students a one-time emergency “no questions asked” sum, taking into account the grave financial difficulties that individuals and families are facing due to the economic crisis engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The GSAS at Columbia University has provided $1,500 to all students, and an additional $1,500 for those without employment at the university over the summer.
Lisa Hummel, a fourth-year sociology Ph.D. student, said graduate students with dependents are “especially impacted” as they face additional challenges like having to care for their children while still needing to complete the same amount of work.
We’ve spent over a year advocating for more equitable health care options for grad student families, and the COVID-19 crisis has multiplied unexpected costs, such as materials needed to continue researching and teaching remotely, book purchases due to library closures, and extra supplies for caring for and teaching children.
Students with families are now caring for children on top of teaching and research responsibilities. Students have had to move off campus with little or no assistance because of the cost of living, or are trapped in other cities and countries following rapidly implemented shelter-in-place orders. Meanwhile, opportunities for networking that are essential to securing academic positions are all but nonexistent for the foreseeable future.
A collaboration between R&DE, Second Harvest, the Graduate Student Council (GSC), the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) and Stanford Solidarity Network (SSN), an organization that advocates for student welfare.
“I have friends who feel really pressured and really vulnerable, and they can’t speak up,” Kat Gonzales, a fifth-year earth systems Ph.D. candidate.
With the rates unchanged, ...the monthly premium for a spouse and multiple children will be $893.69 [plus the student's monthly premium].
The average monthly rent for all graduate students as a result of the costs for EVGR housing will increase by 16% from $1,280/month during the 2019-20 year to $1,483/month during the 2020-21 year, according to a fact sheet distributed by Stanford Solidarity Network (SSN) members, a coalition of students, post-docs and staff working to coordinate joint activism on campus and engage with urgent issues impacting the community.
The Dependent Plan premium rates will remain status quo (0 percent increase) for 2020-2021
“They’ve been met with oppressive resistance from the administration including threats of expulsion and employment termination,” Neusner said. “Their requests are being ignored by the administration, so we would like the GSC to pass a resolution that indicates that they stand in solidarity with these UCSC graduate students.”
[VPGE] Bent says, ‘I don’t have anything specific to give you’
The referral’s passage will launch exploratory efforts into issues that were found to be under-researched during the recent GUP negotiation process, according to Simitian. They include support for graduate students facing housing and other affordability challenges, as well as the adequacy of municipal services like fire and public safety provided by the University.
Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors will vote on Tuesday on whether to proceed with drafting amendments to Stanford’s Community Plan and Land Use Agreement that would determine conditions of the University’s expansion.
“I’ve received a lot of questions from my colleagues about how I manage my life as a grad student and as a mom...”
"R&DE has requested more kosher-friendly food options, a request that is currently pending approval."
"Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Joe Simitian and his chief of staff also joined the meeting to field questions and concerns from GSC members regarding the status of Stanford’s General Use Permit (GUP). "
Family Grant maximum stipend value increased from $10,000 to $15,000
"...many individuals aren’t aware of these grants or aren’t able to access them easily. The most universal solution, Román stresses, would be to implement free dependent healthcare for children and for spouses who do not receive insurance through an employer. "
Solidarity Network Reminds Stanford about Dependent Healthcare on January 17, 2020
Free Food Distribution with Second Harvest on December 3, 2019
Food insecurity: As defined by the USDA, the lack of consistent access to enough food to lead a healthy and active life; marked by reduced variety, quality, or desirability of diet as well as patterns of disrupted eating or reduced food intake.
December 3 from 1-3 PM in Rains Hacienda; bring bags and a cart to haul 150 pounds (68 kilos) of food home Volunteer Sign Up. The USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of consistent access to enough food to lead a healthy and active life. Food insecurity is marked by reduced variety, quality, or desirability of diet as well as patterns of disrupted eating or reduced food intake due to lack of ability to access and afford food items. Proof of income level, citizenship, or food-security status will not be required to collect food items; no information will be recorded or distributed.
Additional food distributions will be Feb 10, March 9, April 13, May 11, and June 8.
In an email to The Daily following the protest, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and Vice Provost for Graduate Education Stacey Bent wrote that “dependent insurance costs remain high, reflecting the high cost of medical care in our region,” and the two are continuing to look for a solution.
Stanford graduate students say it's unacceptable that dependent health-care premiums have increased 80 percent in a few years. Many are pushing for free health care for their kids.
Over the past six years, Stanford University has raised the rates of dependent health care by 80%. In 2013-2014 a graduate student with two children and a spouse would have paid $494 a month to insure their dependents; in 2019-2020 they are paying $893 a month.
December 3 from 1-3 PM in Rains Hacienda; bring bags and a cart to haul 150 pounds (68 kilos) of food home Volunteer Sign Up. The USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of consistent access to enough food to lead a healthy and active life. Food insecurity is marked by reduced variety, quality, or desirability of diet as well as patterns of disrupted eating or reduced food intake due to lack of ability to access and afford food items. Proof of income level, citizenship, or food-security status will not be required to receive food items at the Pop Up Pantry. No information will be recorded or distributed.
On Friday, November 8, over 100 graduate students, spouses, and children rallied in front of the office of the Vice Provost of Graduate Education to deliver the petition to Vice Provost for Graduate Education Stacey Bent, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and Associate Director of Vaden Health Center Leigh Stacey.
We've recorded Irán Román's experience as a Stanford University graduate student struggling with the university's dependent healthcare.
Stanford withdrew its proposed General Use Permit (GUP) on Nov. 1, just five days before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors was set to vote on its approval.
November 20 from 1:30-3 PM at the end of Dudley Court; bring bags and a cart to haul 150 pounds (68 kilos) of food home Volunteer Sign Up. The USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of consistent access to enough food to lead a healthy and active life. Food insecurity is marked by reduced variety, quality, or desirability of diet as well as patterns of disrupted eating or reduced food intake due to lack of ability to access and afford food items. Proof of income level, citizenship, or food-security status will not be required to receive food items at the Pop Up Pantry. No information will be recorded or distributed.
Tina Cheuk, Assistant Professor at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo and Stanford Graduate School of Education alumna.
"During my five years here I co-led two student organizations. The first one was Mothers in Academia and that turned into the Student Parent Alliance."
"My biggest challenge five years ago was basically finding a place to pump, and in the building where I worked there was no designated lactation space."
As physicians in training, we cannot stand by as one of the richest universities in the world fails to provide affordable healthcare for its students and families. Stanford should commit to improving the health of its students and their dependents — not merely profit from it.
Stanford Dependent Healthcare Campaign Rally: November, 12 2019
Stanford Solidarity Network upload: We asked for the University to create an endowed fund that would guarantee affordable dependent health care for families. We are saddened and disappointed to report that administrators were unwilling to make any commitments.
2-minute segment starting at 23:01 minutes
‘Not today,’ Brubaker-Cole said on request for commitment to affordable dependent coverage.
The petition’s text additionally points to the recent closing of two on-campus childcare centers, which offered graduate students priority enrollment and reduced tuition, and the high costs of childcare in Palo Alto as contributing factors to the affordability issue.
For a graduate student with a spouse and a child, this translates into an increase in monthly premiums from $496.08 to $893.69. According to the SSN’s website, University-insured graduate students with a spouse and child living in the lowest-cost University housing “can find themselves with $7 or $10 in take home pay a week, to feed and clothe their entire family.”
Stanford has more property value than Apple, Google and Intel combined. And right now in the Bay Area, everyone is watching how these big property owners choose to use their land. So what role should companies who aren’t in the development business play in this moment?
Stances on development agreement, negotiation rules drove wedges between university and county during process of reviewing application.
Requests that various student groups presented to the county (including calls for additional child care services, subsidies for graduate students and transportation services for Stanford staff) aligned neatly with new conditions of approval that Simitian and Chavez released after the Oct. 22 board meeting.
Graduate student Alexa Russo spoke on behalf of Stanford Solidarity Network, a group of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, who requested more support in terms of housing and child care services.
Just before the Nov. 5 hearing, Simitian and Supervisor Cindy Chavez proposed in a memo some revisions to the conditions, including new provisions that would give Stanford "trip credits" for providing child care services, for constructing affordable housing and for providing Marguerite bus service (or another transit service) to non-Stanford-affiliated people in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and unincorporated San Mateo County. These credits could be applied to the county's tallies of reverse commutes and average daily traffic.
At the 12th meeting of the 21st Undergraduate Senate, senators passed a resolution to support affordable student-dependent health care ahead of schedule.
“I found the withdrawal surprising because I thought we were headed toward a win-win solution this coming Tuesday,” said Board President Joe Simitian, who represents District 5. “The (county) staff’s recommendation was to grant all 3.5 million square feet that Stanford had requested.”
“The board, my colleagues, at no point did I hear any consternation about giving Stanford everything it wanted,” Chavez said of Stanford’s overall development proposal. “The mechanism isn’t the goal, the important part is getting the development done.”
“It is a land-use decision made by the governing body that has the responsibility and authority under state law to approve or deny projects with or without condition,” he said. “The University has continued to push for negotiations because it thinks it can get a better deal that way.”
The University strikes back and follows through on a threat made in September.
Monday, October 28 from 1-2:30 PM at the end of Dudley Court; bring bags and a cart to haul 150 pounds (68 kilos) of food home Volunteer Sign Up. **Please note, the USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of consistent access to enough food to lead a healthy and active life. Food insecurity is marked by reduced variety, quality, or desirability of diet as well as patterns of disrupted eating or reduced food intake due to lack of ability to access and afford food items. Proof of income level, citizenship, or food-security status will not be required to receive food items at the Pop Up Pantry. No information will be recorded or distributed.
Solidarity Network and Parent Alliance come out in force to speak for affordable housing that is 30% of stipends and accessible childcare in the campus core (see link for County records, agenda, and meeting video).
Justine Modica, who was one of about two dozen graduate students who addressed the board, also joined the rally before the meeting, where she suggested that Stanford should devote a greater share of its $27-billion endowment to assist its graduate students. Modica said that while she doesn't have children, Stanford's failure to provide more assistance to graduate students severely limits their options.
"Stanford cuts its graduate students no deals for child care. Even the most affordable options are 130% of our yearly stipend," Modica told a crowd of more than 150 at the rally. "If I had a child, I would not be able to complete my studies while keeping my child alive."
Modica said Stanford’s lack of childcare created institutional barriers for women in academia, who were forced to choose between pursuing a degree or raising a family.
“Women will remain underrepresented in the academy for as long as childcare and family housing are as affordable as they are here at Stanford now,” Modica said.
SCoPE recognized that Santa Clara County, rather than the Stanford administration, had final say in Stanford’s GUP, and has used the local political process to push their platform.
"It’s starting to look like Stanford won’t expand after all. Tuesday night Stanford threatened again to walk way from a county development permit they’re seeking if they don’t get exactly what they want from the county. "
"Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, president of the Board of Supervisors, figuratively put Stanford vice president Bob Reidy against a wall when he asked if Stanford will fund local schools if they bring in 1,000 students as part of the expansion. "
"During the hearing, undergraduates accused the university of pretending it is unable to mitigate issues because it doesn’t want to pay. Graduate students said they want the university to build affordable housing and create more child care because they can’t afford to live in the area on their current stipends. They asked the supervisors to require housing and childcare if Stanford expands."
General Use Permit Town Hall, Palo Alto City Hall, October 22, 2019 4 pm to 8 pm
Please bring your children to the County hearing for the campus regional General Use Permit.
The issue has sparked outrage among some members of the Palo Alto Community over its potential impacts on the school district’s budget. According to an article by the Palo Alto Online in March 2019, dozens of parents, teachers, and school district volunteers held a rally demanding “full mitigation.” Essentially, they demanded for Stanford to fully pay for the cost for PAUSD to educate the new students under the proposed housing expansion. The Palo Alto Parent Teacher Association has also made similar demands for full mitigation.
The second Stanford pop-up food bank provided food to 197 families on Sept. 23, marking the growing momentum of the student-led push to alleviate food insecurity on campus. The initiative is a collaboration between Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley, Stanford Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE), the Graduate Student Council (GSC), the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) and Stanford Solidarity Network (SSN).
A federal judge yesterday (Oct. 10) dismissed Stanford’s lawsuit that attempted to knock down a Santa Clara County ordinance that requires the university, as it expands, to set aside 16% of its new housing as “affordable.”
Monday, September 23 from 1-2:30 PM at Dudley Court; bring bags and a cart to haul 150 pounds (68 kilos) of food home; RSVP for food (to help calculate tons of food to deliver) and Volunteer Sign Up.
For information on costs see https://tinyurl.com/soaringcost and https://tinyurl.com/depcare
“R&DE is grateful for the collaboration with the Graduate Student Council, the ASSU and the Stanford Solidarity Network and the dozens of student and staff volunteers who helped to make this important program possible.” Shirley Everett, senior associate vice provost for R&DE
Stanford also worked with Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based nonprofit organization that supplies groceries to food-insecure residents in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Luz Ayala, partnership manager for Second Harvest, said her organization uses the donations it receives to prioritize nutritious items for the roughly 290,000 people it serves throughout the region.
Monday, August 26 from 1-2:30 PM at Dudley Court; bring bags, student ID, and a cart to haul 150 pounds (68 kilos) of food home; RSVP for food (to help calculate tons of food to deliver) and Volunteer Sign Up.
The need for campus child care is growing — and not just among instructors and graduate students. According to a 2014 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, almost five-million undergraduates are parents. A 2011 report from the same policy group found that access to affordable child care is one of the most important factors in a student-parent’s decision to enroll at a college or university.
Stanford Parent Alliance Conditions of Approval Pass County Planning Commission 5:0 on June 27, 2019!
On June 27, 2019, The Santa Clara County Planning Commission passed by unanimous vote the Parent Alliance Conditions of Approval for Childcare and Affordable Housing. As a condition of approval of Stanford Universities General Use Permit, the Planning commission recommends that the Board of Supervisors include in the Conditions of Approval. These conditions ensure that Stanford development will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare. The text of the conditions: (A) Review of adequacy and affordability of childcare facilities in the GUP; and (B) Review alternatives for how that housing rents not exceed 30% of student income.
The Santa Clara County Planning Commission Regular Meeting June 27, 2019
Meeting agenda and video: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/SplitView.aspx?Mode=Video&MeetingID=11160
Download full video of meeting: http://mediahttp.iqm2.com/sccgov/26178_480.mp4
In honor of Mother’s Day, these Stanford students and postdocs reflect on the joys and challenges of raising kids on the Farm.
GSC members showed frustration with increasing health insurance premiums for spouses and two children, which are already set to increase by more than $100 a month for the 2019-20 school year.
Criticism resurfaces after Vaden’s decision to increase insurance premiums.
Meeting with Vice Provost Patti Gumport and Vice Provost Susie Brubaker Cole on March 14, 2019
Advocacy members for pregnant and student parents will meet with both Vice Provosts to share concerns and policies that impact the livelihoods of pregnant and student parents. Stay tuned for agenda and meeting goals.
Open offices hours with Stanford President Marc T-L on March 4, 2019
Tina Cheuk (GSE, PhD candidate) will be joined by Stanford President Marc T-L in a short conversation about pregnant and student parents at Stanford. While the one-on-one conversation is off the record, Tina aims argue for the need for "Family Resource Center" for the student and postdoc community.
Thank you to Knight-Hennessy Scholars who are supporting more inclusive housing for parenting students who take parental leave on March 4, 2019
Thank you to Vivienne Hay, Mohamed Hussein, and Gaby Joseph (and others), all Knight-Hennessy Scholars who have been working with senior administrators in providing housing security for parenting students (especially those who take parental leave). They were able to work with VPGE and Michelle Clayman from the Clayman Institute to change university policy.
BEFORE: students who took parental leave were at risk of losing housing.
AFTER: "students may petition for housing" (https://gap.stanford.edu/handbooks/gap-handbook/chapter-5/subchapter-9/page-5-9-1). It's a small step in the right direction, and team members will continue pushing for guaranteed housing.
Tina Cheuk and Robin Hoecker describe their advocacy efforts on behalf of grad students who are also parents and what they learned in the process.
Study on academic advising and mentoring experiences of female Ph.D. students with children (posted July 30, 2018)
**********************************
I am a graduate student at the University of San Francisco, in the School of Education. I am conducting a study on the academic advising and mentoring experiences of female Ph.D. students with children.
I am seeking female Ph.D. students with children to be interviewed by me for this project. To participate in this research study you must:
be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Stanford University
be a mother to a child five years old or younger
have completed at least one year (three academic quarters, excluding summer) in the Ph.D. program
Total time commitment for this research study is approximately two hours including an audio recorded interview and optional review of the transcript. There will be no cost to you for participating in the research project. Participation is completely voluntary. You are free to withdraw from the study at any point. Upon completion of the interview you will be offered a $10 gift card for an on-campus establishment.
This research will be used for my dissertation project. Pseudonyms will be used to protect confidentiality, including during the use of direct quotes from interviews. Student identities will not be used in any publications or reports from this research study.
If you are interested in being interviewed, please complete this questionnaire: https://goo.gl/forms/csvecJWUEaE5XLVP2 . Participants will be selected from all who respond and meet the criteria for the study. If you have any questions, please contact me at aferree@usfca.edu or aferree@stanford.edu.
Thank you,
Alyssa Ferree, Graduate Student, University of San Francisco
Initiatives for Graduate Student Families at Stanford and Next Steps (posted June 12, 2018)
Four years since the seed idea of Mothers in Academia, and more recently Student Parent Alliance-- Look how much we have achieved toward gender equity and supports for parents in the academy!
https://quadblog.stanford.edu/2018/06/11/initiatives-for-graduate-student-families/
Questions for Title IX coordinator candidate interviews (posted June 1, 2018)
Here are two questions that our alliance hopes to ask for the two Title IX coordinator candidate interviews coming up in June. They will be asked by either a GLO representatives or a student rep on the committee.
How do you see your role and responsibilities in supporting pregnant and lactating (nursing) students, as well as parenting students?
How do you see the Title IX office work across schools and departments to educate the broader Stanford community, and put into place practices and policies so that the rights of pregnant and parenting students and postdocs are protected?
Stanford president and provost chart a vision for Stanford’s future (posted May 31, 2018)
Regarding affordability issues:
.... Drell cited some near-term strategies to address affordability that will be funded in the 2018-19 budget, including increasing undergraduate financial aid, boosting the salaries of postdoctoral scholars, expanding graduate housing at Escondido Village, implementing an enhanced staff and faculty salary program, and extending additional financial assistance for graduate student parents....
The full article is available here: https://news.stanford.edu/2018/05/30/conversation-president-provost/
Long-range planning community discussion addresses affordability, curriculum (posted May 31, 2018)
Shout out to Forest Peterson B.S. ’07 Ph.D. ’18, who asked the following question at a recent community meeting: "How do you see your role as Stanford University leaders to provide facilities that support women in tenure-track academics at a level, as RBG proposed, "equal to or greater than men?" Thank you, Student Parent Alliance
The full article is available here: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2018/05/31/long-range-planning-community-discussion-addresses-affordability-curriculum/
Tina Cheuk was honored for advocating for gender equity and for the needs of students with children and for co-founding Mothers in Academia and the Student Parent Alliance to rally for improved childcare conditions, health care and housing solutions.
Tina Cheuk - Graduate Leadership Award
Tina Cheuk - Education
Graduate School of Education Spring 2018 Student Guild Awards
Awarded by Tina's peers for her work to support graduate student mothers at the Graduate School of Education.
Stanford Report story on the Stanford Families Working Advisory Group (posted April 3, 2018)
IMPORTANT report! Must have Stanford login to access report. This news items reaches all staff and faculty, and the report has been shared among the respective leaders at each school.
https://vpge.stanford.edu/news/sfwag
https://news.stanford.edu/2018/04/03/report-issued-graduate-student-families-stanford/
The recommendations (from the working group) are as follows:
Establish a need-based student family grant of up to $10,000 per family per year. *Established!
Allocate funding to partially subsidize the cost of university-sponsored health insurance for dependents. *Established! (but requires a large protest each year to renew)
Create a single point of contact, a family resource advocate, for graduate student parents/expectant parents to serve as the primary source for information and resource referrals. *Nothing
Establish a student Family Community Center. *Nothing
Expand options for flexible child care that meet the unique scheduling and budgetary needs of the graduate student population as part of a larger strategic plan for child care expansion. *Nothing
Offer back-up child care of up to five days per calendar year for student families. *Nothing
Extend funding for Stanford’s student childbirth accommodation for the birth parent to one academic quarter (three months) and consider an accommodation for the non-birth parent. *Nothing
Increase infrastructure and support services for all nursing parents, including allocation of dedicated lactation space within campus buildings. *Nothing
Establish a formal, centralized system for collection, storage and sharing of data about graduate student families. *Nothing
"Strengthening Graduate Voice: GSC Survey Open Meeting" Havana Room, GCC on April 10, 2018
We HIGHLY encourage graduate students (and/or partners/spouses) to attend the upcoming "Strengthening Graduate Voice: Graduate Student Council (GSC) Survey Open Meeting" with senior leaders/admin on Tuesday, April 10th from 5:30-7:30 in the Havana Room at the GCC (750 Escondido).
RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdm_yUnbq8OPj0p07ZxqJw6ey-f1PC8YAGz4hqxGJ0yE_G4Hw/viewform
Graduate student leaders will present the results of the 2017 Graduate Student Council survey and in it are your voices and concerns, specifically around childcare, healthcare, and housing.
Here are some specific language in the report pertaining to childcare (that echoes language from the GSC resolution pertaining to childcare):
Page 6 of report:
Offer childcare subsidies to graduate students with young dependents commensurate with those given to faculty for children under 5 and equal to $10,000 for those with children 6 to 10, to be matched to financial need
OR
Offer subsidies to graduate students with young dependents of up to $10,000 per year to be applied to dependent-related living expenses including housing, childcare, healthcare, etc., to be matched to financial need
*******************
Construct or repurpose enough space on campus to provide childcare centers for all graduate and undergraduate students in need of them
Expand both on-and off-campus childcare to accommodate young children of graduate students with goals of minimizing childcare waitlist times and accommodating all graduate and undergraduate student demand
Food and refreshments provided.
Download link for report: http://bit.ly/GSC_Survey_Report_201718.
Egg Roll for Graduate families with children on Saturday, March 17, 2018 (rain location: GCC)
WHEN: Saturday, March 17, 2018
TIME: 10:00 AM-12:30 PM (Moved to Graduate Community Center at 750 Escondido Road)
Provost Persis Drell and Jim Welch invite you and your children to the Meyer-Buck House Egg Roll!
Children will enjoy games, face painting, an egg-roll competition, and an egg hunt. A light breakfast will be provided. (It's a bummer with the rain! I won't be attending this year with my family, but will aim for next year!)
Stanford Family Working Advisory Group (SFWAG) report out (posted March 13, 2018)
About a year ago (April 2017), SFWAG, Stanford Family Working Advisory Group, was formed to address the strengths and needs of the community of students (and postdocs) who support dependents (have children) on and off-campus. Co-chairs of this working group, Ken Hsu (GLO), and Phyllis Stewart Pires (WorkLife), were charged with developing a report on the status of this student population and make short and long-term recommendations to Vice Provost Patti Gumport regarding this student group. The working group is seeking "additional input before finalizing" the report. The plan is to "release it and together, consider the recommendations as well as how to prioritize them along what timeline ... this coming year, a few years out, etc.)." (email correspondence with senior administrator)
We will keep Stanford Parent Alliance members updated as the report is released!
0 percent increase for dependent care for 2018-2019 (posted March 12, 2018)
"The anticipated 2018-2019 rate increase for the Dependent Plan was even higher, and concerning given the smaller population size. The one-time subsidy funding provided by the university will allow these rates to stay at status quo, a 0 percent increase, over the upcoming plan year.
The university has worked to mitigate increases in health care costs for students and families in recognition of the serious affordability challenges facing many segments of the university community. These challenges, which go well beyond health care costs, have been a focus of discussion in the university's Long-Range Planning process. These issues will be a subject of continued engagement between the university and students in the weeks and months to come."
Full article here: https://vaden.stanford.edu/cardinal-care-and-stanford-student-dependent-plan-health-insurance-2018-2019
Graduate Student Council (GSC) Resolution passed for childcare subsidies (March 2018)
Great work on behalf of Student Parent Alliance! "In its Wednesday night meeting, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) unanimously passed a resolution that calls on Stanford to offer subsidies to graduate students with young dependents in an effort to make childcare more affordable." Will update the website once we have additional details and next steps on this effort.
It took Herculean efforts to make this happen.... read all about it here in the Feb 14 2018 op-ed in the Stanford Daily.
The report on the report...
"It took me exactly three years and four months, countless networking meetings with academic mothers, 22 separate requests with staffers, administrators and faculty, four diversity and inclusion related grant proposals, one op-ed, several Stanford Daily articles, a letter to Title IX and a university sponsored working group (Stanford Families Working Advisory Group) to initiate a process by which the University now, in 2018, 127 years since it became a co-educational institution, has developed a lactation accommodations policy for the community of 12,148 staffers, 9304 graduate students, 2180 faculty members and 7032 undergrads."
Tax issues-Town Hall (GCC-Havana Room) on December 7, 2017
A huge shout-out to my colleague Carrie Townley Flores who encouraged senior administrators to considered the needs for students with families. It takes great courage and leadership to show up, speak up and address difficult issues in groups with diverse needs and goals. Here's a 2+ minute clip of her exchange with Vice Provost Patti Gumport:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SAbDF-iFN9ZdLH1YkfIrrIaqIAyMcZnL (You may have to try out various browsers that work in playing the video link.)
AND a second shout-out to Justine who redirected and followed this line of questioning and got Ken Hsu (GLO), to respond! Ken and Phyllis (from WorkLife) are leading the SF-WAG (Stanford Families Working Advisory Group). We are all looking forward to the report they will produce for Persis and Patti this quarter!
Here's that link of the exchange, 2+ min:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FsiM3uT09qpg8wzUxQoBDsCWgxwf01yW
Student Families Working Advisory Group (SF-WAG)-focus group lunch 12 pm at Graduate Community Center (GCC), Nairobi Room on December 6, 2017
In Spring 2017, Vice Provost Patti Gumport convened a working group with representatives from Vice Provost Graduate Education Office, Graduate Life Office, WorkLife Office, Student Housing, Vaden Health Center, and Student Financial Aid to review and assess graduate student family support policies and practices, and prepare a set of recommendations for expanding university resources for graduate student families. The group has leveraged the findings from a report prepared by Tina Cheuk, as well as other internal and external resources. As part of our exploration, we are meeting with various student groups and would like Mother's in Academia and Student Parent Alliance members.
The Student Families Working Advisory Group (SF-WAG) will be hosting a focus group on Wednesday, December 6 at 12pm (lunch included) to discuss our findings and receive your input. This is a great opportunity to contribute to this important initiative to expand support for students with families and children.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP here by Friday, December 1. In order to maximize the focus group format, there is limited capacity (15) for this session.
We hope to see you next month!
Kindly,
Caitlin Azhderian, Ed.M.
WorkLife Portfolio Manager
Work: 650-725-2493
Pick up the latest 9/22 issue on campus or check out the full article online. Thank you to all the parents who contributed to this story! Please share among your friends and colleagues!
Mothers in Academia network lunch, Women's Community Center 12-1 pm on Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Join us on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 for a catered lunch at Women's Community Center from 12-1pm. Everyone is welcomed! Conversations will be geared toward graduate students and postdocs. If you are staff or faculty affiliate, please contact tcheuk@stanford.edu for more details.
RSVP by Tuesday end of day, Oct 10, 2017 for catering headcount.
https://stanforduniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6LGK9CY9tuEhVfn
This will be an informal gathering of mothers, expectant mothers, and allies. We will have time to discuss key issues that are important for our advocacy efforts for mothers (and families) for this academic year.
When Tina Cheuk discovered firsthand that academe can still penalize women in their childbearing years, she founded a network for positive change.
GSC survey (section 1-issues related to students with families) June/July 2017
Graduate students: Take 5-10 minutes to answer the questions in Section 1 of the recent ASSU-Graduate Student Council survey. Section 1 focuses on family life. There are other sections but you can skip the feedback depending on your interest and time. I've contacted the student organizers for this survey to see what next steps they will take with this data (in terms of advocacy efforts for students with families.) Thank you!
For families living near the construction / demolition zone near EV, concerns related to lead and asbestos abatement (June 26, 2017)
Families have expressed concern over possible lead and asbestos abatement as crews are working on demolition in EV this summer. Please direct your inquiries to Kip Fout, CIH, Asbestos, Lead and Construction Safety Program Manager, email: kipfout@stanford.edu (please cc: SUstudentparent@gmail.com in your correspondences so we can have keep a record of your inquiry.)
Stanford Environmental Health & Safety
650-723-0486 (office)
650-387-4320 (cell)
We spoke with him by phone and he's open in taking in questions and concerns regarding health and safety hazards related to lead and asbestos abatement.
Submission to Long-Range Planning process! (updated May 30, 2017)
Below is an excerpt of the proposal to the University "long-range planning" process.
The Student Parent Alliance and Mothers in Academia, in partnership with VPGE, GLO, and WorkLife would like to propose a Family Resource Center, committed to the holistic support and success of undergraduate and graduate students, and post-docs with children.
How can Stanford be a leader in supporting the diversity of learners and innovators so that our scholarly and family lives are dually recognized and supported?
Being an undergrad or graduate student, pregnancy and the transition to parenting are challenging endeavors. Pregnant and parenting students face a variety of issues depending on marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation, adoption, race/ethnicity, income status, as well as the number and age(s) of their child(ren). At every level of educational achievement, from high school through PhD programs, becoming a parent can pre-empt or preclude educational opportunities. We believe more can be done at the institutional level to create a more inclusive and innovative environment that advances the scholarship, research, and well-being of a diverse undergrad, graduate student, and postdoc community.
This Family Center will be a centralized multi-purpose campus resource where students can connect with other student parents and find a sense of community at Stanford. Recognizing the special challenges and struggles that student parents encounter when balancing their studies and parenthood, the Center will be a family-friendly place for student parents to find the campus and community resources they need as they face the competing challenges of both the student and family life. Students can seek informed advice, develop leadership skills, engage in informal study groups, nurse babies, change diapers, celebrate achievements, recover from setback, and form lasting friendships.
Issue at Madera Grove Child Care Center (email notification to Parents at Bing), May 11, 2017
To: bingparents@lists.stanford.edu
May 11, 2017
Dear Parents,
We want to inform you of an issue at Madera Grove Child Care Center located on the Stanford University campus.
Briefly, in November 2016, the Stanford Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with investigators from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, initiated an investigation of an allegation of possible inappropriate conduct with a child by a teacher. Upon the completed investigation, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges.
A civil suit has just been filed (5/10/17) against KinderCare, which operates the Madera Grove Children’s Center, and you may be hearing about this suit in the news media shortly.
Stanford University and Bing Nursery School, as well as all the programs that serve children on campus, have the highest expectations for the safety and security of our children. For transparency purposes, we wanted to inform all of our parents of this allegation even though Bing Nursery School is completely independent of Madera Grove and all other childcare centers on the Stanford campus.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Winters
Director, Bing Nursery School
Provost Drell updated on progress of our advocacy efforts and collaboration with GLO, WorkLife, and VPGE.
A representative from the Student Parent Alliance met with Provost Drell from 4:45-5:05 pm during her Open Offices Hours. During that time, Provost Drell was updated on the progress of work and received a copy of the preliminary report (v.1.1) along with a hard copy memo that detailed out some of the more recent events related to pregnant and parenting students.
Student input: VPGE "What's Possible" by April 30, 2017
VPGE has poses two open-ended questions below, and encourage you to be aspirational in your responses—however large or small, whether urgent or over the next decade and beyond.
What do you most value about graduate education at Stanford?
Looking ahead, what could be done to enhance the quality of graduate education and graduate students’ experiences at Stanford?
Once you click the button below you will be asked to authenticate that you are a member of the Stanford community. Your response will be anonymous, although you will have the option of telling us about yourself. This site will be open until April 30, 2017.
DAC networking lunch 12:30-1:30 pm (location: Women's Community Center) (for Diversity Month) on April 27
Thank you to all of the students and administrators who join us for this lunch! We hope that this will be the beginning of a series of conversations that lead to actionable outcomes that enhance the lives of pregnant and parenting students at Stanford.
Event is supported by Diversity Advocacy Committee (DAC) as part of Diversity Month.
Meeting with senior administrators on April 19, 2017
Members of the Parent Alliance will be meeting with senior administrators regarding the needs for pregnant and parenting students on April 19, 2017. Departments represented include VPGE, GLO, RD&E, Financial Aid, Work Life, and Strategic Planning. Thank you to all of the PhD student volunteers from all 7 schools who joined in this conversation!
The framing question for the conversation will be:
How can we strengthen our community and better foster inclusion, well-being, and affordability for pregnant and graduate students who have children?
Response from Vaden Health Insurance Advisory Board with regard to rising costs to dependent care healthcare (April 14, 2017)
In our inquiry related to the rising healthcare costs (to both students and their dependents), the following is an excerpt from Leigh S. Stacy, Director, Finance and Administration at Vaden Health Center.
"... the short answer is ‘Yes’, we are very aware of the rising costs associated with the Stanford Student Health Insurance Plan (i.e., ‘dependent plan’). The cost of the dependent plan, which has between 400 and 450 enrollees (representing roughly 250 families), is heavily impacted by utilization (to compare, Cardinal Care averages roughly 8,000 enrollees, so utilization cost is spread over a much larger population).
In the last couple of years, analyses we’ve done (using a consulting firm that has expertise in this field), have shown that, for some dependents, comparable, or even better, options exist through Affordable Care Act offerings. Whether the Stanford Dependent Plan or a plan offered through Covered California is better for a given family is driven by many factors and is heavily dependent on specific needs, income (which drives eligibility for subsidy through Cover California), tax status, etc. The fact that the Stanford Dependent Plan’s enrollment has decreased some over the last couple of years suggests that our analyses are accurate and that student dependents are finding alternative options for coverage, which presumably are more competitive from a cost perspective. We are glad that Covered California offers choice to our dependents (which wasn’t as readily available a few years ago).
*****
Student Parent Alliance concerns:
1. What would it cost to provide need-based subsides for these 250 families?
2. What were students doing before Covered California? If students with families are choosing Covered California, going on Medi-Cal, or other forms of insurance, is Stanford systematically collecting data related to why enrollees (for dependents are decreasing)? Is it because from students with dependents are making "cost perspective" decisions? In other words, the Dependent Plan is unaffordable, the alternatives are more cost effective.
Stanford Civic Action Fair at White Plaza and Li Ka Shing lawn, 11-1pm on March 10, 2017
The Civic Action Fair is a gathering for campus social justice groups, with 32 groups participating. The Stanford Student Parent Alliance will host a stall to share our work. Please stop by!
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/144018956116231/
https://stanfordsolidarity.wordpress.com/
Stanford Response to Recent Palo Alto Weekly Articles
page 16-17 from this issue: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/morguepdf/2017/2017_03_10.paw.section1.pdf
Addressing child care for graduate students
Editor,
I must respond to two articles in the Palo Alto Weekly on March 3, “The child care squeeze” and “How Stanford’s child care centers are run.” These articles inaccurately foster a perception that Stanford lacks a commitment to providing child care — specifically, child care for our graduate students. Stanford has worked to provide child care opportunities for the university community since the 1970s. Stanford is one of the largest providers of employer supported child care in the Valley — and one of the largest providers of child care among institutions of higher education. The expansion of Children’s Center of Stanford Community (CCSC) and the addition of child care at our Redwood City campus will add significantly more spaces. Closing two small campus programs was a difficult decision and not made lightly. Nevertheless, expanding the CCSC program is in the longterm best interest of the community we serve. The Stanford WorkLife Office interacts with graduate student families and we hear their child care concerns firsthand. Our facilities offer tuition-reduction programs for graduate students, and they have priority second only to faculty. We will continue working to address the specific needs of this important community. The best long-term solutions to the child care shortage will require collaboration. Our recent partnership with Palo Alto Unified School District, Palo Alto Community Child Care and the City of Palo Alto to increase the size of the after-school program at Escondido Elementary School demonstrates the creativity and commitment needed to expand affordable child care options. I’m proud to be part of that journey and invite those with the passion for solving these challenging and complex issues to join me.
Phyllis Stewart Pires Senior Director,
Stanford WorkLife Office
Porter Drive, Palo Alto
"... While Stanford provides a salary supplement to eligible faculty members and child care subsidies to employees, it does not offer any kind of child care stipend to graduate students. This is one change students who are parents say would significantly benefit families, and they point to other large research universities, both public and private, that offer this extra financial support, ..." more
Cardinal Care Rates for 2017-2018 increases 7.5% for dependents (remains flat for students)
How will this increase in rates impact families? Do you have a story you would like to share? If so, send us a note on the testimonial page so we can document the needs from students.
"Recognizing that rising health care costs are always of great concern, Vaden Health Center will continue to solicit feedback and collect general information about health care priorities and coverage needs from students. We will also keep informed about changes in the insurance industry that might serve our population. For questions at this time, please contact Vaden's Insurance and Referral Office at 650-723-2135 or by submitting a help ticket at helpsu.stanford.edu ."
An early Parent Alliance win! Through advocating with the Palo Alto School District and the Stanford University admin, we successfully obtained a childcare expansion at the Escondido School site and reduce the waitlist.
"Initially, as part of the agreement, families currently enrolled at the Pepper Tree School on the Stanford campus will be able to enroll in the expanded PACCC program at Escondido after the Pepper Tree program closes at the end of the 2016-17 school year. The Pepper Tree program is being closed to make way for construction of a new and expanded Children’s Center of the Stanford Community on the site.?
"The impending closure of two facilities that offer affordable childcare to the Stanford community has left parent graduate students scrambling for alternatives for next year." ... more
"... The university announced last year it intends to close its Rainbow School for preschoolers and the Pepper Tree After School Program at Escondido Village at the end of the 2016-17 school year. The two programs serve about 20 students each...." more
PAUSD-Stanford partnership-funds for modular: Feb 14, 2017
For more details please review the PAUSD board agenda item: http://www.boarddocs.com/ca/pausd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=AHQ23Z004A64
"As part of this effort, Stanford seeks to actively partner with Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) and Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC) for a win-win-win solution that allows for an increase in the capacity at PACCC’s existing before- and after-school program at Escondido Elementary School.
Stanford has agreed to provide funding to PAUSD for the purchase, installation, and set-up of a second modular classroom at Escondido Elementary School to house this expanded PACCC program. The shared goal of this offer is to place current Pepper Tree School families in the Escondido Elementary School PACCC program when Pepper Tree closes at the end of the 2016-17 school year. No ongoing operational funding support will be provided to PAUSD or PACCC by Stanford within this offer."
Details: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FBPZg2_FHQY9HDarEGXo1EQE4MwyQP6aR-deFpCottM/pub
Meeting with Escondido Village CAs: Feb 7, 2017, 6 pm
A representative from the Alliance shared the website contents at the EV CA mtg and requested feedback and testimonies related to issues pertaining to student parents in the EV community. Students, spouses, partners, and allies were encouraged to share their stories via the qualtrics link under "testimonies" page.
Meeting with Roberta Katz (former chief of staff): Feb 7, 2017
Representatives from graduate students and faculty met with Roberta Katz to discuss next steps regarding the closing of Peppertree and the general access of affordable childcare available to the Stanford community. Our next step is to gather evidence that related to impact of Peppertree closure and related childcare issues and share the body of evidence to members of the administration. We expressed appreciation in the open line of communication and support for this work. Members of the Stanford community can submit testimonials related to the closing of Peppertree and childcare related issues on the "testimonies" page (via qualtrics links).
Meeting with Chief of Staff Roberta Katz: Dec 15, 2016
Representatives from faculty, staff, and graduate students met with Assistant Vice Provost & Director Ken Hsu (Graduate Life Office) and interim Chief of Staff Roberta Katz (Office of the President) on Thursday, December 15, 2016. While the conversation focused predominately around the limited access to affordable and quality childcare options pertaining to the closing of the Pepper Tree after school program, and various aspects of facilities use at Stanford, we were able to discuss broader issues pertaining to the family-related needs faced by graduate students, postdocs, staff, and faculty. This group has been charged to organized ourselves (1) to identify our diverse population, (2) define our needs, and (3) propose solutions to address our problems. This website as well as prior organizing efforts grew out of this meeting and represents initial steps in responding to these three changes.
For one year, MIA, Stand4EV, and Glenn knocked on many of the same doors and found a cool response; the student with children issues overlapped. A senior university admin suggested that they knock on doors together.
Due to concerns over new graduate housing development planned in Escondido Village (EV), some graduate students have filed an appeal to the Santa Clara County Architecture & Site Approval Committee in an attempt to block construction.
Mothers in Academia (MIA) is a network of mothers, expectant mothers, and allies designed to empower participants to navigate the academy as graduate students and postdocs, advance our voice and influence within the academy, and build the tools and support necessary to be successful here at Stanford and beyond. The broad goal of this network is to support the community of graduate student and postdoc mothers and educate the broader academy on how to support and integrate pregnant and parenting students into the academy. In particular, this group will work together to unpack complex issues, emotions, and professional questions around working and learning as a mother in the academy.
See Tina's website https://sites.google.com/view/tinacheuk
Stanford RD&E has proposed a plan to build new housing in Escondido Village. As is, it requires the demolition of four of seven family courtyards in the Escondido Village. The current plan significantly decreases the number of available spaces for families, so that families who wish to live on campus will not be guaranteed space.
We ask that Stanford halt and revisit RD&E’s construction plan that will tear down over half of the historic Escondido Village family courtyards and replace them with large, non-family, apartment buildings.
Glenn Wilson said he has spent the last two years trying to get Stanford to take responsibility for exposing hundreds of EV residents, children, and dozens of construction workers to dangerous amounts of lead.