IPER News
Autumn 2006

Dear IPER Faculty and Friends,

We’d like to start the academic year off with a promise to communicate with you better, if not necessarily more frequently.  Below is a first installment of what may become a quarterly IPER newsletter.  Please be sure to check out the updated IPER web site and, of course, send any suggestions or questions you may have (http://iper.stanford.edu/). 

We thank you for your energy and enthusiasm for IPER and look forward to working with you all more!

Gretchen

IPER People

Helen Doyle joined IPER as Associate Director in May.  She brings to IPER 15 years of experience in philanthropy, education, and non-profit-management, and energy and vision for launching new dimensions of the program.  Stop by or set up a time to meet Helen if you haven’t already (Mitchell 132).

Suki Hoagland, whose commitment and enthusiasm were instrumental in establishing IPER, is now a Consulting Associate Professor developing opportunities with the Woods Institute for the Environment, the Freeman Spogli Institute, and the Earth Systems Program to engage the Stanford community in sustainable development research and education in Europe and East Africa.  Though now based primarily in Geneva, Suki is on campus frequently.  Join me in thanking Suki for her commitment to IPER!

Six fantastic students comprise the fifth IPER cohort.  Welcome Mehana Blaich Vaughan, Adam Millard-Ball, Andy Gerhart, Narasimha Rao, Caroline Scruggs, and KaitlinShilling!

Congratulations!  Mark Hayes, who’s worked with David Victor in the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, successfully defended his thesis on Sept. 25!  Look for others in the first IPER cohort to finish up this year.  Everyone in the second cohort has now passed his/her qualifying exam and the third cohort is on track.

Erica Plambeck, associate professor in the Graduate School of Business, joined the Executive Committee.  ExCom also includes Buzz Thompson, Jim Sweeney, Jeff Koseff, and Gretchen, of course.  Third year IPER student Kate Brauman is this year’s student rep.

The Student Liaison Committee (StuCom), with reps from each IPER class, has formed to facilitate communication and program development.  This year StuCom, in order of seniority, includes Jason Funk, Justin Warren, Heather Lukacs, Carolyn Snyder, and Kaitlin Shilling.

IPER Business

The Committee on Graduate Studies re-authorized IPER for another five years in June and also approved a Masters degree for students who opt not to complete the PhD.

Joint degree programs to offer IPER Masters with GSB and Law School are under review by C-GS and discussions are underway with the Med School.  We anticipate offering classes specifically for students from these schools next year.

Admissions season is on us!   As noted in a recent message from Paul Ehrlich, chair of the admissions committee, you’ll be able to review applications through our new database.  More info to come.

The Requirements Document and accompanying forms have been finalized for now and are available in the Resources section of the IPER web site.  We’ve also added sections for Fellowships and Funding Opportunities and Career Development Resources (http://pangea.stanford.edu/IPER/internal/index.html).

You'll soon receive a copy of the new IPER Student Handbook – it is also available and will be updated periodically on the web site. (Huge thanks to Danielle!)

Thanks for your attention.  Please let us know if you have questions or have IPER news to distribute.