Friends, family and colleagues honor Pat Jones

Friends, family and colleagues gathered this week to celebrate the accomplishments of PAT JONES, outgoing vice provost for faculty development. Jones, the Dr. Nancy Chang Professor in the Department of Biology, is returning to teaching and research after 11 years as a vice provost.

Jones joined the faculty in 1978. During her career at Stanford, she has served as chair of her department and founded an interdisciplinary doctoral program in immunology. In 1993, she chaired the Faculty Senate. From 1998 to 2000, she also served as associate dean of research. Among her many awards at Stanford is the Hoagland Prize, given for outstanding undergraduate teaching.

Provost JOHN ETCHEMENDY praised Jones for her “remarkable achievements, extraordinary university citizenship and commitment to making our university better in every way.”

As vice provost, Jones “has been a determined champion for the concerns of women faculty, faculty of color, junior faculty, faculty with childcare needs and those caring for elder parents,” he said. “Under Pat, these issues have become Stanford priorities. Benchmarking our progress on each has become integrated into the framework of our institution. She championed those causes with immense energy, extraordinary empathy and deep insight into what resources are crucial for a successful academic career.”

Etchemendy also praised Jones’ optimism and upbeat perspective, even in the face of daunting challenges.

“Year after year, Pat has come before the Faculty Senate to assure us that progress is being made, albeit much slower than we might have hoped,” he said. “With each report, she highlighted the progress, outlined the continued challenges and nudged us all to recommit to finding new ways to attract and retain a diverse faculty. When she found impediments as daunting as the so-called ‘pipeline problem,’ she eschewed discouragement and took on the pipeline itself with efforts like the Distinguished Alumni Scholars program, which encourages our own students to consider academic careers.”

Etchemendy noted that Jones is a fervent fan of the Cardinal and especially of women’s basketball. Among the gifts Jones was given at a reception in her honor was a Stanford basketball, autographed by Coach TARA VANDERVEER and members of the women’s basketball team.

- Kate Chesley