Presidential Search Committee (PSC) Faculty Representative Senkai Xia '24 MS'25 addressed diversity concerns regarding President-elect Jonathan Levin '94 during Tuesday's Undergraduate Senate (UGS) meeting.
UGS Co-Chair Diego Cagrabaza '25 said there were concerns among the Stanford community about “demographics in presidential selection,” and asked Shea what role diversity played in the selection process. Levin, whose appointment as president was announced Thursday, will be the 13th white man to lead the university.
Shea, a former member of the Daily's editorial board, said the search committee itself was “diverse” and spent “thousands of hours” evaluating 800 candidates. Mr. Shea emphasized the committee's “due diligence” in the investigation amid turmoil in leadership at Stanford University and other higher education institutions.
“Our job is to find the best person to lead Stanford University, and that must be done without regard to their background, religion or other immutable characteristics,” Shea said. Ta. “And at the end of the day, through this process, it was unanimous that John was the best person to do the job.”
Shea acknowledged that Stanford's past presidents come from a “certain demographic,” but said the committee found that Levin understands the importance of diversity at Stanford. Ta. Shea said Levine has a history of “uplifting” the student community as dean of the Graduate School of Business (GSB), publishing the school's first diversity report and promoting diversity under Levine's leadership. He cited an increase in sexuality.
Mr. Shea said he was “thrilled” by Mr. Levine's character and “impeccable integrity.”
“That guy is so optimistic. He's so humble, he's got incredible intelligence, and he's one of us,” Shea said.
UGS also approved more than $60,000 in funding across 35 grants and discussed the revival of FLiCKS, a long-standing Stanford tradition. The free films will be shown in CEMEX Auditorium “basically every Sunday night” during the spring semester, according to Associate of Stanford University (ASSU) President Sophia Danielpour '24.
The first showing will be “Saltburn” on April 14, and FLiCKS plans to continue next year, pending funding, Danielpour said.
