Eight faculty members have been named or reappointed Bass University Fellows for five-year terms starting in the 2020-21 academic year in recognition of their exceptional contributions to undergraduate education.

The announcement was made at the Faculty Senate meeting yesterday by Sarah Church, the vice provost for undergraduate education and a professor of physics at Stanford.

The Bass University Fellows in Undergraduate Education Program was established in 2001. Anne T., MLA ’07, and Robert M. Bass, MBA ’74, provided matching funds to create the program. Individual fellowships are named in honor of donors who made significant gifts to the Campaign for Undergraduate Education, which was completed in 2005.

Bass Fellows are invited to join the Bass Council of Fellows, which meets twice a year and advises the vice provost for undergraduate education on a variety of issues. Once a faculty member rotates out of an individual fellow appointment, he or she becomes a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education in perpetuity.

The Bass University Fellows program is one of several annual awards for effective teaching that are given at the university and school level and by student groups. For a full list of Stanford teaching awards, visit the Teaching Commons website.

New and reappointed Bass Fellows

Adam Banks, a professor in the Graduate School of Education and faculty director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, was appointed The Hazy Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Gordon Chang, senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education, and the Olive H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities in the History Department in the School of Humanities and Sciences, was appointed The Stanford Alumni University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, was reappointed The Anonymous Friends University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Zephyr Frank, the Gildred Professor of Latin American Studies in the History Department in the School of Humanities and Sciences, was reappointed The Barbara Finberg University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

J. Christian Gerdes, a professor of mechanical engineering in the School of Engineering and a senior fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy, was reappointed The Sugden Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Elizabeth Hadly, the Paul S. and Billie Achilles Professor in Environmental Biology in the Biology Department in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, was reappointed The Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Yeung University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Greg Walton, an associate professor of psychology in the School of Humanities and Sciences, was reappointed The Michael Forman University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

Risa Wechsler, director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, and a professor of physics in the School of Humanities and Sciences and of particle physics and astrophysics at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, was appointed The Gregory Amadon Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.