Stanford
Office of Faculty Development, Diversity and Engagement

Stanford Emeriti/ae Community

The Stanford Emeriti/ae Council

With the support of University leadership, the Emeriti/ae Council is a representative group of up to 16 emeriti/ae faculty and staff from across the university that supports the emeriti/ae community, reflecting emeriti/ae interests and concerns, communicating with relevant University officers, and encouraging emeriti/ae to support the University in a variety of ways. A Council member serves ex-officio on the university's Faculty Senate. In addition to start-of-year and year-end receptions, emeriti/ae and spouses or partners are invited to attend three "Autobiographical Reflections" lectures by distinguished retired professors during the academic year, as well as presentations co-sponsored with the Stanford Center on Longevity on topics of special interest to seniors. David Abernethy (Political Science) was the long-time chair of the Emeriti/ae Council; the current chair is Iris Litt (Pediatrics).

Council Members as of February 2022: 

Iris Litt (Chair), David Abernethy, Margaret Ann Fidler, Curt Frank, Bill Gould, Chuck Holloway, Pat Jones, Roberta Katz, Mike Kirst, Ray Levitt, Michele Marincovich, Ellen Porzig, John Rickford, Cecilia Ridgeway and Susan Schofield.

COVID-Related Procedures 

In light of campus concerns regarding COVID-19, we will be monitoring and following the latest University guidelines for preventing the spread of the virus. Please contact us at stanfordemeriticouncil@stanford.edu if you have questions. Stanford provides updates on the overall campus situation at the Health Alerts website.

David B. Abernethy Emeriti/ae Lecture Series 

The David B. Abernethy Emeriti/ae Lectures: Autobiographical Reflections is a series begun in 2005 in which distinguished retired professors speak about their lives, careers, inspirations, and post-retirement experiences and perspectives. The growing collection of more than 35 lectures is available on the web through Stanford Apple Podcasts at Emeriti/ae Council Autobiographical Reflections. 

2022–23 Lectures 

Hosted at The Stanford Faculty Club, Cedar Room from 4 - 6 PM 

  • November 15, 2022. Lecture by Clayborne Carson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History, Emeritus entitled "Where Do We Go from Here? Martin Luther King Jr.’s Still Unanswered Question for the World"
  • February 15, 2023. Lecture by Paul Yock, Weiland Professor of Bioengineering and Medicine, Emeritus entitled "Tales of a Medical Gizmologist"
  • April 19, 2023.  Lecture by Ann Arvin, Lucile Salter Packard Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Emerita. Title to be announced.

Recent Past Lectures

  • April 20, 2022. Lecture by William Durham, Bing Professor in Human Biology, Emeritus entitled "Surprising Implications of Evolution."  
  • February 16, 2022. Lecture by Lubert Stryer, Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor of Cell Biology, Emeritus. "Light and Life" 
  • November 17, 2021. Lecture by Jerry M. Harris, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Geophysics, Emeritus entitled "My Mississippi."
  • April 22, 2021. Lecture by Milbrey F. McLaughlin, David Jacks Professor of Higher Education, Emerita entitled "Context and the Power of Opportunities."
  • February 17, 2021. Lecture by Eve Vivienne Clark, Richard W. Lyman Professor in the Humanities, Emerita entitled "From French Literature to First Language Acquisition."
  • October 8, 2020. Lecture by James F. Gibbons, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus entitled "Tutored Video Instruction, Before and After Zoom

Listen to all previous episodes of our podcast

Longevity Series

This series is co-sponsored with the Stanford Center on Longevity and addresses topics of particular interest to seniors in the Stanford community.

2022-23 Presentations

  • Monday, December 5, 2022. “Young Blood for Old Brains” by Professor Tony Wyss-Coray, Zoom at 4 PM. 
  • Wednesday, March 1, 2023. "Advances in Understanding Attention and Memory" by Professor Emerit Michael Posner of the University of Oregon, Zoom at 4 PM. The ability to image the human brain has allowed us to visualize the brain areas involved in many cognitive networks including those for attention, memory, and self-regulation. Mouse and human studies have increased our understanding of how to alter connections between these areas, giving us hope of improving learning, for example through meditation or brain stimulation and of treating cognitive disorders.

Recent Past Presentations

  • May 23, 2022. “Navigating 21st Century Lives.” Zoom presentation by Laura Carstensen, Professor of Psychology, Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr. Professor in Public Policy, and founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity.
  • March 17, 2022. "Balanced Living: The Key to Fall Prevention." Zoom presentation by Dr. Deborah Kado, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Geriatric Research. 
  • November 3, 2021. "COVID Considerations in 2021: An Emeriti/ae Update. Zoom presentation by Dr. Yvonne "Bonnie" Maldonado, MD, Professor and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics. 
  • May 19, 2021. "The University Archives and Beyond: Preserving One's Papers, Data, and Research" presented by Josh Schneider, Stanford University Archivist
  • March 17, 2021. "University IT and You" presented by Stanford senior staff in University Information Technology
  • November 2, 2020. "Update on the COVID-19 Pandemic" presented by Philip Pizzo, M.D., former Dean of the School of Medicine, Emeritus and Professor of Pediatrics and of Microbiology and Immunology

Contact Information

The Council receives administrative support from the Provost's Office of Faculty Development, Diversity and Engagement. For more information, please call (650) 736-0384 or email stanfordemeriticouncil@stanford.edu.

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