FWIW—Here’s the response I got to my letter to the President and Provost at Stanford regarding the football program. I also sent a letter to John Arrillaga.
As the University’s Vice President for Alumni Affairs and President of the Stanford Alumni Association, I have been asked by Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne to respond to your email below.
First, let me thank you for taking the time, effort and energy to share your thoughts and feelings about Stanford’s football program with the university president, and by extension with me. I very much appreciate you doing so. Alumni opinions matter greatly at Stanford. I consequently thank you for expressing your opinions and for being a part of this vital alumni feedback loop.
As a Stanford alum myself, and a dedicated Stanford football fan who rarely misses a game in person, I understand and share your frustration with the team’s performance this year. In other words, I know how you feel. And I appreciate the passion you and so many other Stanford alumni feel for our storied program. This season was disappointing to all of us and not something we wish to experience again in the future.
I am collecting all input we are receiving from alumni about our football program and will be sharing this feedback with the President, Provost and Athletic Director for their review. In the meantime, I very much hope you will keep an open mind vis a vis solutions as the program looks for ways to improve its performance. Your continued support is important to the program, and I hope we count on such support going forward.
Thanks, again, for the input you provided below. I send you my best wishes from the Farm for a healthy, happy holiday season.
Howard
As the University’s Vice President for Alumni Affairs and President of the Stanford Alumni Association, I have been asked by Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne to respond to your email below.
First, let me thank you for taking the time, effort and energy to share your thoughts and feelings about Stanford’s football program with the university president, and by extension with me. I very much appreciate you doing so. Alumni opinions matter greatly at Stanford. I consequently thank you for expressing your opinions and for being a part of this vital alumni feedback loop.
As a Stanford alum myself, and a dedicated Stanford football fan who rarely misses a game in person, I understand and share your frustration with the team’s performance this year. In other words, I know how you feel. And I appreciate the passion you and so many other Stanford alumni feel for our storied program. This season was disappointing to all of us and not something we wish to experience again in the future.
I am collecting all input we are receiving from alumni about our football program and will be sharing this feedback with the President, Provost and Athletic Director for their review. In the meantime, I very much hope you will keep an open mind vis a vis solutions as the program looks for ways to improve its performance. Your continued support is important to the program, and I hope we count on such support going forward.
Thanks, again, for the input you provided below. I send you my best wishes from the Farm for a healthy, happy holiday season.
Howard
