Deborah Stipek, former dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education, has been named faculty director of the Haas Center for Public Service by Provost John Etchemendy.

Stipek, who assumes the directorship in fall 2016, succeeds Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Julie Kennedy, senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and professor (teaching) in Earth system science. Kennedy completed her term earlier this year. Diamond will continue to serve as faculty director until Stipek's appointment takes effect.

"Deborah Stipek provided outstanding leadership to the Graduate School of Education as dean, and I know she will do the same for the Haas Center," Etchemendy said. "In many ways, the work she will oversee at the Haas Center builds organically on the many initiatives she pioneered to improve K-12 education for all children. She is the perfect choice to lead the Haas Center as it helps Stanford students make a difference in the world through service."

Praising the work of Diamond and Kennedy, Etchemendy credited the two with strengthening the center's programs and inspiring record numbers of Stanford students to pursue lives of service.

"They did a terrific job and are leaving the center in an extremely strong position," Etchemendy said. "We're very grateful to them for their energy and devotion to public service."

Established in 1985, the Haas Center inspires and prepares students to create a more just and sustainable world through service, scholarship and community partnerships.

"I am thrilled to join the Haas Center and to support its efforts to advance Stanford's deep commitment to public service," Stipek said. "The center's unique approach of integrating coursework with field experience enhances the development of students' academic interest while it provides opportunities for them to gain an appreciation for how they can serve the larger community throughout their lives."

Stipek has already been involved with the Haas Center's Education Partnerships programs, establishing Preschool Counts, a service-learning program in which Stanford undergraduate and graduate students take a course (Education 171) on early childhood education and help pre-K children from East Palo Alto to develop math skills.

Stipek said she looks forward to working with the Haas staff to further develop Cardinal Service, an initiative launched this year to expand public service as a distinctive feature of a Stanford education. Cardinal Service aims to increase the number of students in community-engaged learning courses and Stanford-supported fellowships and internships. Cardinal Service encourages students to make service commitments during their time at Stanford and to integrate service into their careers.

"I am fortunate to be able to apply what I have learned from my career in education to the new Cardinal Service challenge, which I am confident will become a model for universities worldwide," she said.

Stipek served as dean of the Graduate School of Education from 2001 through 2011 and again from early 2014 until September. As dean, she helped establish a charter school in East Palo Alto and built partnerships with community organizations and school districts, including the San Francisco Unified School District. During her tenure, the school started a loan forgiveness plan for alumni who are teachers in high-need public schools, launched three new research centers and added a program to prepare students to become elementary school teachers.

Stipek's scholarship focuses on instructional effects on children's achievement motivation and on best practices in early childhood education. She is particularly concerned about policies and practices that give children of color and children living in poverty the educational advantages of their more affluent peers. She is currently leading a research consortium that is focused on improving opportunities for young children to learn math.