Features

Former provost announces billion-dollar fundraising campaign for undergrads 

STANFORD – John Hennessy vowed to make undergraduate education a high priority as he was inaugurated Friday as the 10th president of Stanford University. 

Standing before an amphitheater audience of some 7,000 people, the computer science pioneer and former university provost announced the launch of a five-year $1 billion fund-raising campaign for undergraduate education programs. 

“This goal makes it the largest campaign devoted exclusively to undergraduate education ever undertaken by a university,” he said. 

Hennessy, 48, was named president of the elite university in April and in September assumed the post held for the past eight years by Gerhard Casper. Casper, a 61-year-old constitutional law scholar, announced his retirement last year. He will serve as co-chair of the new undergraduate education campaign. 

Hennessy was the university’s provost for the past year and the dean of the School of Engineering before that. He has been a member of the faculty since 1977. 

Internationally known and respected for his work in computer architecture, Hennessy is credited with starting a successful Silicon Valley microprocessor production company, MIPS Computer Systems Inc. The company was bought out by workstation giant Silicon Graphics and is now called MIPS Technologies Inc. 

Shortly after being named president, Hennessy said his three primary goals would be to improve the undergraduate experience, build on the success of technology and business, and strengthen arts and humanities.