Winter 2010

Funding Creative Avenues for ExplorationBY kristen munson

karen Clark (Parent ’13) was surprised when her daughter Xandra, an aspiring performer, announced she wanted to study drama at stanford.

“my primary interaction with the university had been with earthquake engineers,” explains Clark, an expert in catastrophe risk management. “Given its reputation for science and technology, i wondered how stanford had gotten to the top of her college list.”

During Admit Weekend, Clark was pleased to learn that stanford was home to artists as well as scientists. in fact, she and her daughter found the arts were thriving on campus.

“We were sold,” Clark says.

Four years ago, the university launched a comprehensive Arts initiative to enhance core arts departments and integrate the arts into the everyday student experience. the newly established stanford institute for Creativity and the Arts acts as the initiative’s nerve center, leading the development of new arts programs and facilities, awarding grants for multidisciplinary arts research and teaching, and expanding opportunities for students to experience the arts on and off campus. The effort is taking root firmly. Last year, one in four undergraduate students was involved in an art group at stanford.

Clark and her husband, Pankaj tandon, wanted to support this mission. recently, they made a gift to help bring visiting artists to campus, as well as support student performances and research in the arts.

Working alongside internationally recognized directors, dancers, and critics enables students to gain exposure to creative practices and networks beyond stanford. For instance, last winter, the drama department hosted acclaimed director karin Coonrod of the Public theater of new York to direct a series of sketches from shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost.

students designed and constructed their costumes and even wrote original music for the productions. Drama major Jay-Marie Hill, ’10, worked alongside a professional director for the first time.

“stage managing can be stressful; you and the director need to be on the same page,” Hill says. “Working with a professional for the first time was definitely hard at times. But I think that’s the point. I definitely learned a lot from karin, and i think she learned a lot from me.”

While opportunities like this are résumé-building for students who arrive at stanford already interested in careers in the arts, Clark and Tandon hope their gift will also benefit students who grew up where the arts were not a focus or where schools were forced to trim arts programs from their budgets.

“We have always believed that college should be a time of experimentation and exploration,” says Clark. “the arts, in particular, provide unique opportunities for different cultural, aesthetic, and emotional experiences. they provide important avenues for understanding others, the world around us, and ourselves.”

Hill couldn’t agree more. she had limited exposure to the arts before attending stanford, “stumbled” into drama after helping friends with set design and lighting, and found a supportive environment through which she could explore and grow.

“You wouldn’t look at me and think i do drama,” Hill says. “And that’s really what stanford is all about—diversity of character. Drama is applicable to every field of study and every walk of life.” n

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The Clark-Tandon Family

PHOTO: Courtesy of K. Clark