Stanford Today
Edition: January/February, 1997
Section: On Campus: "State of the University"
WWW: "State of the University"

COMPETITIVE EDGE CRITICAL, CASPER WARNS

By Marisa Cigarroa

Before he delivered his state of the University address on Nov. 7, Gerhard Casper told his audience that the night before he had fulfilled a major obligation as university president: He attended the opening of a department store.

Not just any department store, of course, but the first-ever Bloomingdale's in California, whose opening gala at the Stanford Shopping Center was expected to raise $1 million for the Stanford Medical Center.

Though Casper made light of his myriad responsibilities in his speech, his message was serious: Stanford must sharpen its competitive edge as federal support for universities decreases, and keep pace with its competitors in the East.

By many measures, the university is outstanding, Casper noted. Stanford led the nation's private universities in the production of Ph.D.s in 1995; its doctoral programs are highly rated by the prestigious National Research Council; faculty academy memberships are high; the number of freshman applicants with the highest academic credentials based on objective criteria has grown steadily since 1985; the university has been successful in garnering federal funding for research; and the campus is in the midst of unprecedented construction that will add key buildings and rejuvenate old ones.

"Stanford is fortunate to be among the American universities best positioned to rise to the challenges of constrained revenue, and to seek greater self-reliance," he said. "But we must do so unceasingly, for as fortunate as we are, our financial resources are still surpassed ­ in some cases by a large margin ­ by those institutions with which we most compete for the best faculty and students." ST