The School of Humanities and Sciences is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Although the school was organized in 1948, many of its departments, including Physics, have existed since Stanford opened its doors in 1891.

The largest of Stanford's schools ­ encompassing the core humanities, the fine arts, languages and literatures, the social sciences, mathematics and the natural sciences ­ H&S is home to more than 60 departments, interdisciplinary programs and research centers. The school is responsible for more than 80 percent of undergraduate teaching at Stanford and grants the largest number of doctoral degrees.

The 50th anniversary will be celebrated throughout the 1998-99 academic year with a calendar of conferences and symposia on a variety of topics from ethnicity to cinema, receptions, performances and social events.

The school is also inaugurating a new dean: Malcolm Beasley began his five-year term on Sept. 1, succeeding John Shoven. Beasley has served as the chair of the department of applied physics and as director of the multidisciplinary Center for Materials Research. He was also an important force in the establishment of the new Laboratory for Advanced Materials. He has taught on both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Among the coming events to mark H&S's anniversary are a "Celebration of Teaching" awards banquet in mid-November; the Felix Bloch Symposium and dedication of the Bloch Memorial Auditorium (Physics Department) in December; the reopening of the Stanford Museum of Art as the Cantor Center for Visual Arts in January; and the production of the Threepenny Opera by the departments of Music and Drama in February.

For more information about H&S department-sponsored activities during the year: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/humsci/