The Very Reverend Jane Shaw has been named dean for religious life at Stanford University, Provost John Etchemendy Ph.D. ’82 announced Monday.

Shaw, 51, will also join the faculty at the Stanford Department of Religious Studies.

As dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco since 2010, Shaw oversaw the growth in all areas of the cathedral’s community life. During Shaw’s deanship, the church’s artistic, cultural and educational events tripled.

Currently Shaw is also a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in Behavior Sciences.  A historian and theologian, she has authored a number of books and is currently working on a book on spirituality and mysticism in the early 20th century.

“We are lucky to have found in Jane Shaw both a charismatic leader and an accomplished academic to lead our Office for Religious Life,” Etchemendy said to the Stanford News Service.

Shaw received her undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and holds an MDiv from Harvard and a Ph.D. in history from UC-Berkeley.  Prior to joining Grace Cathedral, she taught history and theology for 16 years at Oxford where she was Dean of Divinity and Fellow of New College.

Shaw will commence her position as Stanford’s spiritual leader this fall, succeeding Reverend William “Scotty” McLennan, Jr., who is stepping down after 14 years.