The University announced the appointment of eight Bass University Fellows for their outstanding contributions to undergraduate education on Oct. 7. The professors will serve a five-year term and are invited to join the Bass Council of Fellows, which meets every quarter to advise Jay Hamilton, the vice provost for undergraduate education. 

Chris Piech ’16, associate professor of computer science, said he is “very grateful” to have been appointed as the Dunlevie Family University Fellow. 

“Stanford undergrads are the reason I love this job, so being recognized for undergraduate education in particular means a lot,” Piech wrote in a statement to The Daily. 

Anne T. Bass MLA ’07 and Robert M. Bass MBA ’74 established the Bass University Fellows in Undergraduate Education Program in 2001. Each of the fellows’ appointments is named after major University donors, specifically ones that heavily contributed to the Stanford Endowment for Undergraduate Education during the Campaign for Undergraduate Education, a five-year fundraiser for undergraduate initiatives. 

The 2026 fellows in undergraduate education are Nicole Ardoin, Adrian Daub, Lynn Hildemann, Tomás Jiménez, Lianne Kurina, Karla Oeler, Chris Piech and Ross Shachter. 

Professor of Sociology Tomás Jiménez, who was reappointed as the Robert and Ruth Halperin University Fellow, said that learning and teaching are shared endeavors. 

“As faculty, we do only two things: learn and teach,” Jiménez said. “Our research is just an effort to learn. What I enjoy most about teaching undergraduates is the opportunity to learn with students.”

Jiménez’s research and teaching focus on immigrant integration, immigration policy, race, ethnicity and national identity. He is the founding director of the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies and Joan B. Ford professor of sociology. 

Karla Oeler, associate professor of art and art history, is the William R. and Gretchen B. Kimball University Fellow. A graduate of Oberlin College, Oeler said she had many opportunities to interact with professors inside and outside the classroom. 

“I try to bring this small-college experience to undergraduates at Stanford — which is a much bigger school — by requiring students in my classes to attend office hours and, when I was part of ITALIC, regularly eating lunch and attending field trips with students,” Oeler told The Daily. 

In the fall, Oeler said she enjoys taking new students to the Stanford Theatre and to boba or ice cream after. Oeler said she looks forward to serving on the Bass Council of Fellows and advising on the humanities at Stanford. 

Similar to Oeler, Piech aims to give students a more intimate learning experience, specifically through his project Code in Place.

Code in Place is a free online version of CS106A where Stanford undergraduates volunteer as section leaders for a small group of students. The program has reached more than 150 countries, connecting almost 100,000 students with approximately 7,000 volunteer section leaders, according to Piech. 

“The most defining part of my undergrad years was being a section leader,” Piech said. “It meant a lot to me, and it shaped my whole career.”

He said his appointment feels like a team award: “Every class I teach is built with an amazing crew of TAs, section leaders and students.” 

Lianne Kurina ’98, the Duca Family University Fellow, will also join the Bass Council of Fellows. Kurian is the senior associate vice provost of undergraduate education and a professor of human biology, epidemiology and population health. She co-leads the Promoting Academic Communities and Engagement (PACE) initiative, which will inform her advising on the council. 

“The issues I’ve been thinking about most with PACE relate to the classroom and elevating its role in the self-transformation that students experience while at college,” Kurina said. 

Ross Shachter, associate professor of management science and engineering, has been reappointed as the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn University Fellow. Alongside teaching courses in decision analysis, Shachter spent two decades as a Resident Fellow (RF) in Stern Hall. 

His kids, raised on The Farm, studied abroad, served as Resident Assistants (RAs) and were involved in public service.

“There are so many wonderful people and opportunities at Stanford, and I encourage students to be open to learning beyond their chosen field of study, ” Shachter wrote to The Daily.

Nicole Ardoin was reappointed as the Barbara and Buzz McCoy University Fellow. An Emmett Family Faculty Scholar, Ardoin has been teaching at Stanford since 2008. She is a professor of environmental social sciences in the Doerr School of Sustainability and a senior fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment.

Ardoin teaches EBS325: “Foundations of Political Ecology” and EBS 308: “Qualitative Inquiry: Theory and Practice of Qualitative Environmental Social Sciences” and leads the Stanford Social Ecology Lab, where she tackles pressing sustainability issues. 

Adrian Daub, director of undergraduate German studies and the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, was reappointed as the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford University Fellow. He is the J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities and a professor of German studies and comparative literature. Daub has researched and written books on gender’s connection to German literature, music and philosophy.

Civil and environmental engineering professor Lynn Hildemann was reappointed as the Gerhard Casper University Fellow. During her 37 years as a Stanford faculty member, she served as department chair for civil and environmental engineering, senior associate dean for the Doerr School and senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education. Hildemann’s research focuses on indoor airborne particulate matter and humans’ interaction with air pollutants.

The Daily reached out to Ardoin, Daub and Hildemann for comment.