Today marks the beginning of classes for the 2010-2011 academic year. Today is the formal intellectual dawn for a brand new crop of Cardinal faithful, as well as the start of what will be the final hurrah for an enlivened and vivacious senior class.

But the whir of wheels, the anxious excitement punctuating the Quad and the wafting strains of cheap Bookstore coffee are not the only signs of movement around the Farm. The mountains of dirt encircling Casa Italiana, Bob and Storey reflect the near-constant tumult of Row refurbishment. Rising from a formerly cavernous pit of dirt, the new Science and Engineering Quad glistens in anticipation of actual use and absorption into the Stanford world. And the yet-unfinished Knight Management Center looms heavy over Campus Drive. The Stanford that the Class of 2011 entered three years ago will not be the place the Class of 2014 departs four years from now. The University is changing.

Yet the eager frosh and giant cranes do not hold the monopoly on motion. The events and decisions to come this year already promise to surprise this seemingly tranquil campus. Holding the title of the 16th best team in the country, Jim Harbaugh’s football squad looks poised to threaten Oregon for the Pac-10 title, though the potential departures of our beloved coach (to Michigan?) and quarterback Andrew Luck (NFL?) could render this year either the full revival of Cardinal football or the second coming of Buddy Teevens. (Pray this does not happen.)

On the topic of dollars and sense, or lack thereof, will the University’s financial forecast finally relieve the hiring freezes instituted in 2009? Long a labyrinthine concept, the University’s budget will perhaps be brought to the forefront of campus discussions, given the installation of a new director of admission. Is this the year a vibrant discussion of international financial aid actually plays out across campus? Almost two years removed from the fiscal blow that both Stanford and the nation endured, choices about where to put our dollars will be telling.

But just as renovations and modifications are made within the campus loop, so too do we endure losses. This summer the school endured the loss of two Stanford institutions. One was Bill Lane ‘42, the former Sunset magazine publisher whose generous support gave the Farm the Bill Lane Center for the American West and the renovated History Corner. The other was Steve Schneider, biology professor and one of the nation’s fiercest advocates for fighting global warming.

So as this year unfolds, keep paying attention. You have no idea what you might miss.