Ryan Crocker is a six-time U.S. Ambassador, serving in Afghanistan (2011-2012), Iraq (2007-2009), Pakistan (2004-2007), Syria (1998-2001), Kuwait (1994-1997) and Lebanon (1990-1993). While at Stanford for a lecture organized by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Crocker sat down with The Daily to discuss his diplomatic career through war and peace.

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James Hamilton, director of Duke University’s De Witt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, will join Stanford in the fall as director of the Graduate Program in Journalism. Hamilton, who will also serve as a professor of communication, will replace Ann Grimes in the post.

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Professor of Law James Cavallaro, founder and director of Stanford’s International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic, will also lead Stanford's new Human Rights Center. "I think we are not just on the map, but well on the way to having the leading human rights offerings of any law school in the country,” Cavallaro said.

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A faculty committee aimed at reforming Stanford’s course evaluation system held six focus groups with undergraduate students from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5 in an effort to solicit student feedback on a process that, according to committee chair Russell Berman, “leaves much to be desired.”

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Superpowers can be a force for good, according to Stanford researchers who found that giving people the ability of virtual flight encourages a higher incidence of signs of empathy in later tests

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The Stanford-affiliated Coursera course platform currently leads the pack in massive open online course offerings. Stanford currently has 19 classes on Coursera, some with grants from the Vice Provost for Online Learning.

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The Palo Alto City Council elected Councilman Greg Scharff as mayor of Palo Alto for the upcoming year on Jan. 7. The nine-member council selected Scharff, who has served on the council since 2010 and as outgoing Mayor Yiaway Yeh’s vice mayor during 2012, in a unanimous vote.

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An increasing number of professors, tired of giving the same lectures year after year, have decided to abandon the traditional classroom model in favor of a new, “flipped classroom” approach.

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Stockton City Council candidate Michael Tubbs '12 has had a bit of practice firing up audiences, having spent the last nine months trying to convince Stockton that he has the passion and dedication to effect positive change in the ailing city.

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