Events postponed or canceled as Stanford responds to coronavirus outbreak

The Stanford campus has been a flurry of activity since Tuesday, March 3, when the university strongly encouraged the cancellation or postponement of events involving more than 150 participants and scheduled between March 4 and April 15. The university announcement was issued as a result over concerns about the COVID-19 virus.

Stanford schools, departments and organizations have moved quickly to postpone or cancel events in the wake of the university’s decision Tuesday to postpone or cancel gatherings likely to attract 150 or more people. Many university events have been canceled both on campus and in other cities, with increased opportunities being offered for livestreaming.

Among the much-anticipated events that have been canceled is Grad Alumni Day, scheduled for Saturday, March 7. Some 425 alumni of graduate programs were expected to attend the event, organized by the Stanford Alumni Association in partnership with six of the seven graduate schools. SAA plans to issue refunds for the event and to offer a recorded version of a portion of the micro-lectures. Associated events at participating schools have also been canceled. SAA also canceled its Sunday lecture in New York City by Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Hoover Institution.

Among the other departments affected is Stanford Athletics, where many winter teams are completing their seasons and preparing for NCAA competitions. At this time, all competitions are scheduled to take place as originally scheduled, albeit with limited public attendance.

Stanford Athletics officials have announced on its website that they will limit the number of attendees at competitions to allow for social distancing. These attendance guidelines are published on the Stanford Athletics website.

Beginning Saturday, March 7, the Cantor Arts Center and Anderson Collection at Stanford temporarily closed their galleries to the public while remaining open to support Stanford’s academic functions. They intend to reopen the museums to public April 15.

The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research has canceled its influential SIEPR Economic Summit on March 13. Among the weighty issues to have been discussed were the impact of 5G, financial literacy for a new generation and national security. Among the scheduled speakers was H.R. McMaster, the former national security adviser and the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute.

Discussions continue throughout campus about future events. Visit the website of the sponsoring organization for more information about events that are not mentioned here. Events are being added to this list as we learn of them. Among the affected events and organizations that have announced plans so far:

  • Stanford Live has cancelled select events with over 150 participants through April 15. For a full list of impacted performances, visit the Stanford Live calendar page.
  • The Office for Religious Life has announced that University Public Worship services have been suspended until restrictions are lifted. That includes Holy Week and Easter Services.
  • At the Cantor Arts Center and the Anderson Collection at Stanford, the galleries have been closed to the public temporarily until April 15. The popular Second Sunday Family Day has been canceled for March 8 and April 12. In addition, all regularly scheduled public tours at both museums are canceled through April 15. In an email sent Wednesday morning, the two institutions also announced the cancellation of Member Morning on April 4 and the Bay Area Artadia Artists Panel with Angela Hennessy, Mike Henderson and Aleesa Alexander on March 12.
  • The Global Studies Division has canceled its all-day event for community college students on Saturday, March 7, called “Global Perspectives, Global Careers.” The event was designed for community college students who are interested in global studies or global careers.
  • The Graduate School of Education has canceled iSTEP 2020, an annual event scheduled for Sunday, March 8, that welcomes teams of teacher educators based in universities and in K-12 schools from all over the world.
  • In light of the variables associated with international travel, the Graduate School of Business has canceled several programs, including student Global Studies Trips (GSTs) to Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan; the Stanford Seed Transformation Network Global Summit in Mumbai, India; LEAD Me2We; and the Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program (STEP).
  • All Department of Music concerts have been canceled, effective immediately, through at least April 15.
  • The series “AI for Good” has announced that in-person attendance at the final two sessions will be limited to Stanford students, faculty and staff. The series encourages all others to watch via Livestream or Facebook Live on Thursday, March 5, for the live recording of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything with Russ Altman and John Etchemendy.
  • Stanford WebCamp, a March 27-28 event for the community to discuss the ins and outs of building websites and research tools, has been moved to an online event only. The event is sponsored by the Stanford Open Source Lab.
  • The BeWell 2020 Wellness Fairs, scheduled for March 19 on the historic campus and April 16 in Redwood City, will be rescheduled at a later date.
  • The Health Improvement Program’s March 12 Stanford Wellness Summit X is canceled.
  • The Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies is canceling all but two of their events. The events still scheduled are on March 5 and 17.
  • The Department of Radiology will reschedule the March 6 Molecular Imaging Program Seminar with Dr. Pritha Ray.
  • The Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center canceled its March 11 and March 12 events.
  • The Natural Capital Project canceled its 2020 Natural Capital Symposium scheduled for March 16.
  • The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence has canceled and hopes to reschedule for later in the year its April 1 conference “Triangulating Intelligence: Melding Neuroscience, Psychology and AI.”
  • The Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics has canceled events scheduled this quarter for the CCRMA Stage in The Knoll, except for two that will take place without an audience and be livestreamed: March 5 – Miguel Azguime: “New Op-Era” examples and their technological creation network will be streamed at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HhQYs5VWjM; March 6 – Salt Itinerary | New Op-Era by the Miso Ensemble will be streamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBWr1JOYA_k.
  • The Center for African Studies is canceling its March 6-7 conference Doing Good: Religions and Development in Africa.
  • The memorial for philosophy Professor Ken Taylor scheduled for April 7 has been postponed with rescheduling to be announced at a later date.
  • Residential & Dining Enterprises has canceled the Midnight Breakfast planned for March 9.
  • The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies has postponed its March 17 “Global Populisms and Their Challenges: Threats and Potential Solutions” event until later in the spring.