In a late-August Zoom meeting, all 23 Stanford Jones Lecturers were ‘future fired’ by a vote of only four Creative Writing Professors. Lecturers were fired a year after they asked for livable wages.
This unprecedented decision will have a devastating impact on Stanford’s undergraduates – Creative Writing is by far the most popular Minor on Stanford’s STEM-heavy campus.
But students and alumni are fighting back.
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Featured on the front page of the Stanford Daily (Article)
80 letters written to Stanford Dean Debra Satz!
"Using pen, paper and an electronic Smith-Corona typewriter, students wrote over 50 letters to Humanities and Sciences Dean Debra Satz asking her to reverse the decision to cycle out creative writing Jones Lecturers."
“I think [this] just goes to show the stance of the english department and how they are not listening to any of their undergraduates,” Mallard said.
Many demanded a town hall meeting where students can speak directly to the faculty members in the program and ask them questions.
“I really hope that they will reverse the decision, but at the very least, I hope they’re willing to host a town hall to hear student opinions,” Lin said.
Yan also said it was ironic because the Stanford Report article had emphasized they were trying to address student demand. “They featured no student voices in that article,” Yan said. “It was just really professors talking and essentially talking over us in a kind of way.”
The University neglecting the handwritten letters would be “actively ignoring student voices,” Smith said.
“But now that I’m here and I’m finding out about this, I feel like I misjudged Stanford’s priorities,” Zhao said.
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Student & Program Stories
Kyle '23, English
“When I started this petition several days ago (late August 2024), I did so for one simple reason: working with the Jones Lecturers changed my life."
Nicole '23, HumBio
“Formative to my Stanford education. Would be irresponsible and disastrous to lose the creative and brilliant lecturers who have touched so many lives.”
Adriana '24, HumBio
These (lecturers) changed my life and made me a better writer. The creative writing program at Stanford were the best classes I took in college, and it is all owed to these (lecturers)".
Diego '22, CS
"They’ve been the single most important catalyst for my personal and academic growth over the past 4 years."
Jo '23, English
"Creative writing classes are some of the most attractive and sought-after classes at the university, and yet they are being gutted."
Skya '25, English
"My best experiences at Stanford are thanks to these lecturers."
Anna '25, TAPS
“They’ve been some of the best teachers in my time at Stanford ... why would I have bothered to come to this school as a fine arts and humanities major if I didn’t have the chance with such instructors?”
Joyce '25, MCS
“The creative writing program — carried in large part by Jones Lecturers — is one of the highlights of Stanford’s academics. We can’t take that culture, which was been so carefully built and maintained by lecturers, for granted.”
Kyla '24, English
"Jenn Trahan was the first person who made me, a FLI student, confident in my writing, made me want to pursue a degree in English, and made me believe I could succeed as a writer despite my socioeconomic background."
Jessica '24, Art Practice
"Amazing! They helped me so much with my career."
Lydia '27, Undecided
“The Jones Lecturers have contributed so much to the culture of Stanford’s creative writing program...Without them, the program would become a shadow of its former self, and creation and personal expression at Stanford would falter.”
Callum '23, Comp Lit
"They were the heartbeat of the poetry community I knew at Stanford and the one that remains after graduation. They deserve to be rewarded, not cut off!”
Ryan '25, ChemE
“They’re amazing and changed my life! Removing them is a disservice to the student body.”
Evelyn '23, English
"As an alumna of the Creative Writing undergraduate program, most of my classes were taught by Jones Lecturers, and they are the only reason I was able to become the writer I am today."
Kristofer '25, English
"As someone who wants to write professionally, I would not be where I am today without their support and advice."