Changes in Emeriti/ae Council Leadership

On June 30 Iris Litt stepped down from seven years of impactful leadership as Chair of the Emeriti/ae Council. At the June 18, 2025 emeriti/ae year-end reception, the Council presented Iris with a Certificate celebrating her service and renaming the Longevity Series in her honor.

For her countless and consequential contributions to
the Stanford Emeriti/ae Council since 2016
and for her inspiring leadership as Council Chair from 2018 to 2025,

for the enthusiastic and generous spirit she brings
to her personal and professional relationships and
to advancing the interests of the entire Stanford emeriti/ae community,

for her rare combination of deep empathy with clear strategic vision,

for her creative and tireless efforts that have led to
increased recognition of the value of emeriti/ae contributions to Stanford,
the founding of the Senior Academy at Stanford Medicine,
and a grant from President Saller and Provost Martinez
to enhance the emeriti/ae experience at Stanford,

and for being an absolutely superlative institutional citizen,

The Stanford Emeriti/ae Council hereby 
renames its quarterly Longevity presentations in her honor as: 

The Iris Litt Longevity Series
and
designates Iris F. Litt as an honorary emerita member
of the Stanford Emeriti/ae Council with “privileges of the floor.”

Iris will continue on the Council as “Past Chair” and the emeriti/ae community will benefit further from her wisdom and creativity. Also of note, David Abernethy, who was the Council’s first chair and continued as “Past Chair” when Iris Litt succeeded him, has now ended his service, reaching the impressive milestone of 20 years of dedicated service on the Council. Kudos to David!

At its May 2025 meeting, the Emeriti/ae Council unanimously elected Patricia Jones, the Dr. Nancy Chang Professor, Emerita in the Department of Biology and Bass Family Fellow in Undergraduate Education, Emerita, as its new Chair effective July 1, 2025. On the faculty since 1978, Pat has held a number of departmental, school, and university Stanford leadership positions. She served as Chair of the Department of Biology, Director of the PhD Program in Immunology, and Director of Stanford Immunology, overseeing all immunology training-related activities at Stanford.  Pat also served as Chair of the Faculty Senate, Associate Dean of Research, Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity, and Faculty Athletics Representative.  She has been a member of the Emeriti/ae Council and its Executive Committee since March 2022 and has served as the Council’s representative to the Faculty Senate. Join us in welcoming Pat to her new position!