Stanford Report on Past Limitations on Jewish Enrollment

Charge from the President to the Advisory Task Force on the History of Jewish Admissions and Experience at Stanford University

January 2022

The Advisory Task Force on the History of Jewish Admissions and Experience at Stanford University is charged with: (1) researching the history of admission policies and practices for Jewish students at Stanford in the 1950s, including the allegations in a recent blog posting “How I Discovered Stanford’s Jewish Quota” by Charles Petersen and (2) making recommendations about how to enhance Jewish life on campus, including how best to address any findings resulting from the research on admission s practices.

The task force will conduct this work under the sponsorship of the Office for Religious and Spiritual Life and the Vice Provost for Institutional Equity, Access and Community. The findings and recommendations of the task force will be presented to the President and Provost. The President and Provost may ask for additional information or that the task force conduct such other work as they deem appropriate.

All task force members will serve with an objective to represent the best interests of the entire university and need to be open to multiple perspectives. Task force members are not intended to represent any particular constituencies, but rather to consider issues impartially. It is possible that committee members have heard, or even participated in, discussions on the issues at hand. However, the role of the task force is to ascertain the relevant facts through the fact-finding process and consider applicable principles with an open mind. Advocacy groups and stakeholder perspectives may provide input on the issue through other methods, as determined by the chair of the task force.

Click here for the full report.

Source: Stanford University, (September 2022).