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Supporting the Community

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Stanford’s commitment to improving where we live, work, learn, and play is expressed in many ways. Below are a few examples of how we support our communities.

Education

The Stanford Teacher Education Program at the Graduate School of Education works with local school districts to place teachers in Bay Area schools – most of them in public schools and more than half in schools with large concentrations of low-income students.

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Stanford Graduate School of Education supports teachers, students, policymakers, and other professionals through professional learning, workshops, and a broad range of community projects in local schools.

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Transportation

Stanford Transportation’s award-winning sustainable commute programs help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions generated by the university community while reducing local traffic congestion. In 2022, the drive-alone rate was 36% for commuting students, faculty, and staff, representing a reduction of nearly 50% from 2003, when the rate was 67%.

Stanford’s free Marguerite shuttle service, featuring mostly electric buses, provided 1.2 million rides to university affiliates and community members in 2022. 

Free transit is available for eligible affiliates on Caltrain, VTA, AC Transit, Dumbarton Express, and SamTrans, in addition to 100% vanpool subsidies.

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Stanford offers a variety of programs that connect campus residents with sustainable transportation options. In addition, Stanford Transportation operates the Marguerite shuttle service that is free and open to the public encompassing 20 routes providing service in and around the Stanford properties, first/last mile from Caltrain, commuter service from the East Bay, and access to shopping nearby in Palo Alto and Mountain View.  

Biking is strongly encouraged and supported by 22,000 bike parking spaces. And Stanford has the most prominent university Zipcar fleet in the United States, with over 60 vehicles at 26 locations.

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Housing

Cardinal Apartments for post-doctoral students Redwood City

Stanford has been committed to housing since its founding. In recognition of the wide regional impact of the housing crisis, Stanford joins community leadership in efforts to create or preserve housing for the broader community. See fact sheets and more  

Sustainability

In fall 2022, Stanford launched the new Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability to advance knowledge critical to sustaining life on Earth, prepare students as future sustainability leaders, and engage with partners to co-create and scale local, national, and global solutions.

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Stanford’s commitment to sustainability extends from its academic work to campus operations. The university is a living laboratory for making sustainability innovation real and is on track to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity and an 80 percent reduction in scopes 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2025, as well as going zero waste by 2030.

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Arts

Stanford welcomed a combined 275,000 visitors to its four free campus art galleries and museums in 2019, and an additional 115,000 people attended performances presented by Stanford Live and the Department of Music.

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Stanford Live offers discounted student matinee programs suitable for all grades and provides a variety of arts-related professional development opportunities for local teachers.

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Community Engagement Hubs

Stanford has over 140 community engagement hubs across the university that connect faculty and students with communities at the local, regional, national and international levels. These hubs work in direct partnership with communities to jointly address shared challenges.

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Tax-generating lands

The Stanford Research Park, a portion of Stanford’s campus dedicated to supporting pioneering companies in their R&D pursuits, generated $100 million in state and local taxes in 2020.

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