Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Larry Diamond was one among four recipients of Stanford University’s annual Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Distinctive Contributions to Undergraduate Education for 2007.
The award, presented on commencement weekend, June 16-17, was named after the president of the Stanford board of trustees who served from 1953 to 1958. It recognizes distinctive contributions to undergraduate education or the quality of student life.
Diamond was cited for his inspired teaching and commitment to undergraduate education, forging a connection between the Hoover Institution and the undergraduate community; for the example he sets as a scholar and public intellectual, sharing his passion for democratization, peaceful transitions and the idea that each of us can contribute to making the world a better place; for his accessibility, empathy and dedication to mentoring others; for fostering dialogue between Jewish and Muslim students; and for helping make Stanford an ideal place for undergraduates and, as one student explained, "being the kind of teacher that changes lives."
Larry Diamond is founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy. He is also codirector of the International Forum for Democratic Studies of the National Endowment for Democracy. At Stanford University, he is professor by courtesy of political science and sociology and coordinates the democracy program of the new Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.
During 2002–3, he served as a consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and was a contributing author of its report Foreign Aid in the National Interest. He has also advised and lectured to the World Bank, the United Nations, the State Department, and other governmental and nongovernmental agencies dealing with governance and development.
Also honored with the award this year were Donna Michelle Boule, associate professor of comparative medicine; William Cheng, a senior majoring in music and English, and Ian Whitehead, a senior majoring in mathematics and English.
Diamond was honored earlier this year by students of Stanford, as he was presented on May 31 with the Teacher of the Year for 2007 award by the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU).
