Rania Sanford, Ed

Rania Sanford, Ed.D.

Contact: raniasanford (at) stanford.edu

Rania Sanford is the Assistant Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs at Stanford University. She oversees and sets strategic direction for postdoctoral training programs offered to approximately 1800 postdocs across Stanford’s seven schools. During her 15-year tenure at Stanford working with undergraduate and graduate students, she directed a wide range of academic policies, and developed programs and initiatives in the areas of recruitment and retention, diversity, financial aid, and student life. She serves and chairs a number of university committees and task forces. Among Dr. Sanford’s early career accomplishments was the implementation of the first undergraduate research program at the Stanford Humanities Center. More recently, her collaboration at a national level has led to a significant expansion of the School of Education’s targeted outreach and recruitment strategies.

Dr. Sanford’s research focuses on organization studies, with emphasis on international education and higher education in the Middle East. Her work was published by SUNY-Press and she presented at academic and professional association including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), NAFSA: Association for International Educators, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).

Updated August 2010

Work History

Stanford University (1995 – present)

Positions held:

Assistant Dean, Postdoctoral Affairs (June 2009 - present)

Assistant Dean and Director of Academic Services, School of Education (2004 - 2009)

Program Manager, Program in Writing and Rhetoric and the Writing Center (2002 – 2004)

Fellowship Administrator, Stanford Humanities Center (2000 – 2002)

Postdoctoral Administrator, School of Medicine (1997 –1999)

Student Services Manager, Officer; School of Humanities and Sciences (1995 – 1997)

The American University in Cairo (1993-1995)

Promotional Coordinator, Cairo Papers in Social Sciences (August 1994 – January 1995)

Researcher, Sponsored project by the United States Agency for International Development (1994)

Teaching Experience

Cultural Proficiency in a Diverse Workplace. Workshop for managers at Stanford University. February 23, 2006 and July 27, 2006.

Teaching Assistant, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, the American University in Cairo (September 1993 - June 1995). Courses:

Introduction to Public Opinion and Advertising (undergraduate)

Advanced Advertising (undergraduate)

Mass Communication and National Development (Graduate Seminar)

Publications & Presentations

The Emerging New Landscape of Egyptian Postsecondary Education. Poster accepted at the Annual Conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Kansas City. June 3, 2010.

Noncognitive Variables as Predictors of Success of Graduate International Students in Science and Engineering. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Denver, Colorado. May 3, 2010.

Building the Graduate Admissions Office From the Ground Up: Creativity, Strategy, and Good Company. Presentation at the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado. April 30-May 3, 2008.

Issues Facing International Students: Differences and Similarities between Administrator and Student Perceptions. Presentation at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Regional Conference. San Francisco. November 10, 2006.

Academic Administrator’s Guide to Budgets and Financial Management by Margaret Barr. The Journal of the National Academic Advising Association. Book Review. Spring 2005.

Bridging Mission, Administration and Program Evaluation: How Technology Can Go A Long Way. Presentation at the National Academic Advising Association Annual Conference, Pacific Region. April 22, 2004.

The Impact of Email Communication in an Enrollment Management Organization: A Case Study of the Writing Program at Stanford University. Presentation at the International Hawaii Conference on Education. University of Hawaii – West Oahu. Honolulu, Hawaii. January 5, 2004.

“The Genesis of the American Image in Arabic Literature (1600s- 1800s)” in Images of the U.S. Around the World: A Multicultural Perspective (Yahya Kamalipour, ed.). Albany: State University of New York Press. 1998 (with Beverly Jensen). Book Chapter.

Invited Talks

Panelist. Developing Immigration Policies for Postdocs. Annual Conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Kansas City. June 4, 2010.

NAFSA Advocacy Day 2010. Invited talk to the BA-PIER: Bay Area Professional International Educators Roundtable. Menlo College. April 15, 2010.

In the Press

Two forthcoming articles in The Chronicle Review and in Nature on postdoctoral education.

The Mirage of Arab Success. In response to Moises Naim’s “Arabs in Foreign Land,“ Foreign Policy. June/July 2005.

On Egyptian Youth and Globalization. Op-Ed. Al-Ahram. October 2000.

Remains in a Library: A Profile of the Rare Books and Special Collections Library of the American University in Cairo. Cairo’s Culture and Entertainment Guide. December 1993.

Service & Activities

At Stanford University:

§ Diversity Cabinet, School of Medicine (2009 - present)

§ Advisory Board, Faculty/Staff Help Center (2009 - present)

§ Graduate Diversity Steering Committee, Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (2008- present)

§ International Student Orientation Planning Committee (2005; 2006)

§ Selection Committee for the Merage Foundation for the American Dream Fellowships (2004; 2006; 2008; 2009)

§ The Registrar Advisory Group (2004 - 2009)

§ Taskforce on Advising for Postdoctoral Scholars (1998)

§ Judicial Panelist, Office of Student Affairs (2007 – present)

§ Academic Advisor (pre-major) (2002-2005)

Participant. NAFSA Advocacy Day. March 16-17, 2010

Member-at-Large, Student Affairs Assessment, Evaluation and Research knowledge Community,

National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (2004-2006)

Reviewer: American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (2009); National Academic Advising Association Annual Conference (2005); National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Annual Meeting (2006)

Awards & Honors

At the American University in Cairo:

v Graduate Merit Fellowship, School of Business, Economics and Communication (1993-1995)

v Dean’s List (1990-1993); Undergraduate Scholarship (1989-1993)

Languages: ENGLISH: fluent; ARABIC: native; GERMAN: good