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The best job on campus

Deana Fabbro-Johnston
(Photo credit: Melissa Vallejo)

Deana Fabbro-Johnston

Associate Director
Earth Systems Program

“I was literally given a small box on my first day in Earth Systems. As the director handed it to me, he said, ‘Here, this is Earth Systems; make it happen!’ I was given the opportunity to create the infrastructure of this amazing undergraduate program. And, it works,” said Deana Fabbro-Johnston, associate director of the Earth Systems Program, who was instrumental in setting up the major in 1992. As one of two associate directors, Fabbro-Johnston works on the Earth systems curriculum, advises students on a drop-in basis, and handles the budget. She also serves as a resource for students who are stressed about class schedules, having academic doubts, or just need to find a good local dentist. “I have the best job on campus! On a daily basis, I get to have the most incredible interactions with some of the brightest, energetic and most passionate undergraduates that Stanford has to offer,” said Fabbro-Johnston, who was honored with an Amy Blue Award in 2008. “It's the undergraduates who make me want to come to work each day.”

In 2017, at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Earth System Program, which offers the most popular undergraduate major within the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, Dean Stephan Graham summed it up: “Deana is the heart of the Earth Systems Program.”

Fabbro-Johnston is pictured with Earth Systems alumna Adrienne Pollack, BS '16, MS '17. 

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