We are currently raising funds for the Dr. Audrey Shafer Medical Humanities and Arts Fund

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Dr. Audrey Shafer Medical Humanities and Arts Fund, to recognize her visionary leadership in understanding and illuminating the learning that is possible, and necessary, at the intersection of the arts, humanities, medicine, and technology.

Dr. Shafer, who introduced medical humanities to the School of Medicine in 1994 with her course, Literature and Medicine, and spearheaded the development of a multifaceted program with international collaborations and impact, recently stepped down as Director of the Medicine and the Muse program, as she begins a phased retirement as Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

Will you help us carry on Dr. Shafer’s gracious and visionary leadership? 

Stanford’s medical humanities and the arts programming now includes a scholarly concentration in Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities at the School of Medicine, as well as academic courses, events, symposia, workshops and programming that span the University, exploring the intersections of medicine, science, and technology, with the arts, humanities and qualitative social sciences. She has founded, sponsored, led or co-led an array of programming and collaborations which are now part of the fabric of Stanford, including the annual Medicine and the Muse Symposium, Pegasus Physician Writers, Music and Medicine conferences and concerts, journals, international conferences, writing contests, Storytelling Retreats, Writing Medicine and Medical Humanities Workshops, Literature and Medicine Faculty Discussion series, the Stuck@Home Concert Series and COVID19 Remembrance Project.

Dr. Shafer has taught and mentored hundreds of students and residents interested in maintaining or developing an artistic, scholarly practice alongside their medical practice, as well as nurturing the careers of faculty and students interested in medical humanities. An alumna of Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Shafer has been recognized with the Ellis N. Cohen MD Achievement Award from the Stanford Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine and the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation Award - Outstanding & Innovative Contributions to Medical Education, Stanford University School of Medicine. 

The fund shall be used to support educational and programming efforts of the Medicine & the Muse Program at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, including lectures, concerts, symposiums, events, and other educational activities. The fund may also support by way of example only and not by way of limitation, costs such as honoraria, travel costs, event costs, publicity and other associate expenses.

How to Donate: 

To contribute to the Dr. Audrey Shafer Medical Humanities and Arts Fund, a gift may be made in the form of a check, securities, a bequest, or a complex trust arrangement designed to maximize tax advantages.

Donate Online: Give to Stanford

Donate by Mail:

Checks should be made payable to Stanford University, and should include a note designating your gift as "The Dr. Audrey Shafer Medical Humanities and Arts Fund."

Stanford Medical Center Development
Attn: Gift Processor
485 Broadway, 4th Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063

Please send us a note, letting us know to expect your gift, at medicineandthemuse@stanford.edu, so that we may thank you!