Knight-Hennessy Scholars

05/27/2026

Looking for an engaging graduate school experience – one that prepares you to be a visionary, courageous, and collaborative leader ready to address the world’s most complex challenges?

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) admission team is hosting info sessions online and in cities around the world throughout the spring and summer. Hear all about KHS, the admission process, and the application.

Scroll through ➡️ for dates and locations, and save your spot: https://bit.ly/4tWcWb5

The application to join the 2026 cohort of Knight-Hennessy Scholars opens on Monday, June 1.

05/21/2026

Scholars joined fellows from the Stanford Distinguished Career Institute (DCI) for a shared meal and conversation on topics related to the KHS spring quarter theme: building trusting relationships. As part of the global Generations Over Dinner initiative, DCI’s established career professionals also shared about their lived experiences, career paths, and opportunities for intergenerational collaboration and mentorship.

📷: Micaela Go

05/12/2026

Meet the 2026 cohort of Knight-Hennessy scholars!

These 87 new scholars make up the most global Knight-Hennessy Scholars cohort to date. They will pursue degrees in 45 graduate programs across all seven graduate schools at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders capable of taking on the world’s most difficult challenges.

More about the 2026 cohort:
➡️ The 87 scholars are citizens of 31 countries, including the first scholars from Croatia, Portugal, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan
➡️ Scholars have earned undergraduate degrees at 58 different institutions, including 23 institutions outside of the U.S. and 21 institutions represented for the first time
➡️ 21% of scholars are the first in their family to graduate from college

Congratulations, and a warm KHS welcome!

The 2026 cohort of Knight-Hennessy scholars represents 31 countries and 45 graduate degree programs across Stanford University.

05/06/2026

This summer, after a decade of leading Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) since founding it with Nike co-founder and chairman emeritus Phil Knight, MBA ’62, cofounder and Shriram Family Director John Hennessy will transition to the KHS Advisory Board, remaining involved in teaching and advising scholars. As part of his send-off, John sat down with Imagine A World hosts Willie Thompson and Eli Cahan to mark this new chapter and talk about what comes next.

In this inspiring conversation, John offers a look into the experiences that have shaped his life and career – from meeting his wife as a grocery store bagger, to engaging with global figures like the Dalai Lama and leading Stanford University through periods of tremendous growth and change. John shares insightful lessons about building and developing culture, and opens up about the world he imagines – where the next generation of leaders will be better equipped to tackle the world’s most difficult challenges.

It’s a conversation not to be missed. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

John Hennessy, co-founder and inaugural director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars, imagines a world where the next generation will provide the leadership that is so desperately needed in all walks of life.

05/01/2026

The application to join the 2027 cohort of Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) at Stanford University opens June 1. If you’re interested in joining a multidisciplinary community of graduate students from around the world, united by independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and civic mindset, we hope you’ll join the KHS admission team at an upcoming information session to learn more about KHS.

Sign up: https://bit.ly/4w3gmLz

04/30/2026

04/30/2026

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) community mourns the loss of Steven A. Denning, MBA '78, whose generosity and vision helped shape Denning House, our convening space on Stanford’s campus. A gift from Steve and his wife, Roberta Bowman Denning, '75, MBA '78, made the building possible.

A dedicated KHS Advisory Board member, Steve – together with Roberta – helped create a vibrant hub filled with a world-class art collection that encourages and celebrates creativity and interdisciplinary thinking. Steve’s legacy will live on in the conversations and community-building that will continue at Denning House for many years to come.

Read more about Steve’s legacy in the Stanford Report.

Denning, Stanford’s longest-serving board chair, was known as a champion of big ideas and helped further the university’s global impact through decades of service and generosity.

04/23/2026

Two years ago this week, after a long and painful court battle in Peru, scholar Josefina Miró Quesada Gayoso won a historic, landmark legal case defending her client’s right to die with dignity. The first case of its kind in Peru, the news captured headlines around the world.

Today, Josefina shares a personal reflection about the friendship she developed along the way, and how she learned to use her voice to stand up for what is right. Read Josefina’s Scholar Insight, “The hardest case I ever fought—and why it mattered.”

Deciding how and when to die is a human right, argues Josefina Miró Quesada Gayoso (2025 cohort).

04/22/2026

Tina Seelig, executive director of KHS, is fascinated with what differentiates those who know how to bring their ideas to life and those who sit on the sidelines waiting for good fortune to strike. Her latest book, What I Wish I Knew About Luck, is out this week. In this crash course on turning aspirations into achievements, she profiles the inspiring stories of 12 Knight-Hennessy scholars.

Tina is a guest on the Imagine A World podcast with hosts Sydney Hunt and Anson Zhou, reflecting on her career journey, the dance between fortune and luck, and the most important thing she’s taught at Stanford University in 25 years.

Don’t miss this inspiring conversation wherever you get your podcasts.

Tina Seelig, KHS Executive Director, imagines a world where everyone feels empowered to bring their ideas to life.

04/17/2026

“Before we even launched our first academy to train school board members, I think we had 15 Knight-Hennessy scholars touch the program in some way, and touch what we were trying to create,” shared scholar alum and education justice advocate Briana Mullen on the Imagine A World podcast. “And I don't think there's any place else in the country where I could have gotten that kind of expertise and those kinds of diverse perspectives on what we were doing and what we were trying to do. And I see it every day – the work that the Knight-Hennessy scholars have helped us create is creating a really strong foundation for what we're able to do now at Education Justice Academy.”