ALFA committee solicits student input

By Seth Brown     2/17/11 6:00pm

Got a $6 million idea? The Student Association's Asset Liquidation Funds Appropriations Committee is soliciting student ideas - great and small - for proposals to submit to President David Leebron on how to use $6 million of the money from the sale of the KTRU tower.Committee Co-Chair Selim Sheikh said that the committee is seeking input both online, through ALFA's website and Facebook, and in person by going to cabinets, hosting forums and coffee breaks and having single committee members meet with groups of students at lunch.

Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor, who is also on the committee, said that the Office of Institutional Effectiveness should also have sent out surveys by today asking students to rank 20-25 different possible categories of improvement on a scale from one to 10.

"This is one of the best - if not the best opportunity in this decade for students at Rice to give their input," Sheikh, the SA president, said.

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Sheikh, a Martel College senior, said that Leebron gave three guidelines for how the money will ultimately be apportioned: The majority will go into endowments, the remainder will be available for one-time use within three years and any usage of the money must benefit both undergraduate and graduate students.

According to Sheikh, proposal forms for one-time use projects will be more detailed than those for endowments, and will ask for approximate budgets along with information about the project, though the committee is accepting basic suggestions for both sorts of project.

Committee Co-Chair Anna Dodson said the committee wants students to focus on what they want their legacy to be since most of the money will not be immediately available.

Dodson, the internal vice president of the Graduate Student Association, said that her primary concern on the committee is to ensure that there is collaboration between the undergraduate and graduate student bodies. Dodson cited previous instances of interaction between the SA and the GSA like last semester's research mixer as examples of recent collaboration and said she hoped such collaboration would continue.

"I think there has been a concerted effort on the part of the graduate students to forge this bond with undergraduates," Dodson said.

Sheikh said the committee will prioritize the highest quality projects, even if they primarily benefit only undergraduate or only graduate students, over mediocre projects that benefit both equally and Dodson said the committee would focus on the projects that will be most useful for students based on the results of the survey and the proposals..

According to Sheikh, the committee's current timeline requires it to gather all data by Feb. 25 and then analyze it and put together a report based on student survey responses and student proposals for the president's office by March 16.

After the report to Leebron is made, Sheikh said the committee will dissolve, but a continuation will work with the dean of undergraduates, and a second phase will try to implement the decisions Leebron ultimately makes on what to do with the money.

Sheikh said that the presence of Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Paula Sanders, Director of Student Activities Kate Abad and Taylor should help the committee's final proposals because the three will be able to both judge the feasibility of projects and act as student advocates.

"Because we have three pretty influential administrators on our committee, they almost work in two dimensions," Sheikh said. "They're ready to fight for students, and they know what can be done and what can't be done."

Taylor said that his job on the committee is not to shoot down ideas but rather to give insight on how to shape proposals and the kinds of things that are realistic or unrealistic.

"I'll take a good idea wherever we can get it," Taylor said. "What the committee is trying to do is elicit input from students and get the campus to provide us with great ideas."

Taylor said students are trustees of a significant sum of money and should consider the future when making their recommendations to the committee.

Students can submit proposals and suggestions for the committee at alfa.rice.edu or facebook.com/RiceALFA.

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