President Leebron's office hour MINUTES

By Rice Thresher Staff     11/15/12 6:00pm

The following minutes were recorded Tuesday, Nov. 13 at President David Leebron's office hours:

Lovett College sophomore Domenica Delgado came to introduce herself as the daughter of the man who produced the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice Centennial video. Leebron said the video's feature of underprivileged students who have the opportunity to come to Rice helped remind students about the amount of opportunities available to them. 

Baker College senior Prachi Bhawalkar asked about the administration's motives to change the registration process. Leebron said he was not heavily involved in that process, despite the common assumption that he controls all aspects of the university. It is legitmate for students to raise questions about changes in priorities in registration, and students should bring any questions to their Student Asociation representatives, he said. According to Leebron, SA senators are a good leadership source who have connections with the administration. 

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Hanszen College freshman Julian Berdegue asked about study abroad opportunities available in Brazil through Rice, as none were mentioned at a study abroad session he attended. Leebron said he thought there was a new program in Campinas, Brazil, but he would have to look into it. If there is not a formal opportunity, there should be a way to make other arrangements, he said. 

Duncan College freshman Zoe Miller said she wanted to express her amazement with the quality of education at the Shepherd School of Music. 

A junior transfer student said she wanted to bring Leebron's attention to the fact that junior transfers had to register as if they were sophomores. Leebron said he would have to look into the issue further since he was not heavily involved with changes to the registration system. 

One student asked if the SCALAR teaching method would be implemented and expanded in more classrooms, especially within the natural sciences. It will depend on the professor since faculty members have some autonomy in how they conduct their classes, Leebron said. Some of the faculty are very good at their teaching style, but others are not as good and may benefit from looking into technology usage, Leebron said. One issue with expanding SCALAR is the architecture of Rice classrooms since many were designed with different teaching methods in mind, he said. 

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