Glasscock School gets new home

By Amanda MacDonald     1/9/13 6:00pm

The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies will be getting a new home in the Anderson-Clarke Center, to be built in West Lot between Rice Stadium and campus Entrance 8. Construction began Dec. 13 and will be completed approximately a year from now, according to project manager Tina Hicks.

Dean of the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies Mary McIntire said the new facility will allow for increased enrollment and further expansion of the programs offered.

"This is a very exciting time for us," McIntire, who received her doctorate in English from Rice in 1975, said. "We have been hoping for a new building for many years. This is one of the best moments in the long life of the School of Continuing Studies."

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The School of Continuing Studies began offering several courses in 1968 and has since grown to enroll 14,000 students, many from the surrounding community, in its wide array of personal and professional development courses, according to McIntire.

Currently, the School of Continuing Studies offers an education certificate for undergraduates, and McIntire said she hopes to increase the number of programs offered to undergraduates. One potential area for expansion into more undergraduate courses is the school's Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.

The three-story, 53,000-square-foot facility will offer 24 classrooms, conference spaces, an auditorium and a commons area for events, according to Hicks.

The Anderson-Clarke Center will be built to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards at the silver level, which is the minimum level for all new buildings constructed at Rice University, according to Manager of Communications for Facilities Engineering and Planning Susann Glenn.

"In addition to the completed building being LEED certified, the actual construction process itself will follow LEED standards," Glenn said. "We recycle 90 percent of construction waste, which eliminates landfill waste."

The Glasscock School of Continuing Studies' role in academic outreach to the community is reflected in its location, Glenn said.

"Entrance 8 is where the surrounding community enters Rice University, and the Anderson-Clarke Center establishes this in a picturesque way," Glenn said.

The $24 million facility was funded through philanthropy, including gifts from Rice trustees Kent Anderson and Robert Clarke, according to McIntire.

For updates on the construction, visit construction.rice.edu/andersonclarke.

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