Leebron visits 100 hotspots on walkabout

By Tina Nazerian     1/16/13 6:00pm

This semester, be on the lookout all across campus for President David Leebron. 

Leebron will be exploring 100 different aspects of Rice on Jan. 24 and Feb. 1, 6 and 11 to gain a better understanding of the university as he enters his 10th year as president, according to Rice University News and Media. 

The idea of this walkabout came to him spontaneously, Leebron said. 

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"I think given that we really completed the Centennial Celebration with great success and we're nearing the end of the campaign, it seemed the time to just kind of step back for a second and think more and learn more about Rice," Leebron said. 

Leebron said he took this new approach to help with the transition between the Centennial and the next century. 

"There's a lot that I do that could every year be described as kind of walkabout-like," Leebron said. "But I think this kind of organized and focused approach was really something I chose to do in a moment of transition between the preparation and execution of the Centennial and the completion of the campaign and sort of the beginning of our next century." 

Leebron said he thinks the walkabout will help him gain knowledge of people's experiences at Rice. 

"It enables me ... to understand some of the challenges and problems people face," Leebron said. "It allows me to communicate that what they do is important to the university. We try to do [so] every day, but there's nothing that speaks so much really as a physical visit." 

Leebron said he wants to get inspiration from different people around campus. 

"It's really the opportunity to be inspired by people who are proud of what they contribute everyday to the university," Leebron said. 

Leebron said there have been over 100 suggestions, some from alumni, and while an effort is being made to schedule the visits over the course of the 5 pre-planned days, exceptions can be made. 

"Although we did not communicate directly to alumni about this because we wanted to focus on the campus, word had gotten out to alumni, and so they've also been sending in various suggestions," Leebron said. 

There are still some slots for suggestions left, even though there have been over 100 suggestions, Leebron said. 

"We want to keep it a somewhat dynamic process so that if people get ideas, we'll still have room to absorb them," Leebron said. 

If a suggestion does not fit on one of the planned days, and it is found to be meritable, a time slot will be made for it, Leebron said. 

On Jan. 10 and Jan. 15, Leebron kicked off his walkabout by visiting several places, including the Masters of Architecture Thesis Defense, Department Chair of Biochemistry and Cell Biology Janet Braam's lab, Valhalla, an opera rehearsal with Richard Bado at Shepherd School of Music, Fondren Library and the Lovett College Central Committee meeting, according to his Twitter. 

Senior lecturer in statistics Neely Atkinson said he thinks the walkabout is a positive idea. 

"I think he probably has the opportunity to make a number of decisions that affect people's lives, and the more he understands about what the lives of all sorts of different participants in Rice University life are like, the better he'll be able to make those decisions," Atkinson said. 

Jones College sophomore Yo Sup Keum said he thinks it is important for Leebron to encourage interaction and to explore various vantage points. 

"It's really ... important for him to maintain the interactions and to explore different perspectives going around the campus," Keum said. 

To suggest a place for Leebron to visit on his walkabout, email president@rice.edu. 

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