While the French Studies doctoral program has stopped accepting new graduate students, the Department of Sociology begins preparations to start their own graduate program, with the first cohort of students joining the department in fall 2011. The Faculty Senate approved the new program at their April 21 session.The program will be funded initially by a $6.4 million gift from the Houston Endowment Inc., with the university gradually taking over fiscal responsibility itself. The gift was made in light of the continuing research Rice sociologists have done concerning Houston, such as Professor Stephen Klineberg's Houston Area Survey, which measures economic and demographic changes and responses to these, and Professor Michael Emerson's Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life. Both of these are now contained within Rice's Institute for Urban Research, which conducts a variety of research projects pertaining to cities and urban issues.
t's not that perfection doesn't exist in sports. Disney feasts on it, and children can't help but imagine it. But when the grind of a season corrodes those attempts at perfection, when faults and walks and bricks remind you of perfection's impossibility, it's easy to think that those childhood thoughts are only meant for disappointment. That perfection is lost with the drop of a point. And then there's the 2010 season of the men's tennis team. Then you have a team swarming center court, a black-and-glass trophy held high, a coach dripping from a Gatorade dousing. You have a reminder that perfection can still peek out from its hiding spot, beneath a crystal blue sky, often when you least expect it.
This summer, business will change at the Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion. Though Associate Vice President for Housing and Dining Mark Ditman declined to discuss the performance of Dirk's Coffee, which currently occupies the space, or even acknowledge their termination, Student Association President Selim Sheikh said plans to find a replacement business are underway.Dirk's is currently operating there in the second year of a five-year contract, but such contracts typically contain a clause for grounds of termination, either with or without cause, as well as a clause about certain performance expectations, Ditman said.
Only July 1, George McLendon, current dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University, will replace Provost Eugene Levy, who announced he was stepping down from his position last September.The provost is essentially the vice president for academic affairs, Chair of the Provost Search Committee Kathleen Matthews said. All of the deans from each school, as well as the vice provosts for research, information technology and university librarian report to the provost. Additionally, the provost is responsible for overseeing the assessment process the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
You may find the full spread of award winners in this pdf.You may also find more information from the Office of Fellowships and Undergraduate Research's website.
Martel juniors Page Robinson and Erik Tanner and Brown College junior Austin Edwards take the stage at Wiess's Jamfest Friday.
Rice Dance Theatre's spring performance, Body Songs, was a decent showcase, but the program struggled - and failed - to live up to the quality of RDT's past performances.Mostly, the show suffered from a lack of innovation. Choreography seemed mostly drawn from a shallow collection of movements, musical selections offered little variety and visual designs lacked intentionality and coherence. Furthermore, the company's technique left much to be desired - movements in most of the dances were unpolished, and the ensembles were frequently far out of sync.
The craziness of the year died down long ago, but we at the Thresher want to wish all of you a happy, restful and fun-filled summer - even if you'll be stuck in a 9-5 job. At least you'll be dodging the Houston humidity bullet!Of course, stay safe and don't do anything we wouldn't do: As much as we love publishing articles about you guys, we'd prefer if you did positive newsworthy things.
On Wednesday, President David Leebron announced that George McLendon, currently the dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University, will become Rice's new provost on July 1 (see story, page 1).First, we'd like to express our gratitude to the administration for securing Rice a distinguished academic and leader from one of our peer universities. In addition, McLendon went to the University of Texas-El Paso and Texas A&M University for his undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively, and is originally from the great city of Fort Worth, so he knows Texas. And, therefore, he is likely already familiar with Rice and the prestigious reputation that the university maintains in this state.
Out of the Park Baseball 11 is the Rice University of baseball video games. It's geeky and obsessed with statistics, and it lets you do nearly everything short of taking a swing yourself. OOTP 11 is a simulation game that puts the player in the position of general manager of a baseball team. As GM, you do not step into the batter's box and swing for the fences. Instead, the game focuses on managing the team, negotiating trades, promoting minor leaguers and building a playoff dynasty.
For 18 years, Pam Klassen (Jones '88) held Rice's women's track record in the 5,000-meter run at 16:31.62. Then, in 2006, Marissa Daniels (Jones '08) broke the record, setting a new time to beat at 16:28.87 and shaving almost three seconds off the previous benchmark. Since Daniels' efforts, the record has been broken four times, most recently by senior Britany Williams last weekend.
It was late 2006, a few weeks into classes at Rice, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was crisping on the metal seats at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium, the courts splayed in front of me, empty. I was a freshman, out on my first assignment. Men's tennis beat reporter. Old-fashioned and metallic gray tape recorder in my pocket, my notebook on my lap and 20-odd questions scribbled in the margins: "Biggest surprise last year? Toughest match this season? Postseason predictions?" All that was missing was my fedora and a tweed jacket. Also missing was any semblance of what my job entailed.
As a reward for students who have worked tirelessly this semester, the President and Dean's Study Break will offer an opportunity to relax this Sunday from 9-11 p.m. The study break will be held at the Rice Memorial Center, the Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center and the Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion and will feature breakfast food and stress-relief games. Attendees can expect free drinks from Coffeehouse and Dirk's Coffee, ice cream sundaes, fresh fruits and cookies at the RMC, free massages at the Wellness Center and breakfast food from Sammy's Cafe. Sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates and planned primarily by Rice Program Council, this year's theme is inspired by Food Network's TV show "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives."
Since dropping two of three games at Memphis at the start of its Conference USA slate, the baseball team has gone 5-1 in consecutive series against C-USA foes to take possession of first place in the standings. Entering the weekend, the team threatening Rice's position atop the conference was the University of Central Florida, a dominant offensive team carrying momentum into the weekend after sweeping the University of Southern Mississippi. As fate would have it, the Owls (23-16, 8-4 C-USA) and Knights (25-14, 6-6 C-USA) faced off this past weekend in Orlando for three crucial games, as the conference schedule nears its halfway point.
As the men's outdoor track team attempted to compete in Waco last Saturday at the Michael Johnson Classic, it was clear that "outdoor" was the operative word for the outcome of the meet, as rain fell intermittently throughout the day, eventually causing the meet to be suspended with the final heats of the 400-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 5,000-meter run and 1,600-meter relay still to be run. While the conditions prevented Head Coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) from gleaning too much from the meet's results, he was still pleased with several performances, including freshman Donte Moore's sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at a Rice season-best of 47.87 seconds. "He ran great in the 400, and his run in the 4 by 100 looked really good," Warren said. "Overall, the handoffs were clean in the relay and the group ran well."
