Jacks and Beer Bike were not the only sources of college competition during Willy Week: The Rice Annual Fund hosted Jar Wars for the first time between Monday the 7th and Thursday the 10th, giving undergraduates a chance to contribute to the university's fifth College Battle and earn this year's Sammy Cup for their college.
At the Baker Institute's Monday presentation, several scholars posed a thorny question: Could reproductive technologies eventually change what it means to be human in our society? Over 100 students, faculty and associates attended the talk on the controversial subject, titled "The Meaning of Being Human."
Students preparing to study abroad will have one less thing to worry about starting this semester. The Rice University Risk Management team has announced that they are partnering with International SOS in order to provide emergency medical assistance to any students who are abroad.ISOS is the world's leading international healthcare and medical assistance company, with clinics and facilities all over the world. Based on their website, their aim is to deliver the highest level of service and customer care to clients across the world.
Implementing a new format for its third year, Tuesday's Veritas Forum attracted 485 students to hear a discussion about what it means to be human and the respective roles of technological research and religion in that search.The Veritas Forum is a nationwide program that brings prominent Christian scholars to campuses to talk about their faith, according to Matthew Moravec.
The 2011 Senior Class Gift competition broke all participation and giving records since its inception, with a total of $10,745.11 gathered from all 11 colleges, more than triple what was collected last year.The competition, part of the Rice Annual Fund Student Initiative, was open for seven weeks, from Oct. 4 to Nov. 24, during which time 515 seniors gave donations, the most in the history of the Senior Class Gift.
If you had problems using the Rice Owls Internet network last Friday, you weren't alone: A programming error on Rice's BANNER system locked all students out of anything that required a netID login, including Internet and e-mail. Most of the problems were fixed by 11:30 a.m. Friday, and registration and records were not affected.According to Systems, Architecture and Infrastructure Director Barry Ribbeck, not all systems were affected by the crisis - for example, lab machines still allowed students to log on and print, and the Rice Visitors Internet network still worked. Although the issues were resolved, Information Technology stayed late on Friday night to be sure the systems were all running properly, Ribbeck said.
Rice has been improving its green awareness and sustainability, but has room for improvement according to the 2011 College Sustainability Report Card published by the Sustainable Endowment Institute. Rice University received a B+ overall, taking it out of the category of Campus Sustainability Leaders. The grade is in fact an improvement from last year's B, but according to the report card's press release, several other universities, such as Yale University, Brown University and the University of Minnesota, drastically improved sustainability and cost-saving measures in the past year, moving them up to the A or A- category. With increased competition, Rice did not make the cut to be a sustainability leader this year.
Former Dean of Engineering and Materials Science Professor Franz R. Brotzen, age 94, died May 25, after 55 years at Rice.Approximately 200 people attended a memorial service held in his honor June 12.
More than a month after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Rice students, staff and faculty are still helping in whatever way they can. On Feb. 25, the Office of Multicultural Community Relations, part of the Office of Public Affairs, hosted a panel entitled "Haiti: Past, Present and Future." The information presented initiated debates over the next step for Haiti, and afterward Rice students sponsored a bake sale that raised $200 for Haitian relief efforts. Art Rascon, an Emmy award-winning reporter and anchor for KTRK-TV, was the moderator of the discussion, which had on its panel two Rice professors and one Rice alumnus. About 60 people attended, including Rice students, members of the community and even visitors from Haiti.
Sitting under the shade of oak trees, Huff House has been awaiting renovation since the start of the academic year. Plans have been delayed due to a change in contractors, but with the recent approval from the City of Houston, construction can now begin and is still expected to be completed by mid-summer, the original construction deadline. The original plan was to begin renovations in December, according to Joujou Zebdaoui, project manager for Huff House construction. Facilities, Engineering and Planning first submitted their proposal for Huff House, formerly O'Connor House, to the City of Houston Plan Review Division in September to work with Miner-Dederick Construction Ltd. However, when Miner-Dederick came back to Rice with the projected cost for the renovation, it was greater than the budget for the project.
