The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, May 21, 2004 Page: 8 of 32
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TOE RICE THRESHER NEWS FRIDAY, MAY 21.2004
Gillis will return to
Duke for one year
by Risa Gordon
THRESHER EDITORIAI. STAFF
On J uly 1, Malcolm Gillis will relin-
quish a title he has held for 11 years
— president of Rice University.
Gillis will go to Duke University for
a year as a visiting professor of public
policy studies before returning to Rice
as a university professor able to teach
in any department. Gillis said he plans
to teach in the Jones Business School
and the history and economic depart-
ments, as well as continue to conduct
research on technological change and
tax reform.
At Duke, where Gillis spent 11
years, first as a professor of econom-
ics and public policy and then as an
administrator, lie will work on finish-
ing a book on the economic history
of technology in the last 1,000 years
and will do consulting work about oil
and gas pipelines.
Since Gillis' first year as president
in 1993, Rice has seen a great deal of
change, including the construction of
12 new buildings and the first fund-
raising campaign in Rice's history. The
changes were implemented through a
series of nine core goals established by
Gillis and the Board of Trustees.
Gillis said he chose to step down
because he is happy with what he has
accomplished at Wee. Gillis said the
goals he promoted in his October 1993
university-wide address have been
fulfilled, and additional goals are being
made and met.
"When 1 came, 1 told everybody
that the optimum period for a univer-
sity president was 10 to 12 years,"
Gillis said. "1 believe if you cannot get
done all you need to do in that period
of time, you really haven't had much
of an impact."
One of Gillis' top priorities was
making Nice a more internationally
focused institution.
"As 1 told the board before 1
agreed to come, if you're not ready
to internationalize the university in
terms of its curriculum and outlook,
go find yourself someone else because
a university that is parochial and
not international in its outlook will
very soon be irrelevant," Gillis said.
Rice's international presence has in-
creased through student participation
in study abroad programs — up to 42
percent from 17 percent in 1993 — and
cooperation with foreign institutions.
In 2000, the International University
Bremen, modeled after Wee, opened in
Germany, and Wee is also collaborating
with Imperial College and Cambridge
in England, and other Texas universi-
ties in the fields of biotechnology and
nanotechnology research.
Such collaborations—Rice has also
formed links with the Texas Medical
Center institutions—are important toa
small research university, Gillis said.
"I could not be more pleased
because a small university like
ours cannot hope for distinction in
the life sciences without the very
intense and extensive collabora-
tion," Gillis said. "We bring to the
table our expertise in biotechnology,
nanotechnology and information
technology, most especially science
and engineering at the intersection
of those three fields."
In addition, although a final board
vote is still necessary to approve
a medical center at University and
Main, the project seems likely. The
medical center tower would include
participation from Methodist Hospi-
tal. Baylor College of Medicine, MD
Anderson and the L Diversity ofTexas
Health Science Center.
Maintaining the quality of Rice's
undergraduate education was also
one of Gillis' goals.
"1 wanted to make sure that we
maintained our reputation as the best
program for undergraduates, and I
really do believe that Rice and Princ-
eton are way ahead of anyone else, in
terms of the quality of undergraduate
education," Gillis said.
A goal related to undergraduate
education was the goal of recruiting and
retaining faculty members who excel in
both teaching and research, which Gil-
lis said was one ofhis biggest challenges
as president. Other universities make
job offers to Rice faculty, particularly
young faculty members.
"This year has been a particularly
stressful year in terms of fending off
raiding parties from the East Coast
and the West Coast—people trying to
lure our faculty away," Gillis said.
Improving facilities and the
athletics program were two addi-
tional goals. Two of the 12 buildings
constructed since 1993 — Reckling
Park for baseball and the Cox Fitness
Center — are related to athletics.
The other buildings constructed
during Gillis' tenure include Baker
Hall, the Humanities Building,
Anne and Charles Duncan Hall, the
graduate apartments, the Center for
Nanoscale Science and Technology
in Dell Butcher Hall, the Jesse H.
Jones Graduate School of Manage-
ment building, Martel College,
Wiess College, a new observatory
and an off-campus library service
center. The four renovated buildings
are Herring Hall, Keck Hall, Rayzor
Hall and parts of Jones, Brown and
Hanszen Colleges.
"I believe our facilities were, for a uni-
versity with our aspirations, probably
B minus," Gillis said. "I believe we've
raised them up to at least A minus."
Another top priority was increasing
diversity, which (iillis said posed a chal-
lenge given the 1996 Hopwood v. Texas
Supreme Court decision preventing
universities from using race in admis-
sions decisions. However, Gillis said he
was committed to increasing diversity in
the faculty and student body, and said he
continues to stand by this commitment
in the post-Hopwood era.
"We come under attack all the time
from people who think that we shouldn't
be doing [inclusiveness]," Gillis said.
"Well, I've got two more months left
and until the day I walk out the door,
we're going to be doing it. And I'm
proud of it, and I don't mind saying I'm
proud of it."
Other goals included improving
the graduate program, increasing
community outreach and maintaining
Rice's low tuition.
(iillis said he chose to become the
president of Rice because Rice was a
quality institution that was ready for
the changes he wanted to make.
"Rice looked to me to be ready to
do what I thought was necessary, and
it was also small enough to get your
arms around, and it was committed to
top-quality undergraduate education
and first-class research," (iillis said.
Gillis faced challenges as presi-
dent. In addition to struggling to
retain faculty members, Gillis said
his biggest challenge was fund-rais-
ing since Rice had never had a com-
prehensive fund raising campaign
before. However, (iillis' experience
as dean of the Graduate School and
dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sci-
ences at Duke was useful since at
Duke, the deans are responsible for
fund-raising, Gillis said, (iillis was
able to use his fund-raising experi-
ence to institute a campaign that
raised $500 million, 40 percent of
which went into the endowment.
Gillis said, were he not stepping
down, his priorities would be the con-
struction of a tenth college, a recreation
center and a convocation center.
Having spent a decade as presi-
dent of Rice, Gillis said the two things
he likes most about Rice have not
changed sina • t he end ofhis first year:
the warm personalities of students
and faculty and the hard-working
nature of the students.
"There's a conviviality here, and
a respect for civil discourse ... rare
now on campuses," (iillis said.
To incoming president David
Leebron, (iillis offers the following
advice, "Guard your time, and try to
get around the campus as much as
you can."
Foreman-Gillis fight may raise
funds for scholarship programs
BOXING, from Page 1
contributions Gillis has made to
academia.
"[Gillis] is a great man, and he's
made a significant contribution to
the academic community, not just in
Houston, but worldwide, and that's
respected," Johnson said.
Gillis said he wants to box
Foreman for several reasons, but
especially to demonstrate to older
people that it is possible to be highly
physically fit regardless of age, a
goal which Foreman shares.
"It turned out that we both have
the same objective," Gillis said. "I le
wants to show, also, to other older
people that you can get yourself into
shape for very vigorous physical
activity even when you're 55, like
he is, or 63, like myself."
Gillis said he is also interested
in showing that he can still box
despite being away from the ring
for many years. In his late teens,
Gillis was an amateur boxer in the
light heavyweight category.
"I have not been in the ring for
43 years, and 1 wanted to show
that you can take old skills, dust
them off and ... use them again,"
Gillis said.
(iillis said when he started his
intensified training routine a few
months ago, he remembered the
drills and techniques he used as an
amateur boxer, including the Ali
Shuffle and the rope-a-dope.
Hie match probably will not be
fought at full intensity, (iillis said.
"I expect it to be like any spar-
ring that a boxer does in training,
where you're going at it. but you're
not trying to kill the other guy,"
(iillis said. "I don't expect him to go
at it like he would in a professional
bout, but I'm going to stay out of
the way of those big heavy fists as
much as I can. You're going to see
a lot of fancy footwork."
Gillis said he follows a training
routine every morning when he
is at home and has no scheduled
meeting. Gillis said his training
routine is to lift weights for about
an hour. He also warms up on a
treadmill for 10 minutes, shadow
boxes for five minutes with three-
pound weights in each hand
t
HARLA HELD/THRESHER
President Gillis poses in his boxing attire in preparation for his match
against former heavyweight champion George Foreman.
and runs on the treadmill for 25
minutes.
Gillis said his weightlifting
routine includes bench-press-
ing 260 pounds and holding for
10 seconds, then stretching and
bench-pressing 220 pounds 12
times slowly. Gillis also leg-press-
es 560 pounds, does 120-pound
pulldowns, and does curls with 45
pounds in each hand, (iillis said
his training has raised him to a
very high level of fitness.
"I want to get [the match with
Foreman] over, because it's really
a strain now for me to stay at this
level of fitness,"he said. "I don't get
short of breath at anything."
Johnson declined to comment
on whether Foreman has been
training for the match.
(iillis said he lirst became inter-
ested in boxing when he saw the
positive difference the sport made
in boxers' temperaments.
"Ever since 11 began boxing], I
never raised a hand in anger against
another person, not ever again
— and as a younger boy, I got in a
lot of fights," (iillis said. "People say
boxing is barbaric, and I will agree.
Professional boxing is probably a
pretty rough sport, and amateur
boxing is not for everybody either.
But for some young men, it's agood
thing, and it was for me."
Even if Gillis does not win the
match, he said it will be a good
experience.
"I expect to have a good time,"
(iillis said. "And I expect to be the
only president of any university
that's ever been in the ring with
a heavyweight champion. And I
expect I'm the only one who ever
wanted to be."
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International exchange
STUART SINCI AIR THRESHER
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark accepts a Texas T-shirt during his April 22 visit to the James
A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.
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Gilbert, Lindsey & Yardley, Jonathan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, May 21, 2004, newspaper, May 21, 2004; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398446/m1/8/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.