The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, February 27, 2009 Page: 4 of 20
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4 NEWS
the Rice Thresher
Friday, February 27,2009
Political science
chair to depart
BY JACLYN YOUNGBLOOD
Thresher Staff
After five years as the Department
of Political Science chair, Rick Wilson
has announced he will step down on
June 30. Though Wilson will retire
from his leadership position, he will
remain at Rice as a member of the po-
litical science faculty.
Wilson, who was appointed in
2004 by former Dean of Social Sci-
ences Robert Stein, has served as de-
partment chair from 1991-94. The De-
partment of Political Science rotates
through chairs every three years, but
Wilson's current term included a two-
year extension beyond the standard
three years because current Dean of
Social Sciences Lyn Ragsdale asked
him to stay.
As chair, Wilson said his broad
duties include administrative tasks,
representing the department to the
university and beyond and being an
advocate for the department and the
School of Social Sciences. He also
worked to further the department's
reputation as a center of excellence,
both on campus and around the
country. On a smaller scale, chair du-
ties include defining the curriculum,
establishing budgetary priorities and
hiring faculty.
"1 talk about how great my faculty
are and how wonderful our students
are and constantly spend a lot of
time touting the virtues of the place,"
he said. "We have a really fabulous
group of colleagues and my task is to
make sure everybody knows [that]."
He said one of the greatest re-
wards of being chair was watching
colleagues become successful by
getting grants, publishing books or
getting promoted.
"They do [become successful]
on their own, but you know that
you've probably helped make the
road a little smoother for them and
not gotten in their way," he said.
"People moving forward — that's
the cool part."
Wilson also said he has enjoyed
seeing the department rise in rank
and continue its tradition of excel-
lence. According to U.S. News and
World Report, the political science
graduate department ranks 29th in
the nation.
Over the past few months, he said
the most trying part of being chair has
been deciding where to cut budgets.
"Every chair is in exactly the same
boat right now," Wilson said. "We're
all struggling with how to make ends
meet without hurting people."
Wilson came to Rice 25 years ago
after being recruited by Joseph Coo-
per, the Dean of Social Sciences at
the time, and former Rice professor
Political Science David Brady, who
has been serving as a Sid Richardson
College associate since 1984.
Wilson said he is looking for-
ward to going back to doing re-
search and teaching.
"Those are the two things 1 re-
ally love about this job," he said.
"This is a really great environment
for learning and teaching and do-
ing your research."
Wilson said Ragsdale has been
talking to people in the department
and that the announcement of his
successor will come soon. Ragsdale's
final decision will then be ratified by
Provost Eugene Levy, and the new
chair will assume Wilson's position
on July 1.
After a five-year tenure, Political Science chair Rick Wilson will step
down June 30.
□JEWISH
FROM PAGE 1
would not be contained to religious
topics; rather, the degree would in-
clude studies of Hebrew language,
the Holocaust and the state of Is-
rael, among other subjects. Jewish
studies is, by nature, interdisciplin-
ary, Henze said.
"I think [the Jewish studies mi-
nor] is going to be a great addition
to the curriculum available to stu-
dents at Rice," Lovett Freshman
Mae Bariff said. "Really, people
from lots of different majors and
Peace, quiet and
ankle-length robes
Ann Greig (left), a Religious studies graduate student, joins with friend
Olive Loew (center) and monk Ajahnken (right) in gathering serenity
and calm on Sunday's meditation, sponsored by Rice for Peace.
Former Israeli ambassador to EU
speaks on Israel's stances on conflict
backgrounds can find value in tak-
ing Jewish studies courses."
While Henze himself is not
aware of any other religious groups
that want to start a program, he be-
lieves they would be a wonderful
addition to Rice.
"What is remarkable is not that
we are starting a Jewish studies
program," he said. "What is re-
markable is that we haven't had
one yet."
Henze said the proposed minor
By Cindy Dinh
Thresher Editorial Staff
Oded Eran, former Israeli ambas-
sador to the European Union, spoke
on campus last Friday about the sta-
tus of the Israeli-Arab conflict and the
process of international negotiations.
The lunch and lecture, entitled
"The Peace Process in the Middle
East," sought to address these issues
from an Israeli official's perspective.
Eran is currently the director of the
Institute for National Security Stud-
ies after an extensive career in Israel's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served
as Israel's ambassador to Jordan and
as the head of Israel's negotiations
team with the Palestinians until 2000.
During the lecture, Eran said Is-
rael's ethnic composition is diverse,
with 20 percent of the population
Russian, 20 percent Orthodox Jews
and 20 percent consisting of Israe-
lis of Arab origin who, he said, have
the same full rights as any other Is-
raeli. He said with so many different
groups, it would be difficult to adopt
a two-part electoral system similar to
the United States' system.
"Many parties [in Israel] call for
reform in the electoral system to
make it more stable," he said.
Following a recent election in
Israel in early February, Eran said
the issues the new government
will need to focus on are relations
with both Arabs and the rest of the
world, including Iran.
"Before a peace process, we need
to deal with Iranian nuclear effort
and military effort," Eran said. "Ira-
nians have accumulated enough raw
material to produce the bomb. The
threat is not only to Israel but to Arab
gulf states."
Though there have been three dif-
ferent Security Council resolutions to
stop Iran, none have encouraged Iran
to reconsider their choices, he said.
"Nuclear capability, coupled with
anti-Israeli ideology, is a threat," he
said. "I believe the Iranians are as
was met with enthusiasm and ex-
citement from President David Lee-
bron, the provost and the deans.
The minor passed both the Under
graduate Curriculum Committee
and the Faculty Senate with unani-
mous votes.
"We have received lots of reac-
tions," Henze said. "The admin-
istration has been extremely sup-
portive. I was particularly moved
by the student response."
Henze and Kaplan see the minor
rational as anyone else and would
consider the cost-benefit of what
they're doing, and hopefully will
make the right decision."
Another issue of importance is
the contention in Jerusalem, which
Eran said is home to shrines in the
Dome of the Rock as well as the re-
mains of two Jewish temples. This
is a region loaded with history and
emotion, he said.
«
Nuclear capabil-
ity, couple with anti-
Israeli ideology, is a
threat. I believe the
Iranians are as ra-
tional as anyone else
and would consider
the cost-benefit of
what they're doing.
Oded Eran
Former Israeli ambassador
W
"Literally, before the war in 1967,
Gaza was under Egypt and the West
Bank was under Jordan," Eran said.
If Israel returns to the 1967 demarca-
tions, "I think [it] would destroy the
city which is sacred to three separate
religions."
Eran then called for a clear demar-
cation line to define territories.
"There has to be a physical border
between the state of Palestine and the
state of Israel, for security reasons,"
he said. "Palestinians want it, and I
want it."
He stressed how complicated it
would be to solve the territorial prob-
lem, offering examples of what hap-
pened in the past. In his career, Eran has
helped negotiate 57 peace agreements,
of which three are implemented.
as a successful first step towards
developing a Jewish studies pro-
gram at Rice. By instituting a Jew-
ish studies program, Rice will be
come more competitive with other
top-20 schools, Henze said. Rice's
lack of a Jewish studies program
has been noticed by many, accord-
ing to Henze.
"I see the minor as the first step
to building a much more robust
Jewish study program," Henze said.
"My great hope is that this will grow
"Cold peace is better than hot
war," he said.
Eran recommended that coun-
tries focus on gradual, realistic goals
instead of a comprehensive catch-all
solution.
"I would propose partial solutions
in the West Bank and leave it for the
time being," he said.
The slow progress in establishing
a common consensus stems from the
political figures in the region, he said.
"[With the] king of Jordan, King
Hussein, there are the leaders with
the courage to go for [negotiation],"
Ewan said.
Eran said the problems with Pal-
estinians began with Yasser Arafat,
who believed he was a prophet.
"He couldn't bring himself to put his
name to go down in history as someone
who compromised with the Jewish, or
Sunnis, or whoever," Eran said.
One question from the audience
asked how the U.S. should play a role
in negotiation talks.
Understandings must be reached
by the immediate parties involved,
he said, including an example of
how initial talks between Israel and
Egypt were secretive and unknown
to the U.S.
"You need the U.S. as a player
which the two sides approach when
they cannot reach an understand-
ing," he said.
The event was sponsored by Owls
for Israel, the Consulate of Israel
in Houston and the Baker Institute
Student Forum with the intention to
shed light on another perspective on
these highly-debated topics.
Owls for Israel is an unofficial stu-
dent group founded after the Gaza
Panel held on campus last month.
"We felt there was not enough of
the Israeli perspective on campus,"
Daniel Ledeen, a Sid Richardson
College senior and member of Owls
for Israel, said. "This lecture was
part of our mission to bring speakers
to campus that can educate the com-
munity on the Israeli point of view."
quickly, that this minor will attract
attention from the students and
our donor community, so that they
will quickly realize what an excit-
ing field of study this is. With more
courses being added and some fac-
ulty lines being created, this will
expand quickly."
Melissa Tsang contributed to this
article.
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, February 27, 2009, newspaper, February 27, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443030/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.