The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 24, 2007 Page: 1 of 32
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the Rice Thresher
Vol. XCIV, Issue No. 1
SINCE 1916
Friday, August 24, 2007
Construction
commences
Campus takes an aesthetic
toll as Rice prepares to grow
By Stephen Whitfield
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Careening into the Rice experience
TAYLOR JOHNSON/THRESHER
Wiess College freshmen maneuver a shopping cart around a sharp turn during Mock Beer-Bike, a competition between Wiess and Jones
Colleges that is a standing Orientation Week tradition. For more on 0-Week, see the Thresher's special section, pages 14-17.
Students moving back on campus this
weekend will notice a university far different
from the one they left last spring. A number
of construction projects at Rice have given
the campus the look and feel of a giant work
zone, something that students will continue to
experience for the next few years.
Find more on summer construction inside:
■ Work order changes, page 5
■ Speaker phone updates, page 6
■ New graduate student housing, page 7
■ Emergency contact system, page 11
Duncan College may have just received its
new name, but work on both it and McMurtry
College has been moving steadily throughout
the summer. Assistant Vice President of Facili-
ties, Engineering and Planning DougTomlin-
son said construction crews recently finished
the underground utilities work. Both colleges
are still scheduled to be finished by May 2009
see CONSTRlJCTION. page 6
interim decision eliminat- Jones School proposes Ph.D.
ea lor zuus admissions
by Lily Chun
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAKE
Prospective students to the
class of 2012 can no longer ap-
ply to Rice via interim decision.
The Office of Enrollment chose
to stop offering interim decision
applications in January. Interim
decision enabled students to ap-
ply to Rice and receive a decision
in February instead of April. The
option was non-binding and began
at Rice in the 1970s.
Vice President for Enroll-
ment Chris Munoz said the fact
that top-tier schools around the
nation dropped early decision
had no bearing on Rice's choice
to cease offering interim. Munoz
said the enrollment office ceased
to offer interim decision because
the three decisions were exhaust-
ing application reviewers, who
had between Feb. 18 and April 1
to accept or reject regular deci-
sion applicants.
"We came to the conclusion
that with the significant increase
in the applicant pool that we
expect to achieve, the number
of decisions that we are going to
make are going to be significantly
increased," Munoz said.
Since Rice plans to increase
enrollment by 30 percent, his
office would be even more taxed,
he said.
"We had a number of students
who applied under interim deci-
sion who, at the time, we decided
we couldn't make a positive deci-
sion on," Munoz said. "But they
were of such quality, that we
moved them to the regular deci-
sion process. What that means is
after we had read and evaluated
several hundred applications
as interim, we had to re-read
them and re-evaluate them as
regular decision."
Munoz said he thought it was
unfair to make a final decision
to accept or reject an applicant
during the interim process.
"We could have regular deci-
sion students who may be offered
set' INTERIM, page 6
by Julia Bursten and Evan Mint^»
THRKSHKR KDIK )KtAI SIAII
A doctoral program in manage-
ment may soon become a reality at
Rice. The Graduate Council unani-
mously approved a proposal for the
Ph.D. program put forth by the Jones
Graduate School of Management at
the end of last semester, Graduate
Council chair Jim Faubion said. If
approved by the Faculty Senate, the
program could improve the Jones
School's international reputation,
strengthen connections between the
Jones School anil other academic de-
partments, and providenewresearch
opportunities for undergraduates.
Die Jones School is currently
the only school at Rice that does not
offer a doctorate, and the absence
of a Ph.D. program has hurt the
School's international standing.
Jones School Dean Bill Glick said.
Implementing the research-based
Ph.D. would greatly increase the
Jones School's publication volume, as
well as satisfying a popular business-
school-ranking criterion.
"We get dinged on it every year,"
Giick said.
The increased visibility and
research prestige will also help
to attract top tier business faculty,
who are in short supply worldwide.
A 2003 report from the Association
to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business showed there is currently
an international shortage of doctoral
faculty in business and a growing
demand for such faculty. The report
inspired the Jones School to act on
years of talks about creating a Ph.D.
program.
see BUSINESS, page 6
Former Energy Secretary Charles
Duncan namesakes 11th college
by Lily Chun
I HRESHER EDITORIAL STAH
INSIDE
Back again...
Classes for undergraduates
begin Monday. Registration for
new students begin 8 a.m. today
and deadline for adding and
dropping courses without a fee
is Friday, Sept. 7 for all students.
Time to dust off those glue
sticks and rulers and practice
your best sick voice. All course
evaluations with comments
from student s are now available
online via Esther rather than
posted on the SA website.
Let's have a picnic!
The SA hosts Sammy's
Picnic Thursday at Founder's
Court. Serveries will be closed
for dinner.
OPINION Page 3
Irony in Rice's power
A&E Page 19
hwe yo u r Musettm District
SPORTS Page 26-27
Volleyball and soccer previews
Quote of the Week
"I was like 'Wow, this is way better
than normal.' It doesn't taste like
battery acid anymore, and that's
good."
— Brown college senior Sara Lark
on fair trade coffee. See Story,
Page 11.
Weekend Weather
Friday
Sunny, 74-95 degrees
Saturday
Isolated T-storms, 75-92 degrees
Sunday
Scattered T storms, 75-89 degrees
Rice announced Tuesday that
Charles ('47) and Anne Duncan
gave $30 million to support the
11th residential college. Duncan
College will be the first build-
ing on campus to be gold-level
LEED certified. Construction
of Duncan and McMurtry has
already begun.
Duncan said he and his wife
decided to be the donors for the
college a few weeks ago, although
they discussed the possibility
throughout the year.
Duncan was not himself as-
sociated with any residential col-
lege, since the residential college
system was not established until
1957. However, Duncan witnessed
the residential college system
from an administrative standpoint
as chairman of the Rice Board of
Trustees from 1982 to 1996.
"We think that the college
system has been very effec-
tive at Rice," Duncan said. "It's
something that we believe in.
and we think it's a key ingredient
with the success Rice has had
with students."
As former U.S. Secretary of
Energy and former chair of the
Business Coalition for Clean Air,
Duncan said he is a proponent
of environmental conservation.
He said he and his wife were
not involved in planning the
green aspects of the college,
but he was pleased with the
environmental characteristics.
Director of News and Media
Relations BJ Almond said the
sustainable features of the new-
college include lights that switch
off automatically, a classroom
with sustainable materials and
furnishings, automatic shut-off
air-conditioners with open win-
dows. pre-fabricated bathrooms,
a system to monitor energy con-
sumption, 25 percent reduced
energy consumption, 30 percent
reduced water consumption and
a roof that will decrease heating
and cooling usage.
"We were very sympathetic
with [constructing a green build-
ing], but a lot of the thinking
came from the Rice community,"
Duncan said.
In addition to funding Dun-
can College, the Duncans have
contributed to the Duncan Hall
of Engineering as well as the
Shepherd School of Music.
GREEN AMENITIES
Rice's newest residential college. Duncan College, will sport
a number of "green" technologies designed to conserve
energy and cater to eco-friendly guidelines.
■ Automatic sensors will switch off lights in empty rooms.
■ Classrooms will be outfitted with furniture and supplies made
with sustainable materials.
■ Air conditioning systems will detect when windows are opened
and shut themselves off.
■ Vegetation on the roof provides natural insulation which miti-
gates temperature extremes reducing energy costs.
■ Students can monitor their energy consumption online and can
modify their lifestyle accordingly to be more green.
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Bursten, Julia. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 24, 2007, newspaper, August 24, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443109/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.