Scheduling of Public Areas

Duncan Hall has a variety of public spaces, including Martel Hall, McMurtry Auditorium, two lecture halls, and three classrooms. The Office of the Registrar (116 Allen Center) is responsible for scheduling the two lecture halls and three classrooms. To reserve a lecture hall or classroom, see the online reservation request form or call Chris Higgins at x8026. For all other Duncan Hall reservations, including McMurtry Auditorium and Martel Hall, please submit requests using the on-line reservation system located at http://dhreserv.rice.edu.

The following policies apply.

• Faculty and staff with offices in Duncan Hall have priority in the scheduling of conference rooms and public spaces in the building. Reservations by others are permitted, but require a Duncan Hall resident faculty or staff sponsor to reserve a room or public space.
• Unsponsored use by nonresidents of the building is limited: only one non-building occupant event per month is allowed in Duncan Hall. (A non-building occupant event is a non-engineering event that does not have a Duncan Hall resident faculty or staff sponsor.)
• A request for McMurtry Auditorium does not include Martel Hall. Use of Martel Hall must be specifically requested.
• Time limits for booking these spaces:
  • Duncan Hall occupants may schedule major conferences and events up to 2 years in advance.
  • Members of the School of Engineering may schedule events up to 6 months in advance.
  • Other Rice organizations may schedule events up to 3 months in advance.
• Both lecture halls and one of the classrooms can be used by the School of Continuing Education after 6 p.m. The auditorium is also available, but subject to recall for special evening seminar and conference usage in support of School of Engineering functions.
• No functions that include music or loud noise will be scheduled in Martel Hall before 7 p.m. on weekdays. Requests for events that would have music or loud noise after 7 p.m. on weekdays or at any time on weekends must be approved by the Dean's office. The proposed use of music, microphones, loud speakers, etc., must be so noted in the initial request.
• Balcony usage is on a first come/first served basis and is reserved for Engineering events only.
• The Chairman of the Duncan Hall Policy Committee and the Dean of Engineering (or the Dean's designated representative) have review and final decision authority on all requests.
• Special requests for exceptions will be considered by the Dean (or the Dean's representative) and the Duncan Hall Policy Committee. Our goal is to keep disruption of our students, faculty and staff to a minimum. First and foremost, the purpose of Duncan Hall is to support education and research. We ask that every attempt be made to schedule special events on Saturday or Sunday evenings and that no such special events be scheduled during the last three weeks of each semester.

Reserving Conference Rooms

(Rooms 1003, 1044, 1049, 2014, 3110, 3076 and 3092)

• Room 1003 is the Dean of Engineering's conference room. It cannot be reserved in advance. Last-minute use of this room in emergencies is possible, pending approval from the Dean's office. Call Carolie Allgood or Martha Colangelo at x4009 to make a request.
• To reserve the following conference rooms--1044, 1049, 2014, 3110, 3076 or 3092--please submit requests using the on-line reservation system located at http://dhreserv.rice.edu.
• All conference rooms are to be used solely by building occupants, except as approved by the Policy Committee.
• Room 1049 is to be used primarily for site visits and guests from industry. (Other types of meetings scheduled for 1049 may be subject to displacement).
• Conference rooms (with the exception of 1049) may be scheduled for seminars at the 600 level or higher; however, these seminars may be displaced by site visits.
  
  Important Notes:
  
• Arrangements for Audio Visual equipment and/or support in McMurtry Auditorium or any of the room in Duncan Hall must be made by the person who requests to use the space. AVS requires a minimum of three days advance notice.
• If tables are needed for an event, it is the responsibility of the person who makes the request to arrange for tables.

Building Policy

• No food or drinks are allowed in the auditorium
• Food and drinks are allowed in the classrooms, lecture halls and conference rooms; however, users must clean rooms and remove all garbage immediately after their meetings. Garbage should be placed in the brick trash enclosure at the northeast end of the building (outside the service door). Alternatively, arrangements can be made with the building custodians to clean meeting areas. It is the responsibility of the person who reserves the room to clean the room in a timely fashion or make arrangements with the custodians to do so.
• No rollerblades or skateboards are allowed in the building.
• Music, speakerphones, etc. should be kept at a volume that does not disturb other occupants of the building.
• No signs or announcements can be posted on or attached to any painted surface in Duncan Hall.

Room Capacity

• McMurtry Auditorium (DH 1055): Capacity 225 and 7 wheel chair spaces (extra chairs may be brought in, but they are not provided).
• Martel Hall (Main Hall): Capacity 210 occupants, seated; 450 occupants, standing (maximum number of occupants standing will be affected by any serving tables set up in Martel Hall); space is approximately 75' x 55'; no furniture is available.
• Lecture halls: Pollard (DH 1064) & Mabee (DH 1070): Capacity 73 and 4 wheelchair spaces.
• Classrooms: Shell (DH 1042) & Carroll (DH 1046): Capacity 46; Kieschnick (DH 1075): Capacity 35.
• Meeting Room 3092: 50 seats. Furniture may be rearranged but must be returned to its original configuration after function.

Conference Rooms	Capacity
1003	10
1044 Jensen	10
1049 Jamail	21
2014	12
3110 Keck	10
3076	22

Bicycle Storage Policy

• Bicycles should be parked outside in the bike racks at the Northeast entrance of Duncan Hall and behind Abercrombie Lab. Bicycles brought into the building must be stored in student or faculty offices. No bicycles are to be stored in any public area; bicycles parked in such areas are subject to removal. No motorized bikes are allowed in the building.

Last Updated: January 20, 2010.