WILLIAM MARSH RICE UNIVERSITY Minutes of the Faculty Meeting

September 27, 1996

Attendance: Approximately 65 persons

Summary

President Malcolm Gillis called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in 301 Sewall Hall.

The primary purpose of this meeting was to review new appointments and the formation and work of various planning groups. The faculty also considered two proposals for modifying the structure of the academic calendar.

Discussion

1. Minutes of the May 10, 1996 meeting were approved. The secretary was asked to check the accuracy of the grade point averages associated with each rank of honors (summa, magna, and cum laude) at the May graduation. The numbers in the May minutes were found to be correct. However, the spelling of two faculty names was changed in the final version of these minutes.

2. Dr. Charles Henry, the new Vice Provost and University Librarian, and Dr. Roland Smith, Associate Provost, were introduced to the faculty, who welcomed them warmly.

3. The proposal for extending the drop deadline date to the last day of classes in the first semester for first-year students was passed. This change is expected to help entering students who are less able to judge the difficulty of courses during their first semester at Rice and who may be uncertain about their ability to meet course requirements.

4. After considerable discussion of the purpose and actual impacts of pass/fail provisions, a proposal to change the pass/fail designation date was approved. The new deadline for designating a course pass/fail will be the tenth week of the semester.

5. Provost David Auston reported on several ongoing processes that will affect the University's future. A search committee has been formed to seek a new dean for the Jones School. The Curriculum Reform Committee (see minutes of December 1995) will be headed by Professor William Martin of Sociology. A task force on the management of enrollment will review recruiting and admissions procedures. A task force will evaluate the University's position on intellectual property and recommend new policies. The draft of the University's strategic plan (circulated in late March of 1996) is being revised after consideration of comments received. Now that the University Librarian has arrived, planning for the Library will go forward rapidly.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:02 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Driskill
Secretary of the Faculty