Rice University Statistics for Prospective Undergraduate Students
Annotations
Faculty Facts and Distinctions
(as of October 20, 1998)

 

The information presented in this Annotation represents Rice University management's description of procedures and definitions used to compile and determine amounts presented on the page of statistics concerning faculty facts and distinctions. This information is presented to assist the reader in understanding that page.

Rice University, a small, private, and highly selective research institution in Houston, Texas, has created Statistics for Prospective Undergraduate Students . Detailed definitions and descriptions, sources, and methodologies used in this compilation are described in this and other appropriately linked pages of annotations and apply specifically to this web site. Different time periods reflect unique or official reporting dates and are used to present the most current information available.

Rice had a total of 548 full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty as of October 20, 1998. FTE faculty included deans, administrative officials who have tenure status, visiting faculty, faculty fellows, and part-time faculty. The calculation for FTE faculty included counting the part-time faculty as one-third of full-time faculty; this full-time equivalent faculty number was used to calculate student-to-faculty ratios (located in the Enrollment and Class Sizes section below.)

Tenured and tenure-track faculty (professors, associate professors, assistant professors, deans, and administrative officials who have tenure status) are all full-time and total 439; they comprised 93% (439/472) of the full-time faculty. Instructors and lecturers, and artist teachers (33) comprised 7% (33/460) of the full-time faculty. Rice also employed 170 adjuncts.
 
 

Notes to calculations:

Full time equivalents:

460 full time faculty (460 = 245 professors, 97 associate professors,
       85 assistant professors, 7 instructors, 23 lecturers, and 3 artist
       teachers)
+ 12 deans and senior administrators with tenure and tenure status
+ 19 faculty fellows
+ 9 visiting faculty
+ 48 FTE of part time (144 ¸ 3)
548


Tenure and tenure-status faculty:

439 = tenured and tenure track faculty (427 full time faculty + 12 deans and
          senior administrative officials with tenure status)

472 = 460 full time faculty + 12 deans and senior administrative officials with
           tenure status

The percentage of full-time faculty with the doctorate or terminal degree in the field is 98% (450/460).
 

Notes to calculations:

450 = number of full-time faculty with the doctorate or terminal degree in the field
460 = number of full-time faculty

Policies regarding academic appointments; tenure; terms of appointments; offers and acceptances; renewals; promotions; leaves of absence and effect on tenure; and termination of appointments, sanctions short of termination, and suspension can be found at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~presiden/Policies/

Faculty Distinctions for Current and Emeriti Faculty

Awards and distinctions were compiled from several different sources. First, awards and distinctions, and the respective recipient(s) of each, were requested from each academy, agency, foundation, or association; in some cases, national databases are available and were accessed for this same purpose. Second, requests were made from each faculty member's respective school dean to submit to the Office of Institutional Research a list of faculty with their respective awards and distinctions. Third, searches were made on the Rice faculty website by the Office of Institutional Research regarding awards and distinctions. At this point, lists were compiled for each award or distinction with the recipient, using all sources. The next step was to verify that each faculty member who is on any of the lists was either a current Rice faculty member or held emeritus status; this was done by going to the Fall 1998 faculty database (described above) and verifying any variances with the Assistant Provost for Faculty Administration. In some cases, an understatement of the number of distinctions was possible if a faculty member achieved an award or distinction before coming to Rice. The granting academy, agency, foundation, or association may have listed the faculty member and his or her award or distinction under the university's name with which the faculty member was affiliated at the time the award or distinction was granted.

Website's for distinction categories included the following:

http://www.nobel.se/
http://www.nobel.se/laureates/chemistry-1996-press.html
The Nobel Foundation is a private institution established in 1900 on the basis of the will of Alfred Nobel. By the terms of the will, the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry have been awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) since 1901. The RSAS is an independent, non-governmental organization whose objectives include the identification and reward of outstanding scientific achievements. For their discovery of fullerenes, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to:
 

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), established by a Congressional act of incorporation signed in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln, is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that not only advises the federal government, but also conducts independent studies that examine some of the most important contemporary topics in engineering and technology. The NAE's leadership continues to provide a forum for the spirit of the engineering profession, building the bridge between science and society. The NAE is also a member of a larger Academy complex, made up of four distinct yet interdependent institutions: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council.

The following twelve (12) Rice University faculty are members:
 

(as of 1-13-99)
David H. Auston
Robert Bixby
Michael M. Carroll
William E. Gordon (Emeritus)
J. David Hellums
George J. Hirasaki
Ken Kennedy
Riki Kobayashi
Angelo Miele (Emeritus)
Ronald P. Nordgren
Richard A. Tapia
Anestis S. Veletsos

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was created specifically for the purpose of advising the nation's leaders on the scientific issues that frequently pervade policy decisions, in addition to its sister organizationsñthe National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. These non-profit organizations provide a public service by working outside the framework of government to ensure independent advice on matters of science, technology, and medicine. The nation's top scientists, engineers, and other experts volunteer their time to study specific concerns, the results of which have inspired some of America's most significant and lasting efforts to improve the health, education, and welfare of the population. NAS is an honorary society that elects new members to its ranks each year.

The following eight (8) Rice University faculty are members:

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a non-profit organization established under private law by the Federal Republic of Germany. Named in honor of the German natural scientist and explorer, the Foundation was founded in 1860 to commemorate his life work and to sponsor research travel abroad by German scholars. The Foundation also assists foreign scholars pursuing postgraduate studies in Germany through Humboldt Research Fellowships and Humboldt Research Awards. Humboldtians (24) who are currently on the faculty at Rice University are:

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) is an honorary society that recognizes achievement in the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities and conducts a varied program of projects and studies responsive to the needs and problems of society. The Academy's membership, which is elected, represents distinction and achievement in the entire range of the intellectual disciplines and professions. Its 3,300 Fellows and 550 Foreign Honorary Members are divided into four classes--the physical sciences, the biological sciences, the social arts and sciences, and the humanities and fine arts. Among its Fellows are 168 Nobel Prize laureates and 58 Pulitzer Prize winners. The Academy recognizes achievement not only in election to membership but in the awarding of prizes. Rice currently has the following eight (8) faculty who are members of AAAS:

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, pronounced "Triple-A-S") is a nonprofit professional society dedicated to the advancement of scientific and technological excellence across all disciplines, and to the public's understanding of science and technology. AAAS is among the oldest societies in America, having been founded in Philadelphia in 1848. Many of today's most prestigious and influential scientific societies have their historical origins in AAAS. Rice has the following eight (8) faculty as fellows; and in 1997, Rice University's Richard A. Tapia (Computational and Applied Mathematics) was the recipient of the AAAS Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement.

According to its web site, the mission of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is to "advance humanistic studies in all fields of learning in the Humanities and the related social sciences and to maintain and strengthen relations among the national societies devoted to such studies." The ACLS carries out its mission in a variety of programs across many fields of learning, with the awarding of peer-reviewed fellowships at the core of ACLS activity. Membership in ACLS is restricted to organizations, with three types of memberships: Constituent Learned Society (national or international organizations in the humanities and social sciences that focus on a broad but discrete field of humanistic inquiry), Affiliate (organizations and institutions whose goals and purposes are closely linked to ACLS and serve to increase the community and the effectiveness of those actively working on behalf of the humanities), and Associate (colleges, universities, research libraries, and other scholarly institutions). Rice University has the following 18 faculty as ACLS fellows:

The American Physical Society (APS) is an organization of more than 40,000 physicists worldwide. Serving on the Executive Committee of the Texas Section of APS are two Rice faculty members: Naomi Halas (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Stephen D. Baker (Physics). In addition, Rice has a total of eight (8) faculty as fellows:

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) is the world's largest technical professional society. Founded in 1884 by a handful of practitioners of the new electrical engineering discipline, today's Institute is comprised of more than 320,000 members who conduct and participate in its activities in approximately 150 countries. The men and women of the IEEE are the technical and scientific professionals who make revolutionary engineering advances, which reshape our world. The technical objectives of the IEEE focus on advancing the theory and practice of electrical, electronic and computer engineering and computer science. Through its membership, IEEE provides leadership in areas ranging from aerospace, computers, and communications to biomedical technology, electric power and consumer electronics. The following 12 Rice University faculty are fellows:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) consists of 17 institutes and associated centers and divisions. It is one of the agencies of the Public Health Service which, in turn, is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. NIH is the federal government's primary agency for the support of biomedical research and is the largest such organization in the world. Rice University had 27 active NIH grants and awards in fiscal year 1998. The following three (3) current faculty members are NIH Fellows:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent U.S. government agency responsible for promoting science and engineering through programs that invest over $3.3 billion per year in almost 20,000 research and education projects in science and engineering. The NSF Awards List shows 123 awards for fiscal year 1999 (October 1, 1998 - September 30, 1999), 104 awards currently active at Rice University, and a total of 537 NSF awards to Rice since the mid-1980s. The following 36 current faculty at Rice have received awards, fellowships, and/or associateships:

These are appointments to boards and committees made by presidents of the United States. The following current full-time Rice faculty have received presidential appointments:

                    1997   Ken Kennedy (Professor, Computational Engineering). Appointed Co-Chair of the President's
                               Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communication,
                               Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet.
                             http://www.crpc.rice.edu/CRPC/WhatsNew/pressRelease-KWK-WH.html  

                    1996   Richard A. Tapia (Professor, Computational and Applied Mathematics). Appointed Member of the
                               National Science Board.
                             http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1996/8/2/11.text.1
 

Another Presidential Appointee and his current affiliation with Rice is as follows:
 

                    1993   Neal Lane (Professor, Physics, on leave academic year 1998-99). Appointed Director of the
                               National Science Foundation
                              http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1993/7/15/4.text.1
 

                    1998   Neal Lane (Professor, Physics, on leave academic year 1998-99). Appointed Director of the
                              Office of Science and Technology Policy.
                            http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1998/2 /13/14.text.1

 

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a philanthropic non-profit institution, was established by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. in 1934. The Sloan Research Fellowships were established in 1955 to provide support and recognition to young scientists, often in their first appointments to university faculties, who were endeavoring to set up laboratories and establish their independent research projects with little or no outside support. Over the first 17 years of the program Sloan Research Fellowships were awarded in physics, chemistry, and pure mathematics. In 1972, neuroscience was added to the eligible disciplines, and in 1980 applied mathematics and economics were added. The field of computer science was added in 1993. During 1996, two Sloan Fellows were awarded Nobel Prizes: Robert F. Curl, Jr. of Rice University, a 1961 Sloan Research Fellow in Chemistry, and Richard E. Smalley, also of Rice University, a 1978 recipient in Chemistry. These bring the number of past Fellows who have become Nobel Laureates to 21. Receiving Alfred P. Sloan Fellowships in 1998 were the following Rice University faculty: Sarita V. Adve and Alan L. Cox (Computer Science) and Alexander J. Rimberg (Physics); all total, Rice University has 15 current faculty who are Sloan Fellows:

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