Dear Colleagues,
This past academic year, the Faculty Senate endorsed a working group report on the status of general education at Rice. This report reflects a year and a half of thoughtful effort by the working group committee, and I want to thank all who participated in the process of drafting the report as well as those who provided feedback on its content prior to its endorsement by the Faculty Senate.
In total, the working group on general education offered six recommendations, all endorsed by the full senate. A key recommendation is that Rice establish an “owner” of general education. The remaining recommendations articulate guiding principles (i.e., one set of general education requirements for all students and the development of an action plan) and specific tasks for the owner to undertake (e.g., developing “areas of inquiry,” re-examining prerequisites for distribution courses). As such, establishing a new leadership position focused on Rice’s general education curriculum within the administrative structure of Rice is a critical task and a necessary first step for the implementation of the full set of recommendations to begin.
Today, I am writing to announce that we are establishing a new position, Associate Dean of General Education Curriculum. This position marks an important milestone for undergraduate education at Rice. Over the next few years, there will be substantial discussion and innovation regarding our general education curriculum as articulated by the Faculty Senate working group as well as more active and ongoing consideration of how to best promote the general education experience for our students in the time ahead.
The Associate Dean of General Education will report to the Dean of Undergraduates, who is broadly responsible for undergraduate curricular and co-curricular general education and will facilitate and co-champion the work of the new Associate Dean to oversee and strengthen undergraduate general education at Rice.
Ideal faculty candidates for this position will have:
- Excellent leadership qualities, such as integrity, flexibility, imagination and interpersonal and collegial consensus-building skills.
- Ability to actively engage, listen and communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, including faculty, students and staff.
- Demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching.
- Knowledgeable on the scholarship of teaching and learning.
- Previous experience in the development and implementation of innovative curricular initiatives (e.g., within their department or school, as a member of the Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum).
- Previous experience working with university leadership (e.g., Faculty Senate).
- Full time faculty appointment.
To ensure full consideration, applications should be submitted by June 24. Potential candidates should write a letter of intent that addresses the ways in which they specifically meet the qualifications, attach a current curriculum vitae and email these documents to Anthony Potoczniak at agp@rice.edu. Questions should be directed to Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman bkgorman@rice.edu.
If you would like to recommend someone for this role, please reach out to Dean Gorman.
I am excited about this new development and what it will bring to the educational experience for our students.
Regards,
Reginald DesRoches, Howard Hughes Provost