The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, February 4, 1983 Page: 1 of 20
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Hackerman shrugs off low ratings of grad programs
by Chris Ekren
University President Norman
Hackerman has expressed little
concern over the mediocre ratings
of Rice's graduate program in
recent surveys that place Rice
below many colleges. The surveys
polled university faculty members
across the country, and ranked
institutions on the basis of quality,
effectiveness, improvement and
the faculty's familiarity with the
institution.
At the Rice faculty meeting held
Friday, January 28, Hackerman
stated, "We'll have to be satisfied
with our own assessment, good or
bad."
Hackerman argued that Rice
should not worry itself with polls,
as the small and undergraduate-
oriented nature of Rice places it at
a disadvantage in graduate polls.
Commented Hackerman, "We
ought to be unconcerned about
ratings and not being on the list of
best schools. We should be
concerned about our scholarship.
This attitude should not be taken
as complacency, however."
President Norman Hackerman
He added, "Jones and Lindsay
(one of the studies) made a point to
correlate the relationship between
the size of a department and the
potentiality of being rated in an
opinion poll. Except for Cal Tech,
it is impossible for a small
institution to insert itself in the top
section.
"Good ratings require large
departments; 30 to 70 people. We
have a maximum of fifteen people
in a given department."
Hackerman continued, "Rice
will never make these lists in my
opinion. The chances are so small
as to be zero.
"At Rice, the quality of learning
is spread uniformly across students
and faculty. Most other places
have a dichotomy between
research activity and graduate
instruction. Rice professors are
interested in both students and
research. I suggest we not deviate
from our dual interests."
Electrical engineering Professor
Sydney Burrus suggested that the
poll results be taken seriously. Said
Burrus, "In the rankings Rice is
shown to decrease. That bothers
me. The other schools haven't
gotten all that bigger or better."
Burrus .elaborated, "In the
perception of outsiders, our
quality has decreased. Whether the
perception is true or not, such a
perception is bad for Rice.
"Our reputation, our image
affects the quality of students and
professors we attract. Roughly the
same people that completed this
survey are the type that review
grant proposals. These peers of
ours review our papers when they
are submitted for publication.
Their opinion matters."
Material science Professor
Franz Brotzen also believes that
Rice's evaluation should be taken
seriously. Said Brotzen, "We are in
the top ten nationally in terms of
endowment. We certainly are not
even near the top ten in research.
Rice is good, yes, but for the
money it has it should be much
better."
Brotzen continued, "Dr.
Hackerman may be correct in that
we have a good faculty. I think so.
We may have the best product in
the world, though, and it will be
useless if we don't sell it."
He refuted Hackerman's
justi' ation, stating, "The size
argument just doesn't hold water.
Cal Tech is smaller than Rice.
Stanford has the same or fewer
people in its chemical engineering
department, as well as Delaware,
Princeton and others above us.
The University of Houston is
ranked way above us in chemical
engineering."
Brotzen emphasized, "We are
not listed in the top ten in any
discipline. Any."
Commented Brotzen, "What is
most distressing is Rice's low
improvement scores. Other
schools are passing us right and
left, schools of less money and
see Profs, page 6
THRESHER
Volume 70, Number 19
Friday, February 4, 1983
INSIDE:
• Introducing a new comic strip
that doesn't copy Doonesbury, p.
Ntozake Shange takes on Rice,
(but will Rice take on her?), p. 9
• Prodigies give artists' rendi-
Faculty council tables changes in grade policy
by Paul Havlak
The Faculty Council voted last
Friday to table a set of
recommendations from the
Committee on Examinations and
Standing that proposed grading
changes.
The Committee had recom-
mended:
"a. that a minimum grade point
average (GPA) for all courses
taken at Rice and for all courses in
fulfillment of the major taken at
Rice be established as a
requirement for graduation.
"b. That the minimum GPA for
all courses taken at Rice be 1.67;
that the minimum GPA for all
courses in fulfillment of the major
taken at Rice be 2.00.
"c. To prevent confusion
between the student's GPA and the
present grading system, that the
grading system at Rice be changed
GSA finds student housing
by Bruce Davies
Through an agreement with the
Rice Graduate Student Asso-
ciation and the University of
Houston, graduate students can
now be housed at a housing facility
adjacent to the U of H downtown
college.
According to Judy Harper of the
U of H General Office, Rice
Graduate Students will be charged
$293.33 monthly for room and
board. That includes maid service
twice a week. Students wanting
singles will be charged $436.66 a
month. The facility also provides
covered parking, a gameroom,
study halls and a swimming pool.
"The only drawback is that it's
not on campus," said GSA
Houston Committee member
Sergio Cabrera, "but it's still a
pretty good deal." The board
consists of 13 meals a week,
breakfast and dinner on Monday
through Saturday, and one mea||
on Sunday.
The arrangement originates
from the GSA housing committee
which has sought ways to ease the
burdens on first year grad
students, especially the large
number of out of state and foreign
students.
GSA Chairperson Nicole Dolby
states that "This is just a temporary
situation to ease the immediate
burden. We are still talking to the
administration about the graduate
housing problem," said Dolby.
The facility being offered by the
U of H was originally a hotel that
was purchased by the downtown
campus in 1980 and converted for
use by university students. "It
looked like a relatively nice hotel,"
said Cabrera, "but everything isn't
exactly brand new."
Cabrera, who help to negotiate
the agreement, said that there are
approximately 40 spaces available
for immediate occupancy, and that
the rooms looked "fairly large."
Students interested can contact
Judy Harper of the U of H General
Office at 225-1781, extensions 122
or 123, or Nicole Dolby, GSA
chairperson at 527-8101, x2580.
from 1, 2, 3, 4. 5 to A, B, C, D, F,
where a GPA corresponding to A
is 4.00.
"d. That a current updated GPA
be shown on the student's
permanent record in the registrar's
office."
After students complained that
they were ill-informed about the
proposal at the Student
Association senate meeting on
January 24, several students met
with President Norman Hacker-
man and Dean of Undergraduate
Affirs Katherine Brown to voice
their opinion. When SA President
Mary Ellen Trunko presented a
petition to the Faculty Council last
Friday asking that the changes (c)
and (d) be put off until more
student input can be gathered, the
council sent the proposal back to
the Committee on Examinations
and Standing.
The petition, signed by
hundreds of students from at least
six colleges, stated:
"This policy (of not putting
GPAs on transcripts) prevents
employer and graduate school
'pigeon-holing' because it does not
reduce an individual's accomplish-
ments at Rice to a single number.
Director of Student Advising
H.C. Clark agreed somewhat with
this opinion remarking,
"(Calculating a GPA) is deriving a
number to fit a transcript without
looking at the quality of the work
done."
The petition also stated, "These
proposed changes may affect the
academic atmosphere at Rice. The
distribution system could suffer as
students looked for 'rolls' to raise
their GPAs. Professors of more
Today is the deadline for
adding courses and pass,/fail
designations.
Measles' vaccinations will be
given from 2-5 p.m. today in the
Wiess PDR.
Campaign statements for
campus-wide offices are due Feb.
13 by 5 p.m. in Thresher office
difficult courses might fee!
pressured to change their grading
standards to keep up enrollment in
their classes."
Clark also noted that the old
quality requirement in which 50
percent of a student's credit hours
must rate a 3 or better for
graduation, "encourages students
to experiment with courses they
might not otherwise take."
The petitioners also argued,
"Currently, a team approach to the
rigorous course load at Rice is the
rule rather than the exception
see SA, page 8
Campos review masters' safety ideas
by Chris Ekren
The Rice Campus Police have
finished reviewing college masters'
suggestions for security
improvements and expect funding
decisions in a matter of weeks from
Vice President for Administration
■H
M
M. Gladu
Did rains bury someone in the Mudd Building?
William W. Akers. According to
Assistant Campus Police Chief
Mary Voswinkel, the majority of
security spending requests concern
increased lighting around campus
to eliminate dark spots where
students walk and congregate.
"We plan to re-direct the
lighting at Hanszen to*covered
areas in the parking lot currently
dark," said Voswinkel. A woman
was raped the night of December 3
in the Hanszen parking lot.
The campos will also
recommend increased lighting in
Allen Center and Lovett College
parking area P-lot, the scene of a
rape last spring. Other areas that
should benefit from more
illumination include the Sid
Richardson parking lot, the dirt
parking lot behind Lovett,
shadowed areas around Baker,
and the back of Lovett commons.
The lighting plan advocated by
the campus police will concentrate
on the pathways students normally
use at night and the parking lots.
Optimally, a light will be located
every fifty feet.
Said Voswinkel, "We haven't
made many hardware recom-
mendations beyond the ones about
lights because putting in locks
wouldn't be cost effective. We had
19 thefts in the last month.
Seventeen of them were out of
unlocked rooms. Locks are only
good if they are used."
The Campus Police do not plan
to recommend hiring additional
officers, although the department
is currently interviewing to fill one
opening for a patrolman.
Voswinkel commented, "We will
continue to change the patterns of
patrolling to respond to the area
plagued by thefts."
1'he college requests for more
lighting were organized by Baker
Master Jeffrey Kurtzman.
Voswinkel thinks that Kurtzman's
initial request has caused the
colleges to evaluate their security
situation to everyone's benefit.
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Cooper, Jeanne. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, February 4, 1983, newspaper, February 4, 1983; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245521/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.