Academs need funding, too

By Staff Editorial     9/11/08 7:00pm

For people who hold only a little about this university, the name Rice is generally associated with strong science and engineering programs. Thanks to the record $100 million Rice received in external funding last year (see story, page 1), we can be sure of maintaining a strong reputation in those areas in the near future. However, this shouldn't mean that the social sciences and humanities should be neglected. More funding for non-science research, more department chairs and better resources are all aims the university should have in mind. Career fairs focused on those of us not planning on working for engineering firm or energy companies could be another. With the strong pursuit of these goals, Rice's overall reputation cannot go anywhere but up, and someday a few lucky academs might be able to avoid the presently inevitable reaction of "You're majoring in English? But you go to Rice!"

With the extreme importance modern society places on scientific research and breakthroughs, it is easy for the less flashy disciplines to get lost in the fray. We appreciate the efforts Rice has made to take this phenomenon into consideration - the $100 million includes $7.2 million aimed at educating school principals - and we hope to see these efforts continue in the future.

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