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Three colleges look to fill masters vacancies

By Jieya Wen and Sean Dillard     11/18/13 6:00pm

Currently, three colleges - Sid Richardson, Hanszen and Lovett Colleges - are searching for a new set of masters, according to Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson.

"Each master, either a couple or individual, is appointed for a five-year term. There is a constant rotation of masters; we don't search for them all simultaneously because it is easier for us to spread it out over a five-year period," Hutchinson said. "Every year, we will be looking for at least two colleges' masters." 

Hutchinson said the college masters must bring a certain kind of academic presence to the residential life of the college while expressing an interest in education beyond the classroom.



"One of the masters at each of the colleges has to be a tenured member of the faculty, which means they are scholars and teachers," Hutchinson said. "The masters serve as teachers in students' cultural and social programming."

Nick Peterson, chair of Hanszen College's masters search committee, said masters should serve as a resource for a variety of students.

"We ask for the power to adapt, be flexible and be open to any number of relationships," Peterson, a Hanszen junior, said. "At the same time, [masters] need to have confidence [and] the ability to step in when necessary [while letting] the students demonstrate self-governance."

At the beginning of the semester, Hutchinson and President David Leebron sent out an email to all faculty members, according to Hanszen President Caroline Gutierrez. 

"There was a faculty reception held at the Brown College Master's House for interested faculty members to attend and learn more about the mastership," Gutierrez, a Hanszen senior, said. "After the reception, we followed up with each of the candidates, as well as some faculty members recommended by other Hanszenites to reach out and gauge interest. Applications were given to those that expressed direct interest in becoming Hanszen masters."

Each college has its own masters search committee, according to Gutierrez. A committee chair was selected at the beginning of September 2013. Two weeks after the chairs were selected, the colleges formed their masters search committees.

Each college's process for searching for masters is based on the timeline set by Dean Hutchinson, according to Peterson. 

"We laid out a few deadlines that we want things to be done by," Peterson said. "We set aside the search interview, gave time [for casual visits] and isolated a few days to catch up with the committee. The bulk of the work is being done in the six [or] seven weeks preceding Thanksgiving break. It is our job to provide as much feedback as we can on how each candidate fits our college, but it is ultimately the decision of the Dean."

Sid Richardson arranges their process around two sets of interviews, Daniel Plants, a freshman on Sid Richardson's masters search committee, explained.

"The first round is mostly informal with [the] intent of getting to know the couples," Plants said. "The second is much more based on the logistical issues of different scenarios the master might be put into. We also invite the candidates to many Sid-related events, such as powderpuff and study breaks. This is to help the candidates and other Sidizens interact."

Hutchinson said that the residential college experience serves as the heart and core to the Rice undergraduate experience.

"The quality of the residential college experience is deeply dependent on the effectiveness of the masters," Hutchinson said. "It also depends upon the enthusiasm and dedication of the masters to share their wisdom and knowledge with the students."

Man on the Street

"I really encourage the committee to search for candidates who are willing to go above and beyond to preserve [Rice's] genuine culture of care. I feel the ideal college masters should not just be approachable and receptive, but willing to reach out to students and check up on them if they sense something is wrong." - Sid Richardson College sophomore Alishan Gezgin

"I'm looking for people who are easily approachable, friendly, and who are familiar with Sid's culture. They should know Sid's culture because that will at least assure they know what they are getting into concerning the parties." - Sid Richardson College sophomore Andrew Huie

"I believe a large part of a master's role is being visible around the college. That way, they are able to interact closely with students and act as mentors for residential college members. We have many great master candidates for Lovett, so I'm excited to find out who our masters will be for next year." - Lovett College senior Megan Chang

"We want masters who will understand that we can make our own decisions and won't intrude on our student government's decision making processes unless absolutely critical for the wellbeing of the college." - Lovett College senior Maria-Paula Munoz

"We want someone with new and innovative ideas to lead the college forward, whether it be introducing new traditions, new ideas for Hanszen government, or even just fun new study breaks." - Hanszen College junior Kaitlyn Johnson

"I think it's really fantastic to be able to engage in thoughtful discussions in a casual setting - dinner, study breaks, etc. - with an older faculty member with a bit more life experiences. It's what I came to Rice for - to constantly be provoked to think." - Hanszen College Denise Lee



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