Faculty Senate working group to discuss Honor Council

By Anita Alem     1/20/14 6:00pm

The Faculty Senate has assembled a Working Group on the Honor Council and Graduate Students, according to an email from Speaker of the Faculty Senate Carl Caldwell and working group chair Graham Bader.

According to Bader, who is an associate professor of art history, the growth of Rice's graduate student population and its diversification prompted the formation of the working group.

He said the group is seeking the opinions and comments of the Rice community on the functioning of the Honor Code with regard to graduate students to guide its evaluation.

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"The [working group] hopes to solicit feedback related to its charge and make appropriate recommendations, if any, to the Faculty Senate," Bader said. "I have no specific expectations, [but] I do hope we'll receive thoughtful and productive comments."

The working group includes students and faculty from several different groups, including the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, the Office of the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the Student Association, Student Judicial Programs and the Graduate Student Council, according to the Faculty Senate website.

According to Honor Council Chair Adriana Bracho, both undergraduate and graduate students must sign the Honor Code when they begin their Rice career. Bracho, a McMurtry College senior, serves as an undergraduate representative to the working group.

"We've had one meeting [so far] to introduce everyone on the working group and [decide on] asking the students and faculty about their opinion on the Honor Code," Bracho said. "I hope to bring the undergraduates' perspective, and I'm also there to clarify a lot of points about the Honor Council and the Honor Code."

Graduate Student Association President Michael "Goat" Domeracki said he thinks the formation of the working group is beneficial.

"The Honor Code is a complex and very important element of student life here at Rice and any opportunity to evaluate it further is worth pursuing," Domeracki said. "I know our graduate student representatives to the council have done an amazing job and have raised issues in the past that need to be investigated more thoroughly."

Domeracki said the difference between graduate and undergraduate students should be considered when looking at the Honor Code.

"The graduate experience is different than the undergraduate, and the same Honor Code rules may not apply equitably to both, and I am glad, though not surprised, to see the university working with both faculty and students to evaluate the policy closely," Domeracki said. "This is just a further example of the great relationship the students have with the university administration."

Bader said the working group plans to present its findings to the Faculty Senate by mid-March.

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