Fall 2012 - Rice University

Issue 18 • Fall 2012From the Office of Public Affairs and the Office of the Associate Provost at Rice UniversityLocal Students Learn toSpeak ChinesePage 2Rice Alumni TravelProgram: LifelongLearning and CommunityEngagementPage 3A Bridge to ProsperityPage 4Undergraduate Researchon Bullying InfluencesHISD PolicyPage 5Developing SociallyResponsible LeadersPage 6Mathematics TeachersGather at RicePage 7A summer of service and transformation: Two Rice students participated in an internship in Pune, India, where they workedwith malnourished children.Inside:adventurous Alumni:. Seestory on Page 3.Rice Centennial Art Exhibitionto Feature African-AmericanArtistsRice Gallery is collaborating with the HumanitiesResearch Center (HRC) to develop educational programmingfor Rice University’s Centennial ArtExhibition, “Tradition Redefined: The Larry and BrendaThompson Collection of African American Art,” whichwill be on view at the Art Gallery Sept. 13–Nov. 18, 2012.The mission of this partnership is to share the collectionwith the Rice and Houston communities withthoughtful programming and opportunities for engagementat every level.The collection features 72 works by 60 African-American artists from around the country and strivesto redefine the landscape of American art by offering amore in-depth, inclusive understanding of the aestheticContinued on Page 3 »Susan McAshan Interns ServeHouston and BeyondSince 2010, generous grants from the Clayton Fund andthe Susan Vaughan Foundation have enabled 49 studentsto undertake full-time service work during the summer.Named for Houston leader Susan McAshan, the internshipsare open to students completing the minor inPoverty, Justice and Human Capabilities (PJHC) at Rice.This unique interdisciplinary minor emphasizesa capabilities approach, which considers what peopleare able to do and be — for example, live to old age andengage in economic and political activities — ratherthan strictly what they have or do not have. Directedby Diana Strassmann, the Carolyn and Fred McManisDistinguished Professor in the Practice, and housed inthe Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality,the program requires a substantial commitment to serviceContinued on Page 2 »

Local Students Learn to Speak ChineseThanks to a program organizedby Rice University’s Susanne M.Glasscock School of ContinuingStudies, a host of local studentsspent their summer learningChinese as a way to appreciate theculture of that country.The StarTalk Chinese Student EnrichmentProgram taught 230 local-area studentsto speak Chinese. The seven participatingschools were Knox Junior High School inConroe ISD; River Oaks Elementary andHouston Academy of International Studiesin Houston ISD; George Junior High SchoolLearning a language and more: Two studentslearn how to greet each other in Chinese, whileexploring the treasures that the Chinese culture hasto offer.in Lamar CISD; Sablatura Middle School inPearland ISD; Stafford Primary School inStafford MSD; and St. John’s School, MiddleSchool Campus.Administered by the Center for CollegeReadiness at the Glasscock School, the classesfocused on language instruction and allowedstudents to explore the richness of Chineseculture through various activities in an interactivelearning environment.With funding from the National SecurityLanguage Initiative, the Institute of ChineseLanguage Teaching established the StarTalkprogram. StarTalk’s mission is to increase thenumber of Americans learning, speaking andteaching foreign languages by offering K–16students and teachers creative and engagingsummer language education and teacherdevelopment programs.The courses provided students withunderstanding of the basic principles of listening,speaking, reading and writing theChinese language across three communicationmodes (interpersonal, interpretive andpresentational) and five goals (communication,cultures, connections, comparisons andcommunities), as outlined in the NationalStandards for Foreign Language Learning. Toenrich the classroom experience, students alsolearned Chinese yoyo, fan dance and painting.“What I liked best about this program isthat we did not just focus on the language, butalso on the similarities and differences in society,”said a student participant from HoustonAcademy for International Studies.A separate teacher training workshop,conducted by Meng Yeh, senior lecturer andcoordinator of the Chinese Program in theCenter for the Study of Languages at RiceUniversity, helped teachers develop learnercenteredand activity-based lessons andcurricula that incorporated cultural appreciationin a hands-on manner.“We hired 15 teachers, three culture/activityteachers and one assessment specialist. Wealmost doubled our anticipated enrollmentnumbers,” said Rebecca Sanchez, assistantdirector of the Institute for Chinese LanguageTeaching/StarTalk.“There are so many opportunities here forstudent learning and for teacher professionaldevelopment. We look forward to developingnew school partnerships in the upcomingyear and expanding the program even morefor next summer.”◗ For additional information, visithttp://collegeready.rice.edu/startalk.Kristal M. SchefflerAssistant Marketing DirectorSusanne M. Glasscock School ofContinuing StudiesInternship Continued from Page 1learning.McAshan interns have served communitiesin Houston, throughout the United Statesand around the world. This summer, 20 studentswere placed in internships that rangedfrom mentoring disadvantaged youth inthe Baylor Teen Clinic and Communities inSchools programs at the Texas Medical Center,to assisting resettled refugees in Sacramentoand Houston, to teaching English in Tanzaniaand Ecuador. The interns also worked withhomeless women and men in Houston; ledsummer programs in Atlanta, El Paso andFort Worth; helped survivors of human traffickingin Nepal; and cared for orphans andabandoned children in Argentina and Belizeamong other projects.In previous summers, notable placementshave included translating for immigrantsseeking medical care and legal services,befriending intellectually disabled adults,advocating for foster children, tutoring adultsin basic literacy and teaching at a Nepaleseshelter for children affected by HIV/AIDS.McAshan internships are transformative.Interns are both challenged by the circumstancesthey observe and humbled by thegenerosity of the communities they serve.Recalling her 2011 work with malnourishedchildren and their families in Pune, India,Sherry Lin ’12 wrote: “Day by day, in brokenMarathi/English conversations, I did just alittle bit to encourage the young children andparents, to let them know that they are bothcapable and deserving of education, of basichealth. And day by day, I realized how honoredand truly blessed I am to have been givenan opportunity to be doing work I have grownto love.”Several returning interns have continuedtheir commitment to service beyondgraduation through the Peace Corps, Teachfor America and Princeton in Africa. Forothers, the internship provided valuable professionalexperience. McAshan interns havebeen accepted by prestigious professionaland graduate schools, including StanfordLaw School, the University of California atSan Francisco Medical School and MountSinai School of Medicine among others. Forall, this experience is a significant moment intheir education.Anne DaytonProgram Manager, Poverty, Justiceand Human CapabilitiesSenior Staff Editor, Feminist Economics2R i c e A t L a r g e

Rice Alumni Travel Program: LifelongLearning and Community EngagementAs Rice University celebrates its centennial thisOctober, the Rice Alumni Travel program is celebratinga future rich with increased communityengagement and lifelong learning for alumni, friendsand community partners by offering at least a dozeneducational trips around the world.These trips provide an opportunity for Rice alumni and friends toenjoy the benefits of group travel while having the ability to customizetheir tour and personalize it to their liking. The program works withprivate tour companies to create itineraries and offerings in line withwhat travelers want and have come to enjoy.For the past 30 years, the Rice Alumni Travel program has grownfrom a handful of trips to now offering a comprehensive portfolio oftravel options, ranging from cruises and land programs to family tripsand those designed specifically for younger alumni. On many of thetours, the Rice Alumni Travel program works with Rice faculty memberswho accompany travelers and serve as lecturers, offering their knowledgeand expertise. According to past travelers, this educational component isoften the most highly regarded and successful aspect of the entire travelexperience.Although Rice alumni are the most frequent travelers and the primaryaudience to which trips are marketed, the Rice Alumni Travelprogram works to support the needs of friends of the university andother partners. Since 2002, 30 percent of all travelers on Rice-sponsoredtrips have been friends of the university. Friends and community membersoften learn about trips from our loyal alumni travelers, 55 percentof who have taken more than one trip through the program.In order to further enhance the program, the Rice Alumni Travelprogram is partnering with organizations in the Houston communitybeginning in 2013. The first community partnership will be with theHouston Zoo on a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The zoo’ssenior veterinarian Joseph Flanagan will be on board educating travelersabout this integral part of our world. This partnership will enableparticipants from the Houston area to join together on predeparturemeetings and receptions and learn about the work of each organizationand how they work.A Passport toAdventure: Rice alumnienjoy the benefit of grouptravel and the knowledgeof Rice faculty members,who offer lectures on thetrips.◗ If you are interested in learning more about the Rice Alumni Travelprogram or receiving a copy of our catalog, complete with all the travelopportunities in store for 2013, please contact Dan Stypa in the Officeof Alumni Affairs at stypa@rice.edu or 713-348-5094, or visit the RiceAlumni Travel program online at http://alumni.rice.edu/travel.Dan StypaAssistant Director, Alumni AffairsExhibit Continued from Page 1and social concerns of African-American artists.Rice Gallery will host a Brown Bag Lecture Series titled “Professors’Perspectives” to create an engaging, less formal environment for Ricefaculty to share their research related to the collection. In addition,the HRC has arranged for top graduate students in art history, Englishand African–American religion to visit 10 Houston-area high-schoolclassrooms to present lectures that relate to the exhibit. Following thepretalk, the high school students will visit campus to view “TraditionRedefined” and tour student and faculty studio spaces.A Display of Diversity: (Above)“The Wolf at Piermont New York” byPalmer Hayden and (left) “Franco andTessa” by Camille Billops are two ofthe paintings that will be on view.Rice University PresidentDavid Leebron noted, “Hostingthis exhibition during Rice’scentennial year celebrates animportant collection of Americanart as well as the diversity of bothour country and our university.Art is one of the important wayswe seek to understand our societyand express the human experience,and this exhibition continues Rice’s increasing commitment tobringing important works of art to our campus. ”“Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collectionof African American Art” is organized by the David C. Driskell Centerfor the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans andthe African Diaspora at the University of Maryland at College Park.This exhibition is supported, in part, by a special fund from the Officeof the President at the University of Maryland at College Park, a grantfrom the Maryland State Arts Council, and the generosity of Larry andBrenda Thompson◗ For details about programming and events, visithttp://traditionredefined.rice.edu.Aryn Neurock ’15Rice Sophomoref a l l 2 0 1 2 3

A Bridge to ProsperityA group of Rice University students spent the spring and summer fightingpoverty in Houston’s Fifth Ward as part of the Community Bridgesprogram.Founded in 2011, Community Bridges is ajoint effort sponsored by the Kinder Institutefor Urban Research, the Center for CivicEngagement and the Office of the Dean ofUndergraduates that strengthens the relationshipbetween Rice and the Fifth Ward throughacademic course work and active fieldwork toreduce poverty in the community.“The Fifth Ward is a historic, impoverishedcommunity in northeast Houston, where thepaths toward socioeconomic advancement arelimited,” said Community Bridges founderJecca Steinberg ’11.“Needs within these areas exhaust availableresources, making it an ideal locationfor the Community Bridges long-term volunteerprojects, Steinbergsaid. “Each year, CommunityBridges undergraduates willbe encouraged to gain a profoundunderstanding of thecommunity, engage in activereflection, explore academicliterature related to their fieldworkand learn from theirpeers.”Community leadersand Rice faculty provideknowledge, support and guidanceto student volunteers,while focusing on creatingopportunities for upwardsocioeconomic mobilitywithin the community,”Steinberg said.The 23 CommunityBridges participants were matched with aproject that best suited their interests. Theyworked at Small Steps Nurturing Center, theFifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corp,the Julia C. Hester House, the Pleasant HillLeadership Institute and YES Prep Fifth Ward.Rice students taught computer and danceclasses, tutored high school students in anafterschool program, provided data andresearch support as well as fundraising andspecial-event assistance and worked hands-onwith young children or with programs focusedon improving early-childhood education.At the same time, students participated ina once-a-week sociology course geared towardtheir weekly internship work that focused onthe value of volunteerism and the developmentof a just, equal urban community.“Community Bridges is designed to be awin-win,” said Michael Emerson, the Allynand Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology andco-director of the Kinder Institute and aCommunity Bridges supervisor.“Students experience the real world — itspotential and its limitations — allowing themto integrate their course learning with thecomplexity of attempting to work for positivechange. The organizations benefit by havinginterns provided to them to help work on tasksand research they often otherwise could notConnecting A Community To Opportunities: Sarah Brittain ’13 and Lilly Yu ’14teach an afterschool computer programming class to a group of YES Prep students.get to or would have to use scarce resourcesto fund.”Sarah Brittain ’13 and Lilly Yu ’14 spenttheir spring teaching a computer programmingclass at YES Prep. Over three months,they taught a group of 16, 6th-grade girls howto make websites, manipulate photos and createcomputer games. “I saw a side of Houstonand people in this community that I knew hadto exist but had never seen. You never reallyunderstand what it’s like in these communitiesuntil you are really there,” Brittain said.Chethan Ramprasad ’12 spent his semesterworking at Small Steps Nurturing Center,which often meant direct work with youngchildren during their daily routine at the preschool.“I’m hoping to be a pediatrician forunderserved populations, but I didn’t realizethat until I came to Rice and having opportunitieslike (Small Steps) to determine that,”he said.Joel Goza, with the Pleasant HillLeadership Institute, said the six CommunityBridges fellows he worked with left an indeliblemark on the organization. “The fellows makemeaningful and life-changing investments inthe lives of individual students through mentoringand tutoring. The institute could nothave survived this semester without the commitmentand hard work of our Rice students.But thanks to their hard work, we thrived.”Ashley Weathers, Small Steps NurturingCenter’s director of development, pointedto the research and ideas from Rice studentsas a key benefit to involvementwith Community Bridges. “Theyprovided significant ideas andresearch to Small Steps, andin return, received invaluableexperience by working with andserving families living in povertyin Houston,” she said. “SmallSteps applauds the CommunityBridges program, I believe thatthe first year of the program wasa huge success.”Thanks to the generoussupport of Catherine Bracken’79, an alumna committed tosocial justice causes like theCommunity Bridges program,seven Community Bridges participantscontinued their workthis summer at their assignednonprofit organization as Bracken Fellows.This fall, six students are on board to continueworking with their partner organizations for asecond semester and to help the 2013 cohort ofCommunity Bridges fellows.“It is a great privilege for Rice to be ableto work with the Fifth Ward,” said Steinberg.“With our sustained partnership, together wecan enrich both communities and have a lasting,positive impact.”Megan DillinghamCommunications ManagerKinder Institute of Urban Research4R i c e A t L a r g e

Undergraduate Research on Bullying Influences HISD PolicyWhen Darren Arquero was a juniorat Rice University in 2009, he collaboratedwith Equality Texas todesign and execute research onbullying policies in the HoustonIndependent School District(HISD).Two years later, his work would help contributeto HISD’s historic inclusion of lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoplein policies on employment discrimination andbullying.Arquero’s project occurred through theSeminar and Practicum in Engaged Research,a program of Rice University’s Center for theStudy of Women, Gender and Sexuality opento juniors and seniors of all majors, throughwhich students partner with nonprofit organizationsin Houston.Arquero collaborated with Paul Scottand Lindsay Marsh on Equality Texas’s SafeSchools Initiative, a program to prevent andintervene in harassment and bullying in Texasschools.“My motivation for this project,” Arquerosaid, “stemmed from personally experiencingthe pressure to stay closeted in fear of physicaland emotional safety as a queer youth,especially growing up in a small suburbancommunity.”When Arquero began his research, nopolicy existed in HISD specifically addressingbullying or harassment based on real orperceived sexual orientation or gender identityand expression.Through a 20-item questionnaire andinterviews with head counselors in eightHouston-area high schools, Arquero foundmany barriers existed for students andteachers seeking relief from harassment anddiscrimination.Counselors were apprehensive aboutreporting bullying, especially verbal incidents,so only a few physical instances were actuallydocumented. Counselors were also reluctantResearching For Change: Darren Arquero presents his work on bullying policies at Rice’s Center for theStudy of Women, Gender and Sexuality’s Engaged Research reception.to intervene in cases of workplace harassment.Teachers remained indifferent abouthomophobic language because of its commonusage and all eight head counselors noted thatcoaches actively used homophobic language.Arquero’s findings demonstrated thatLGBT bullying, harassment, and discriminationagainst students and staff are, in fact,concerns for HISD.“Realistically,” Arquero recalled, “I hopedthis project would at least catalyze discoursearound bullying, especially for LGBT youth.I did not realize it would garner the attentionit received from numerous communityorganizations the month after presenting myfindings.”Some of that attention came from JeniferRene Pool, former president of the HoustonGLBT Political Caucus. After working foryears to change HISD policies, she sawArquero present his work at a 2009 caucusmeeting.Pool had already shown HISD’s board thatdistricts across the country had implementednondiscrimination policies, and LGBT discriminationlawsuits against districts had run“This project showed me how research can be grounded incommunities striving to create concrete change at the locallevel.”— Darren Arqueroupwards of $32 million. With Arquero’s data,she was armed with current documentation ofthe realities of LGBT bullying in HISD.“It was the perfect storm,” remarked Pool.Paula Harris had become the HISD boardpresident and included the issue on the boardagenda, board members Anna Eastman andJuliet Stipeche advocated the policy revisions,the HISD administration was fully behindthe changes, and national media attentionhad turned to gay teen suicides. In that climate,Pool promoted LGBT inclusive revisionsbefore the HISD board, which voted unanimouslyto adopt the revisions in June andAugust 2011.Since the expansion of the language, Poolnoted, “I have been approached by many studentsand teachers expressing that they feelmuch more comfortable in their classroomsand on campus.”Reflecting on the impact of his work,Arquero said, “This project showed me howresearch can be grounded in communitiesstriving to create concrete change at the locallevel. Engaged research shows the possibilitiesof what can happen when theory and praxisare intimately connected. It just takes a littlepatience.”◗ For more information, visit http://cswgs.rice.edu.Josh Cory ’13Rice Seniorf a l l 2 0 1 2 5

Developing Socially Responsible LeadersEach summer, 30–40 Rice undergraduatesparticipate in a SummerMentorship Experience (SME)under the auspices of LeadershipRice. Through the SME program,students work under the guidanceof an executive mentor and havethe opportunity to apply coursework, professional experience andindividual mentoring to developtheir leadership capabilities andsense of community responsibility.Since the inception of the program fiveyears ago, student placements have increasedfrom Houston and Austin to San Francisco,New York and Washington, D.C., and internationallyin Paris, Beijing, and Pune, India.Rice students are well-educated, ambitiousand display a strong potential for leadership;though as undergraduates, they typically lacksubstantial professional knowledge. The SMEenables students to experience, often for thefirst time, the inner workings of the professionalwork environment.Unlike a standard internship, however,students are paired with an executive mentorwho guides their professional and civic development.For many students, these mentorshipsprove transformative as they learn more abouttheir community and their roles in it, whileforging new paths in future career directions.Through the SME, students are able to significantlycontribute to their organizations andlearn how to impact their communities.Rice students are welleducated,ambitious anddisplay a strong potentialfor leadership; thoughas undergraduates, theytypically lack substantialprofessional knowledge.The SME enables studentsto experience, often forthe first time, the innerworkings of the professionalwork environment.Leaders In The Making: A cadre of Rice students honed their leadership skills and improved their sense ofcommunity responsibility this summer.Before starting the mentorships, studentsattend a three-day course that focuses on leadershipin a professional context. This courseincludes significant professional developmentin topics ranging from etiquette and networkingto risk-taking and includes both theoreticaland practical discussions of professionalism.The class incorporates contemporary leadershiptheory in Authentic Leadership, theDiSC Personal Assessment and Followership.The program also hosts the Leaders Lunch,where local mentors, program coordinatorsand past SME participants are invited to jointhe students for a lunch to learn more aboutthe program and to hear guest speakers. Thisyear former SME participant Sam Oke, currentmentor Robert Gasparallo of SharpstownHigh School and John Hutchinson, dean ofundergraduates at Rice, were the guest speakers.Upon successful completion of the class,students then spend the summer performingsubstantive work with recognized leaders inpublic, private or nonprofit organizations.Throughout the summer, students arealso required to complete readings and writtenassignments that continue the theoreticaldiscussions of the class to augment their mentoringexperience. The pedagogical focus ofthe course is self-reflective, encouraging studentsto internalize the material and apply itto their personal situations and ambitions. Thegoal of the course is not to impose a particularleadership methodology on the students,but rather to provide a setting that empowersthe students to flourish in their own authenticleadership style and pursue personal goals.This year alone, 29 students were placed instart-up companies, nonprofit organizations,local school districts, government offices,medical centers, policy centers, think tanksand consulting firms across the U.S. Threestudents also interned at the French Institutefor International Relations in Paris and fourmore worked at Virgo Engineering or theDeenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune,India.The scope of SME and Leadership Riceis worldwide and produces a collection ofskilled, experienced and civically responsibleyoung leaders.◗ For more information visit http://leadership.rice.edu.M. Goat DomerackiProgram Coordinator, Envision GrantGraduate Assistant, Leadership Rice6R i c e A t L a r g e

Mathematics Teachers Gather at RiceFor the past 26 years, mathematics teachers in the Houston area haveconverged to the Rice University School Mathematics Project’s (RUSMP)Summer Campus Program (SCP) to hone their teaching skills and explorethe world of numbers.Established through National ScienceFoundation funding, this year’s programtook place at the Rice School/La Escuela Ricein June. The intensive four-week program metMonday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m.to 3:30 p.m. and served 80 K–12 teachers.The classes were separated into grade bands:elementary, intermediate, middle school andhigh school.The teachers, who came from five schooldistricts and one charter school, participatedin the rigorous program that exploredconcepts in geometry, measurement, datawas given to the effective use and integrationof technology such as calculators, computers,interactive white boards, tablets, online environmentsto support collaboration and coursemanagement, and web-based instruction inthe classroom. Lessons included incorporatingage-appropriate children’s literature, fieldtrips to the Rice University campus and to areamuseums, guest speakers, articles, journalsand resource books.Three colloquia brought the four groupstogether. Rice University’s Assistant Professorof Statistics Hadley Wickham addresseddirector for curriculum integration and clinicalassistant professor of mathematics, askedthe group to “Put on Your Math Goggles:Teaching Kids to See the Magic and Multitudeof Mathematics in Art.” Teachers and administratorsvisited the program to see exemplarymathematics instruction and to learn how tosupport high-quality mathematics instructionon their campuses.SCP ended with a commencement celebrationon the last day. A major goal of SCP is toempower teachers with an increased understandingof mathematics by promoting theinvestigation of mathematical concepts inthe real world and by linking the mathematicslearned in the classroom to mathematicsencountered outside the classroom.One teacher commented: “It is so nice“for 26 summers, mathematics teachers have come togetherto explore mathematics and to remember why they becamemathematics teachers — to instill the love and power ofmathematics in their students.”analysis, probability and statistics. Issuesrelated to access of materials and equity in theclassroom also were discussed.Master teachers, together with the RUSMPteam, selected appropriate resources for theclasses to illustrate the mathematical conceptsthat were presented. Planning for SCPincluded discussions as to which classroommanipulatives could be most effectively incorporatedinto the lesson. Careful consideration—Anne Papakonstantinouthe group on “The Three Key Dispositionsof a Statistician: Skepticism, Curiosityand Organization,” in the first week of theprogram.In the second week, Ngozi Kamau,RUSMP associate director for research andevaluation and adjunct assistant professorin the Department of Sociology, spoke about“Culture in the Classroom.” In the final presentation,Robin Ward, RUSMP associateMaking Math Come Alive: Teachers cometogether to improve their teaching skills and reenergizetheir desire to instill the love of mathematicsin their students.to be this energized and excited aboutteaching again.” RUSMP Director AnnePapakonstantinou shared that “for 26 summers,mathematics teachers have cometogether to explore mathematics and toremember why they became mathematicsteachers — to instill the love and power ofmathematics in their students.”Susan TroutmanRUSMP Associate Director forSecondary ProgramsCarolyn WhiteRUSMP Associate Director for Elementary andIntermediate Programsf a l l 2 0 1 2 7

Rice UniversityMulticultural Community Relations–MS 700P.O. Box 1892Houston, TX 77251-1892Nonprofit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDPermit #7549Houston, TexasInside this issue: Rice University students helpfight poverty in Houston's Fifth Ward by takingpart in the Community Bridges program. See storyon Page 4.David D. Medina, Director, Multicultural Community Relations, Office of Public Affairs