Call to Conversation: Size

Call to Conversation: Size

Over the course of the fall semester, Rice University President David Leebron will engage in dialogue with the Rice community about the Call to Conversation, a document outlining the fundamental questions the president wants the university to address to secure its future. The following are some of the representative comments received on the Call to Conversation Web site (www.rice.edu/c2c) regarding the size of the university:

“A small student body at Rice affords our student body a wide range of benefits. Small class sizes create welcoming classroom environments, open up research opportunities for all who seek it and also foster close-knit college communities. However, expanding our student population to around 3,800 can still benefit from these luxuries, in addition to gaining new ones. I have noticed for quite some time that our limited departments have severely hampered not only class selection, but also competitiveness with other top research universities. If we are to remain an elite research university, we either have to expand our faculty (and student base) or keep it the same and make unfortunate but necessary cuts.”
—Undergraduate student

“I agree with the assessment that Rice needs to grow both undergraduate and graduate populations to remain competitive. That being said, an overarching concern in this endeavor should be to preserve the amazing sense of community that Rice currently enjoys, especially among undergraduate students.” ­
—Alumni

“We have become so small compared with our peers that we have become increasingly irrelevant. With so few alumni, we generate little visibility outside of Texas. Many of my colleagues north of the Mason-Dixon Line don’t know where Rice is located, or if they do, they think it is a four-year college. State institutions continue to grow, and it is increasingly difficult to compete successfully against these larger programs for graduate students, grant money and national recognition. The danger here is to be too cautious. If I would pick an optimum number, I would double the undergraduate population. … Houston is huge and growing. Rice must as well.” ­
—Faculty member

“The idea of having off-campus undergraduate housing (similar to the graduate apartments) seems to be an effective way to transition students from the fully integrated on-campus lifestyle to the more independent lifestyle of [living] off campus.”
—Undergraduate student

“I am in favor of the continued growth of the university into an institution of the first class. I believe the university is well-suited to accommodate such growth. It would include, of course, the addition of … more residential colleges, which I believe would benefit the university. I am very anxious to see growth in certain areas on the graduate education and research level.” ­
—Staff member