Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts over email, and to those who signed the petition. We'll inactivate this petition for now, since rather than needing to call a special meeting, the Speaker has agreed to devote a good portion of the next scheduled Senate meeting to this issue (on Feb. 17). Please turn out for the meeting so that we have a vigorous and in-depth exploration of this plan.

Previously:

As faculty members at Rice University, we have deep concerns about the methodology for the proposed growth of the undergraduate student body by 20% (800 students) over the next few years. We believe that the administration is making these plans in good faith and with the intention of maintaining the excellent reputation and quality of the university. However, we are concerned about the details of the financial reasoning behind this decision, and also the abbreviated manner in which this has been presented to the faculty, staff, and student body. A university is the sum of its people, and a decision of this magnitude must be discussed and debated in a full and open forum.

This decision would have implications far-reaching across the Schools of the University and consequences for the future character of Rice itself. We know that these are economically challenging times, and we also know that the endowment growth rate has faltered at the same time that expenses and losses have increased during Covid. We are not simply opposed to change; there are certainly methods to grow the student body in a planned and deliberate manner, so we ask for a convening of, at the very least, an open forum for faculty from across the university to discuss these issues in both a quantitative and a qualitative fashion.

The Constitution of the Faculty Senate states:

"A petition signed by fifty voting members of the faculty shall require the Speaker to convene a special meeting of the university faculty in plenary session to discuss a specific matter."

By adding their names to this petition, the undersigned state that they are voting members of the Rice faculty and are hereby calling on the Speaker of the Senate to convene such a special plenary meeting during the month of February to discuss the growth plan in a fully documented fashion, with consideration of the tradeoff between the risks and benefits of the currently proposed growth. The meeting must be held in a manner that enables full participation by participants, including the ability to make motions, debate them, and vote on them. Thank you.

(Photo taken from the Rice archives, photo credit: Jeff Fitlow.)