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The In ERVICE '/ mCE COfsftlMUING STUDIE^AT 1968-1998 In The Service»Society CONTINUING STUDIES AT RICE, 1968-1998 By Melissa Kean l-ioH^'^5'5^ / In the Service of Society A University in Contact with theCommunity WhenRiceUniversity'sfirst ries ofpublic lectures. This series art, philosophy and politics, sub- president, Edgar Odell Lovett, an- wouldbedesignedtoallowthefac- jects will be chosen ofcurrent in- nounced at the school's 1912 open- ulty to offer their neighbors in terestaswellasthoseofassuredand inghis boldvision forthefutureof Houston the best that they had to permanent value. " — thefledglinginstitute,hearticulated give their learning. Lovett envi- ThelectureseriesfortheHouston a plan that must have seemed out- landishtomany. Aimingtocreatea "From the domains of literature, history, sci- university that would ultimately ence, ART, PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS, SUBJECTS competewiththebestintheworld, WILL BE CHOSEN OF CURRENT INTEREST AS WELL he had an ambition tor undisputed AS THOSE OF ASSURED AND PERMANENT VALUE. " academicexcellenceatRicethatwas — Rice University President Edgar Ddell Lxivett, 1912 trulybreathtaking. OneimportantaspectofLovett's blueprint for the new school, as sioned these lectures as "authori- communitythatLovettoutlinedbe- outlined in his Book oftheOpening. tativeincharacter,butasnon-tech- gan withgreat fanfare,as talksona wassustained contact between the nical and popular in treatment as varietyofsubjectsdrewlargecrowds instituteanditssurroundingcom- theirsubjectspermit. Fromthedo- to the campus. Soon, however, the munity by means ofa regular se- mainsofliterature,history,science. Rice administration and faculty, A WINDOW ON THE WORLD WorldaffairshavefromtimetotimeinfluencedtheprogramsandeventsatContinuingStudies. • In 1991, A SECTION df the Berlin • The Language Programs once de- Wall, donated by the Houston firm signed COURSES FOR THE WIVES OF A OF Browning-Ferris, was placed in GROUPDFSaudiArabianaccountants. THE courtyard NEXT TO THE CONTINU- The curriculum included introduc- ING Studies Center as a symbol of tion TO U.S. CULTURE, COOKING, AND freedom from oppression. SHOPPING AT THE GALLERIA. • The manager of the 1992 • As China opened its doors to the Republican National Convention, West, Continuing Studies kept par- held in Houston, came from Wash- ticipants INFORMED. In 1979, IT OF- ington TO speak in a course titled FERED courses on TRADE WITH CHINA "Anything But Conventional. " ANDLATER,ONTHEMANYCHANGESTHAT TOOK PLACE IN THE 19BDS AND 'gOS. • When NASA prepared to send an astronaut crew into space to • In 1997, WHEN NASA ANNOUNCED link up with the Russian MIR FINDINGS THAT INDICATED LIFE MIGHT space station, it called on Rice EXIST ON Mars, NASA scientist and Continuing Studies to train the Thecourse"Summit101,"asitwasdubbed Rice alumnus D/«/id McKay was among crew and hundreds of other NASA Inanewsarticle,drewmorethan200persons severalinternationally known speak- employees on understanding EwchoonowmaincteSdumtmoiktnoowfImnodruestarbioaultiztehdeN1a9ti9o0ns ersINACOURSEON"THEORIGINOFLlFEI Russian culture. heldatRiceUniversity. Earth, Mars, and Beyond. " caught up in the more immediate New Research school toward greater involvement press ofbuilding the degree-grant- with the world beyond the campus ing portions of the school, turned Rice had for years been seen by asworkincomputing,spacescience, theirattentionelsewhere.Publiclec- manyHoustonresidentsasan"aca- andotherareasexpanded.Onthecor- turescontinued onasporadic basis, demic jewel," though a rather in- nerstoneofoneof-thefirstbuildings andshortseriesofcoursesweresome- timidatingone. By thelate 1960s, atRicewasthephrase"scienceinthe times offered, but Lovett's thenotionofauniversityasaplace serviceofsociety,"andthatnowwas overarchingvisionofagreatuniver- set apart, an institution where seenasasignificantresponsibilityof sityinconstantcontactanddialogue scholarswroteandtaught,secluded theuniversity. Ricealsofound itself with its community faded. Rice's from the daily life of the society in greater competition with Texas — reputation for insularity seemed to that surrounded them, wassimply state universities which had im- growasitshighreputationforschol- nolongertenable.Throughoutthe proved marke—dly since the end of arlyexcellenceincreased.Intruth,al- nation, colleges and universities WorldWarII fortheregion'sbest thoughthereweremajorexceptions. werepulled intonewrelationships studentsand faculty. Ricedid havea tendency to remain with their communities as they Inthisatmosphereoftheincreas- isolated"behindthehedges." educated increasing numbers of ing strength and relevance ofuni- Academic Jewel students and produced more re- versities to the life ofthe nation, search that was used by industry, Riceseizedanimportantopportu- The idea ofcreating aformal or- medicine, and government to im- nity to forge closer ties to its own ganizationtopromoteandplanpro- prove the lives ofcitizens. community. grams tor the outside community At Rice too, the researchinterests tookrootonly in the late 1960s. of the faculty began to move the InstructorKristinFlanaganwithinternationalstudentsintheEnglishasaSecondLanguageProgram. A Bridge to the Community, 1967-1973 OnDecember5,1967,Rice to provide such opportunities. "Al- A Changing City president Kenneth S. Pitzer an- thoughmuchplanningremainstobe nounced the establishment of the done,"hewrote,"itmightbeantici- The story ofContinuing Studies OfficeofContinuingStudies(OCS), pated that this program . . . will be at Rice isastoryaboutgrowthand tobedirectedbyelectricalengineer- self-supportingandwillprobablyoi- change, about diversification, and ingprofessorCarlWischmeyer.The lercoursesofoneortwoweeksdura- aboutan institutionandacity that newofficewasgiventhemandateto tion.Instructorswillbeobtainedtrom havechanged in fundamental ways beginbridgingthegulfbetweenthe the Rice faculty, other universities, in thelast 30years. universityanditsHoustonneighbors and from industrial organizations. From its inception. Continuing by offering useful continuing edu- Emphasis will begiven toengineer- Studies was intended to address cation of an academic caliber befit- ingandotherfieldsotinteresttoRice problemsofchange. Bornatatime ting RiceUniversity. alumni, butthecourseswillbeopen when the pace of transformation Noting an increasing needamong toallqualifiedapplicants." seemed newly troubling, the pro- areaprofessionalsforopportunitiesto These ideas and concerns articu- gram was designed to help give "learn ot recent advances in knowl- lated in President Pitzer's original people the tools todeal with prob- edgeandapplicationmethodsintheir announcement have shaped the lems ofincreasingly rapid change. fields," PresidentPitzeroutlinedthe courseofContinuingStudiesatRice Toaverygreat extent. Continuing generalthinkingbehindRice'splans throughoutitshistory. Studiesstill serves thispurpose to- WiSCHMEYER STRESSED THAT THE PROGRAM that was closely in tune with the WOULD BE "DESIGNED PRIMARILY TO BRIDGE THE changingcompositionandneedsof WIDENING GAP BETWEEN FORMAL EDUCATION AND the vibrant city that surrounds THE SWIFT CHANGES IN BASIC KNOWLEDGE" AND RiceUniversity. WOULD BECOME "A POTENTIALLY STRONG FORCE IN Inspiteoftheambitiousgoalsfor THE ANTI-OBSOLESCENCE BATTLE. " the program, OCS began its life with rather modest resources. Its initialfundingconsistedofa$1,000 day,althoughofteninwaysthatits waythatwasappropriatetoauni- loan from the university, to be re- founderscouldnothaveanticipated. versity of high academic quality paidattheendofthefiscalyear. It The evolution ol Continuing and stature. Third was the insis- was housed in a room in the Studies and its functions has been tenceonthepartoftheuniversity's Abercrombie Engineering Labora- shaped by four major factors that administration that Continuing tory, staffed with thepart-timedi- have interacted with one another Studies pay its own way, using its rectorand asecretary. andwiththelargersocialandeco- revenuestooffsetallofitsexpenses. Spreading the Word nomic forces at work in Houston. The fourth factor was Continuing First and most important was its Studies' commitment to help Wischmeyer began the work of missiontospurthegrowthotcloser Houstonians deal with an era of building theprogram by spreading tiesbetweentheuniversityand its rapid change through specific thewordabout Rice's newprogram wider community by serving the courseofferings. within the Houstoncommunity. In needsofthepublic.Secondwasthe All these factors played a major articles that clarified and expanded desire to use Rice's resources in a partinthedevelopmentofanoffice on Pitzer's original announcement,