I had a great time this evening attending the Scholar Athlete Reception, at which the students with the highest GPAs in each sport were recognized along with all students in all sports with high GPAs.  Each of these accomplished students spoke appreciatively about their time at Rice and graciously recognized their favorite professors and mentors. One student told of how typical it is of Rice that her coach always congratulated her on her excellent grades. And another student similarly told of how her professors would take the time to ask how her competitions were going.  These students truly exemplify how Rice students so often exceed even our highest aspirations for them.

Professor Rob Griffin, Master of Hanszen College and Faculty Athletic Representative, spoke movingly about how his children have been embraced and supported by some of the athletes recognized during the ceremony. He said that his hope for his children is not just that they become excellent students and excellent athletes but that they become Rice student athletes. It is a great aspiration! The event was a great chance to remember how fortunate I am (and we all are) to be at Rice in the company of outstanding students and dedicated faculty teachers.

On Monday, I had my last two meetings at lunch and in the evening with the 2011-2012 SA and college presidents.  I will very much miss working with each and every one of them, individually and as a group.  Their accomplishments this year have made what I predict will be a lasting impact on Rice student life and academics.

More generally, their work is a reminder of how important effective student leadership is to our university community.  Many of the aspects of Rice that students, faculty and staff appreciate most and take for granted are only possible because of the hard work of student leaders.  These students are willing to give their time and energy, to have and to share a vision of how things might be improved at Rice, and to display the courage to face the criticism of those who do not share that vision.

So, the next time you see one of these student presidents be sure to thank them for what they have contributed to Rice and to you.  And for those of you who will remain students at Rice next year, consider the ways in which you can serve in a leadership role to help move Rice into the future or the ways in which you can support those who do.

One of my favorite parts of my life at Rice is working with high school chemistry teachers. For several years now, my colleague Carolyn Nichol and I have offered a graduate course for these teachers in what is called “content pedagogy,” meaning that we talk about successful strategies for teaching Chemistry. This is something I’ve studied and experimented with since 1985.

What I enjoy most is the enthusiasm of the teachers for the material. All of them love Chemistry and love teaching but have experienced the frustration of their students not understanding Chemistry concepts.  So they are looking for new ideas and better ways.  The dedication of these teachers is amazing: all of them commit to a 3 hour class each week on a Thursday evening after a long day of teaching, and some of them drive more than an hour each way from their schools to Rice. The contrast is stark between the reality of these teachers and the fictitious political attack on teachers as the problem with American education. These teachers deserve our support, encouragement, resources, and gratitude.

One of my interesting tasks for this week is reading several books recommended to me by the committee for this Fall’s Common Reading. The committee, chaired by Matt Taylor and Shelah Crear and composed of students and faculty, has identified several excellent books from which I must choose carefully. The challenge is to find a book that is of sufficient general interest to warrant having every new student read it and of sufficient academic merit to be the first assigned reading for these new students. To provide the foundation for a campus wide discussion, I asked the committee to recommend books which disrupt our ways of thinking.

Reading the books this year made me reflect on last year’s selection, “The Honor Code” by Anthony Appiah. I was personally very pleased with that choice, as I thought that Appiah’s book met all of these criteria. In particular, Appiah’s thesis that honor can be used to spark moral revolution was a challenge that I believed the campus needs to consider as we think and learn about the problems of our world. I loved Appiah’s profound reflection on the histories of dishonorable behavior, asking “what were they thinking?” I hoped that all of us would be challenged to look at our world, both locally and globally, and ask what our current practices might be that future generations will look back at us and ask what were we thinking?

Of course, a book can’t disrupt our thinking if it isn’t read. Although I heard reports of excellent discussions of the book during O-week, attendance at Appiah’s lecture was disappointing and I wondered how many students had read the book fully. Was the book too academic? Too challenging? Too ponderous? Too boring? Or was it as good a selection as I had hoped?

This year, the committee has sent me several excellent options, a couple of which I have found so interesting as to be difficult to put down. I’m curious about the thoughts of others about what would make a good Common Reading text.

On Friday, I had two fun meetings with leaders of two of Rice’s most revered traditions. In the afternoon, I met with the Beer-Bike coordinators, Teddy Grodek and Phillip Tarpley, to hear their plans for this year’s big day. I’m impressed by their understanding of the complexities of the event and by their vision of the future of Beer-Bike. In the evening, I had the pleasure of joining our student director of O-week, Katherine McConachie, and the newly selected O-week coordinators at Lyle’s for the start of their workshop. They are a wonderful group, energetic and creative.

In both cases, I was reminded of a significant challenge our student leaders face. Innovation is exciting and change brings constant improvement, but traditions are strong and everyone resists change in tradition. College campuses are particularly resistant to change. I think it is vitally important that we support our students who are willing to see possibilities for improvement, whether in greater safety, more inclusive participation, or more fun. Some changes occur by accident, others by necessity. But the best changes come from a vision of what might be and a willingness to face the inevitable resistance. I applaud their ingenuity and their courage.

As a personal note, Paula and I are writing this blog at 40,000 ft while flying to Tacoma to meet our new grandson, Parker, for the first time! I’ll post a picture on the Dean Hutch facebook page when we get there.