December 14, 2016

Rice University

Plenary Meeting of the Faculty - December 14, 2016

Faculty Senate Speaker Jeffrey Fleisher called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. He welcomed faculty members to the plenary session to approve the December 2016 degrees. Fleisher explained that under the recently approved changes to Rice’s degree conferral system, the Dean of Undergraduates would present the candidates for the undergraduate degrees, followed by the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, who would present the candidates for the advanced degrees, tasks previously performed by the University Committee for Examinations and Standing and the Graduate Council.

Fleisher called Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson to the podium. Hutchinson stated that he met on December 13, 2016, with Registrar David Tenney to review the list of undergraduate degree candidates. The names of the candidates were provided to the faculty in a printed booklet, while the totals were shown on a slide. Please see: UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE CANDIDATES. Hutchinson explained that the candidates were on target to meet the university’s graduation requirements, but because the final Fall 2016 grade deadline had not yet passed, the list was being put forward conditionally, assuming successful completion of in-progress courses, and no other sanctions which would otherwise preclude graduation. He said that no “exceptions” were being put forward. Hutchinson then stated that his endorsement of the list was a motion for the faculty to conditionally accept the candidates for December 2016 conferral. Fleisher asked if there were any questions, but there were none. Keith Cooper then seconded the motion. The faculty present voted unanimously for approval.

Fleisher called Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Seiichi Matsuda to the podium. Matsuda stated that he met on December 13, 2016, with Registrar David Tenney to review the list of graduate-level degree candidates. The names of the candidates were provided to the faculty in a printed booklet, while the totals were shown on a slide. Please see: GRADUATE-LEVEL DEGREE CANDIDATES. Matsuda said that the candidates were on target to meet the university’s graduation requirements, but because the final Fall 2016 grade deadline had not yet passed, the list was being put forward conditionally, assuming successful completion of in-progress courses, and no other sanctions which would otherwise preclude graduation. He said that no “exceptions” were being put forward. Matsuda then stated that his endorsement of the list was a motion for the faculty to conditionally accept the candidates for December 2016 conferral. Speaker Fleisher asked if there were any questions, but there were none. Keith Cooper then seconded the motion. The faculty present voted unanimously for approval.

Registrar Tenney thanked the Faculty Senate for moving the January plenary session to December. He said that since the faculty conditionally approved the degrees today, President Leebron would be able confer them in the first week of January. Tenney said that previously, the degrees were not officially conferred until after the faculty met in a late January plenary session, which often caused hardship for Rice students. Tenney and Fleisher thanked the faculty members for their attendance.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:06 p.m.