VIII. FACULTY WORKING CONDITIONS

Rice supports the work of its faculty in a variety of ways. In addition to the space, funds, equipment, and clerical assistance that it provides through its departments and schools, Rice maintains libraries, computing and networking facilities, and other university-wide programs to assist and protect the faculty. Rice also regulates many aspects of a faculty member's work -- not just to sustain the interests of the university but also to conform to federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Library Arches

A. The Library

Fondren Library is a modern research library that supports the university's teaching and research efforts with a broad range of collections: 3.8 million volumes, including more than 611,000 electronic books; more than 282,000 current journal subscriptions; more than 3.6 million microforms; and 773 indexes and databases providing targeted access to the journal literature. It is a selective depository for United States and Texas government publications and for United States patents and trademarks. Special collections include: The Woodson Research Center, home to more than 40,000 rare books and more than 1000 manuscript collections, as well as more than 500 university archive collections; offering robust support for Rice's pre-eminent programs in art and architecture and music. Fondren hosts the Rice Digital Scholarship Archive, an open source digital repository for faculty members' research, electronic theses and dissertations, and digitized collections. The Digital Media Center (DMC) supplies equipment, software, and support for using and creating media, including equipment checkout. The GIS/Data Center provides support for analyzing geographic information in a broad range of academic disciplines. Fondren collaborates with the Jones Graduate School of Business in providing library services to the Business Information Center, located in Janice and Robert McNair Hall. Additionally, Fondren hosts physical exhibits that highlight resources and research, and welcomes faculty, staff, and student proposals for exhibits.

Faculty Services

Faculty services offered by Fondren include active support for collections, research, and teaching; both physical and electronic class reserves; inter-library borrowing and document delivery; study rooms and technology-equipped classrooms by reservation; and a limited number of carrels (available through deans to scholars with special needs). General and specialized tours are available for students, as well as classes on topics such as data analysis and media creation tools, specific electronic resources, and research methodology. Additionally, there are online research guides on specific subjects. The library sponsors, through its Friends group, an annual research competition for undergraduates and graduate students; and with the School of Engineering co-sponsors the faculty Virginia and Griff Lawhorn Digital Education Award.

The Fondren Fellows program, which was recently expanded with income from the Maltsberger Endowment, funds Rice undergraduate or graduate students to conduct research projects sponsored by Fondren Library that will benefit the library and the scholarly community. For example, projects may involve working with archival collections, developing digital projects, or making recommendations for library spaces or services based on analyzing data. The Woodson Research Center provides research support to projects such as the Task Force on Slavery, Segregation, and Racial Injustice. The library also provides faculty subsidies for open access electronic book publication through the TOME initiative; please see https://library.rice.edu/guides/rice-author-open-access-fees. Fondren also provides support for both OA books and journal articles at https://libguides.rice.edu/AuthorFee.

Open Access Policy

The Faculty of Rice University is committed to disseminating the fruits of its research and scholarship as widely as possible. In keeping with that commitment, and recognizing the importance of allowing faculty members to choose appropriate venues for publishing their scholarly work, the Faculty adopted the following policy in 2012:

The current Rice copyright policy governing faculty publications will be followed, with the additional provision that Rice University will make published articles written by faculty members available for open dissemination. The policy will apply to all scholarly articles written while the person is a faculty member, except for publications completed before the adoption of this policy. The Provost or Provost's designate will waive application of the policy for a particular scholarly publication upon written notification by the author, who informs Rice of the reason. Faculty members are further encouraged to make all of their publications, not just articles, available for open dissemination. Please see the full policy at http://openaccess.rice.edu.

Authors should submit electronic copies of the author's accepted manuscripts to the Rice Digital Scholarship Archive (RDSA), the University's institutional repository. Fondren Library manages RDSA and has developed resources to assist authors: http://openaccess.rice.edu/rice-open-access-policy/. Upon request, an article will not be made available to the public for an agreed-upon embargo period. In addition, faculty may publish their research datasets (up to 10GB) on RDSA. Fondren will preserve datasets and can offer DOIs to facilitate citation. Please see https://library.rice.edu/research-data-services.

Fondren supports open science by offering training and consulting in core programming languages such as R and Python, publishing and preserving open data (up to 10GB per dataset) through the Rice Digital Scholarship Archive, assisting with the publication of open access journals, and consulting on open licenses. Please see http://library.rice.edu//dss

B. Information Technology

Rice University offers information technology and security services and support through two centralized organizations, the Office of Information Technology and the Information Security Office. The Rice IT community also includes staff in technology roles in schools and administrative units.

General information for faculty is available on the Getting Started: Faculty and Staff page. Guidance related to Remote Teaching is also available online.

Office of Information Technology

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is the university’s central technology provider, supporting voice, network, computing systems, core applications, academic and research systems for the Rice University community.

Getting Help

A team of professional computing staff supports the university by answering technology questions and solving problems. For general questions, faculty may contact the OIT Help Desk (713-348-4357 or helpdesk@rice.edu) or search the KnowledgeBase. For assistance with classroom technology while teaching, faculty also have access to a help line (713-348-4989). More information is available on the Get Help page.

Classroom and Teaching Support

The Learning Environments team focuses on faculty teaching and classroom-specific support needs. Experienced professionals support teaching and learning, both in the classroom and online, as well as the student record systems at Rice. In addition to immediate and ongoing classroom technological assistance, this team also supports Canvas (learning management system), Kaltura (video asset system), and places a priority on digital accessibility for campus resources. For assistance with your classroom technology needs or to schedule a one-on-one consultation session, please email teaching@rice.edu.

Research Computing Support

The Center for Research Computing (CRC) provides access to research computing resources, including high performance computing (HPC), storage, virtual machines, software development, and consulting services. The CRC maintains dedicated staff for facilitating all Rice researchers' access to on-campus resources, as well as off-campus resources such as NSF XSEDE, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure. Additionally, in partnership with the Ken Kennedy Institute, the CRC works with faculty on needs assessment, funding development, and infrastructure expansion. Faculty members may submit an online request to explore how to best leverage Rice's research infrastructure.

Administrative Systems

OIT supports Rice's administrative information technology and management systems that are used by departments and individuals across campus to manage their various administrative work. iO is a cloud-based system that provides finance, financial project management, human resources, procurement and budgeting functions.  Faculty also use iO to manage grant budgets and expenditures, including dashboards that provide data for projects and faculty funds.

Information Security Office

The Information Security Office (ISO) protects the electronic assets of Rice University. This team defends against issues that impact the security of technology infrastructure using virus and spam prevention, system intrusion detection, and forensics. Rice policies mandate that all members of the Rice community are responsible for the proper handling and protection of Rice confidential information and systems. ISO offers guidance and specific protection measures to meet these obligations. To report a security issue, faculty may contact the OIT Help Desk (713-348-4357 or helpdesk@rice.edu) or use the Report an IT Security Incident page.

Several Rice policies impact the information-technology landscape: 

More about the Office of Information Technology:

 
C. Continuing Studies

The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, with approximately 18,000 annual enrollments, provides educational opportunities in personal and professional development, online and hybrid courses, and certificate programs with offerings from the Center for Education, Center for College Readiness, the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, Community Learning and Engagement, Professional and Corporate Programs, School of Literacy and Culture, the Foreign Language program, the English as a Second Language program, and the Education program. The school is also home to advanced degree offerings including the Master of Liberal Studies, the Diploma in Liberal Studies and the Master of Arts in Teaching and various graduate certificates. The Glasscock School is housed in the D. Kent and Linda C. Anderson and Robert L. and Jean T. Clarke Center, which opened in spring 2014, allowing the school to increase its scope and continue to expand its service to Houston and beyond.

As Rice's "open door" to the Houston community and beyond, the Glassock School offers Rice faculty the opportunity to extend their academic influence to broader audiences while also earning additional income. The honorarium varies from course to course, but it is always in addition to regular Rice compensation and always includes fringe benefits. 

The Glasscock School is a frequent partner with faculty on grants focused on K-12 Education and Community Outreach.

D. Nepotism

Rice University seeks to foster an environment where people are treated with respect and trust. Employment of family members may be problematic because such situations can create a conflict of interest, an appearance of favoritism, and an increased potential for a hostile work environment. Because of these concerns, the university is sensitive to circumstances in which relatives of employees might be hired, transferred, or promoted to positions where one relative might have influence over any of the following: a relative's employment, performance review, salary administration, promotion, or other employment-related decisions.

If a relationship develops during the course of employment that would violate this policy, the university will work with the individuals involved to resolve the situation. In all cases, the needs of the university determine the resolution. For more details, see Policy 419: Nepotism.

E. Drug-Free University

The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires that employers take appropriate measures to combat illegal drugs in the workplace as a condition for receiving federal funds. To comply with the act, the university has in place and administers in good faith a policy prohibiting the unlawful manufacture, possession, use, or distribution of illegal drugs and alcohol on the property of the university, or as part of any university activities, except in the course of authorized teaching and research. Confidential counseling, treatment, and rehabilitation programs are available to faculty members, who may contact the Rice University Employee Assistance Program (LifeWorks) or the Rice University Health Education Office. For more details, see Policy 323: Drug-Free University.

F. Disability Accommodations

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require that Rice provide accommodations for individuals whose disabilities impact them in their pursuits at the university.  Access to buildings at Rice University is, in general, excellent; specialized modifications are made in offices and classrooms as needed. Faculty members who have disabilities or who have students in their classes with disabilities should work with the chairs of their departments, the provost, and the executive director of the Disability Resource Center to take full advantage of the facilities and services that are available for people with disabilities. Faculty are advised to include ADA statements on their syllabi and to direct students with disabilities who request accommodations to the Disability Resource Center (https://drc.rice.edu). Faculty should expect to receive an Accommodation Letter from the Disability Resource Center indicating the accommodations that a student with a disability will need. The Disability Resource Center also provides guidance to Faculty and Staff with disabilities who want to request an accommodation (https://drc.rice.edu/staff-faculty). 

G. Campus Security and Workplace Safety

Rice attempts to do all that is reasonable to provide a safe and healthful environment for work and study. To protect individuals and property and to regulate parking and the flow of traffic through the campus, Rice currently maintains a police department of approximately 30 licensed officers supported by 12 security specialists, parking enforcement officers, dispatchers, and clerks. The uniformed officers, who have been specially screened for service at Rice by committees that include faculty and students, enforce all applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as university regulations. Members of the faculty should cooperate fully with the Rice police and report crimes, suspicions of crimes, and other incidents which could constitute an emergency by using the blue-light emergency telephones or by dialing 713-348-6000 (6000 from any campus phone).

Rice's Environmental Health and Safety Department provides support to the Rice community in the areas of chemical, biological, and radiation safety, fire safety, office and general safety. The department also works with local, state and federal agencies to ensure compliance with government codes and policies. Rice University's general safety policy is explained in Policy 805: Environmental Health and Occupational Safety Program.

All faculty members have a role to play in ensuring safety at the workplace. Those responsible for laboratories have additional responsibilities, as outlined in Policy 313: Laboratory Safety Policy, but also by government laws and regulations. "Laboratory" in this sense is a well-defined space where research or scholarly activities take place using materials or equipment that can pose a safety hazard (e.g. hazardous chemicals; lasers; compressed gases; liquid cryogens; high powered electronic or mechanical tools). In other words, laboratories might well be found in spaces across the disciplines. The principal investigator (PI) plays the primary role in ensuring that proper training and supervision takes place in the laboratory; department chairs, deans, and other faculty members also have important roles to play in this process. Failure to maintain a safe working environment can result in sanctions against the PI, and more importantly, it can result in severe endangerment to members of the campus community.

More information may be found at these links:
Policy 301: Policy for the Submission and Administration of Sponsored Projects
Policy 314: Care and Humane Treatment of Animals Used in Research, Testing, and Education
Policy 326: Human Research Protection Policy
Policy 811: University Programs or Activities Including Minors

 

Updated 6/29/2023