Led by Mary Lowery, the group discussed interest by the Friends of Fondren Library (FoFL) Membership Committee in heightening staff and faculty engagement. Various measures were proposed to increase FoFL exposure and better understand staff and faculty interests FoFL might address. Faculty already play a large role in FoFL activities, e.g in delivering lectures.
Led by Sandi Edwards, the group discussed staff incentives for above and beyond performance. New university awards were discussed and creative ideas for library-specific recognition will be explored. Fondren already has a built-in event every other month in which service anniversaries are celebrated. These events could also be used for additional forms of recognition.
Led by Sara Lowman, the group began discussion of John Doerr’s book, “Measure What Matters.” Sara shared that the university administrators read this book as a group, but that full discussion has not yet taken place there. Denis Galvin noted that Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as described in the book are already in wide use in IT circles.
The group discussed the current strategic plan version including action items. Comparisons were drawn to the planning documents of 3 other university offices (Dean of GPS, Dean of Undergraduates and Provost’s Office), but there is no need for our plan to look exactly like theirs. Our plan is now no longer a draft and will no longer be labeled as such. Issues raised recently, such as the lack of backup laptops and textbooks for lower-resourced students, should be addressed. The role of managers and chairs of key committees in the Fondren planning retreat was very significant. This group could possibly be of enormous help in the “care and feeding” of the plan over time. Lisa Spiro and Melinda Flannery will confer about these ideas and share with the group.
Various staff tuition and class opportunities were discussed, including a free leadership certificate from the Jones School (https://business.rice.edu/graduate-leadership-certificate-glc). The group will explore showcasing staff activities in these areas at an upcoming Town Hall meeting. Testimonials may be more effective than HR presentations to remind staff of these opportunities at Rice.
Sara Lowman reported briefly on Board of Trustee meetings. An important topic was ensuring student success across the economic range. The Board’s Building & Grounds Committee reported that the next Fondren renovation is likely to be scheduled on the late end of the Capital Campaign. Less major renovations to the Brown Library (e.g. furniture, paint) may be possible before the larger effort takes place.
