“ The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
The Art and Science of Giving
The Next Level for Lifelong Learning
In the mid-1980s, the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies offered its first course designed for the nonprofit community, the Art of Fundraising. Twenty-five years later, the course is still drawing participants, but it’s now just one of nearly 20 dedicated to improving the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations in the Houston area.
“A degree in liberal studies is an education few get but we all need,” said Emma Tsai, an editorial associate in Rice’s psychology department, who graduated with a Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) last spring. “It’s reading, writing, conversation. We read great science like Dawkins, Darwin and Galileo. We read great poetry: Homer, Virgil, even the Bible. We read great drama: Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams.”
T Today, the courses are offered through the new Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, created in 2010 with the assistance of a donation from Rice alumni C. M. “Hank” ’40 and Demaris De Lange Hudspeth ’42. The center’s dedicated staff hopes to help Houston achieve and sustain a vibrant philanthropic culture in which individuals of all ages and means are inspired to give and to serve, and where nonprofit leaders — both professional and volunteer — have access to the highest quality of educational resources to support their work. To ensure the center would get started down the right path toward serving the needs of the community, director Angela Seaworth conducted an extensive survey of the nonprofit community in Houston and convened a strategic task force made up of local philanthropists and nonprofit executives, Rice faculty, nonprofit faculty and practitioners from around the country. The task force envisioned, and put into motion, a plan for extended continuing education courses, certificate programs (including master’s-level certificate programs) and a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership. Seaworth and the staff of the center are committed to fulfilling these initiatives over the next several years. Existing courses covering the basics of fundraising, proposal writing, capital campaigns, major gifts, board responsibility and more will be augmented with new ones covering such topics as stewardship, data mining, nonprofit law and fund development planning. “As the nonprofit sector continues to professionalize, we want to expand the educational opportunities to support the professionals and volunteers who lead nonprofit organizations,” Seaworth said. “We want to help them serve more people effectively.”
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Currently the only degree program offered by the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, the MLS grew out of the desire of many participants to take their lifelong learning to the next level. More than 30 students were accepted into the first session in 2005. “Clearly,” said Mary McIntire, dean of the Glasscock School, “there was a pent-up demand.” Within a few years, the MLS became one of the largest master’s programs at Rice, and it now stands at No. 3. The number of people enrolled each year averages 65. Student diversity often is cited as one of the most valuable aspects of the program, according to John Freeman, Rice professor emeritus and research professor of physics and astronomy, who has served as director of the MLS program since its inception. Students range in ages from 20 to 70, and their careers run the gamut: teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, homemakers, military officers, corporate executives, retirees and others. Freeman said he has noticed an increase in applications from young professionals. “They know the program will help them improve valuable career skills such as writing, making presentations, research and analytical thinking.” Espousing the virtues of a liberal education, Freeman recalls Marcel Proust’s quote: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” “The MLS program gives its students new eyes on the worlds of art, literature, music, human affairs, international issues, science, contemporary thought and just about every imaginable subject of interest,” Freeman said. “It takes its students on a true voyage of discovery.”