The RICE MILE
The RICE MILE came about several years ago at a meeting of Rice’s deans, vice provosts and vice presidents, where they discussed how important a highly capable staff is to the university’s ability to achieve its ambitious goals and fulfill its mission of teaching, research and the betterment of the world. They talked about what they believed to be the key attributes they looked for – in candidates for Rice jobs, in their current staff and in job candidates – that would make the difference for Rice and best support our community (staff, faculty & students) in the achievement of our goals. After analyzing the suggestions from the discussion, a consensus was reached and the Rice Mile was created.
Then, we added the descriptors and the examples for each of the values and attributes that arose during these discussions:
We hope the RICE MILE will be used in many ways. It’s intended to be a practical tool to support hiring, onboarding, providing feedback and recognizing and rewarding staff. Specific examples for using the RICE MILE as a tool may include:
- Sharing with prospective employees to communicate expectations for working at Rice
- Discussing during onboarding by restating expectations for being a staff member at Rice
- Creating development plans with staff to grow in specific areas identified in the RICE MILE
- Recognizing staff for demonstrating certain aspects of the RICE MILE