OWL Team
Magisters
Dr. Michael Gustin & Denise Klein
Biography: Lovett College is the best college community ever and the Magisters of Lovett College (or Lagisters!) are here to be advocates, mentors, advisors and friends to Lovetteers. Mike and Denise live in a house next to Commons, eating most of their meals with students, and throwing study breaks and other events at the house. Denise tends to be more of a planner, Mike is a bit more spontaneous, and their dog Walter is the boss. Brags: Denise is the creator of Magisters’ Tea, Mike started student-taught courses at Rice, and Walter originated a new black lab phenotype: shy but friendly. Mike is a professor of biochemistry and cell biology, teaches a fall Introductory Biology course and a spring Monster course, and does cell biology and genetics research. Denise is a senior manager of clinical operations for a large international pharmaceutical company, but works at home. Mike is originally from Boston and Denise from Philadelphia, but Houston has been their favorite city for many years – ask about some Houston life hacks. Mike and Denise were long-time Lovett Associates and are super excited to be Magisters and be part of the supportive and adventurous community of students and Associates at Lovett.
Description of Position: College Magisters are tenured faculty members who live, with their families, in houses adjacent to each college. Magisters are a supportive resource for students and oversee all aspects of student life. They encourage broad cultural and intellectual pursuits, ensure the effectiveness of the college's self-governance, and care for their students' wellbeing.
College Coordinator
Sharon O'Leary
Description of Position: College Coordinators are staff members who serve as daytime contacts for students within their assigned college. They typically keep a 9-5 schedule and complete administrative office duties for the college. The college coordinator's office is the nerve center of the college, a main meeting place where students stop by to chat and get answers to questions on everything from how to pay a parking ticket, replace a room key or when to meet important deadlines.
Biography: I am the Lovett College Coordinator (aka: Fairy Godmother of Lovett College, I even have a magic wand). My office looks out over the Lovett Quad where I get to see students coming and going, hanging out, listening to and playing music, practicing dance routines, blowing up water balloons (just wait for spring) oh and even studying. You will pass by my office on the way to anything important or fun, so stop in and get to know me. My office is a great place to start a conversation, ask a question, pick up mail and packages, mail a letter, buy a stamp, borrow office supplies, staple papers, copy something, get something notarized, or make a cup of tea.
I often have very important information that you won’t get anywhere else. I might not always know everything, but I am a good resource for information and can guide you where you need to go for anything you might need at Lovett, Rice and Houston.
Resident Faculty Associate
Dr. Ozaki-Sensee
Description of Position: Faculty Resident Associates (RFAs) are members of the faculty who are crucial to the Rice University college system, assisting Magisters in supporting the intellectual, social, and cultural activities within the college. They are especially involved in college courses taught by Lovetteers, and are resources to Lovett students as mentors with a faculty perspective.
Biography: Howdy, Y’all! I am Ozaki-Sensee (Sensee, for short). I teach Japanese at CLIC at Rice University. Originally from Tokyo, most of my teenage years were spent outside of Japan - mostly USA but some time in Germany, Turkey, and England. My curious and fun-loving nature has invited me to meet interesting people from all over the world as well as to eat different types of food from different cultures as well, some of which I regret having tried. As an RA at Lovett College, I hope to create and share many memorable fun experiences with Lovett students. Some of the things I want to try to do with the Lovetteers are (a) cooking and eating, (b) enjoying music, and (c) having some fun activities - let me keep the details to myself until they are verified with the Lovett representatives but expect a great deal of fun!
My Ph.D. from Indiana University Bloomington is from the Department of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education. My BA major and Ph.D. minor are both in the Arabic language and cultures. In addition to the languages I was exposed to from immersion as a teen, I studied Spanish and taught myself Swahili and Yoruba. If anyone is interested in singing in different languages, let me know! Maybe I can join you! Also, if you are from Texas and know how to speak one of the Texan dialects, please teach me how to speak it.
If you see me in the Commons or in the Quad, say “Sensee” or “Konnichiwa” to me so that we can get to know each other. It may take me a while before learning everyone’s name, but I will get there eventually. I am excited to have a chance to chit chat with you or have deep conversations about life for some wisdom to support each other in making life a little easier.
Contact Information:
Resident Associates
Dr. Stephanie Parker & Dr. Matthew Wells
Description of Position: Living among the students, Resident Associates are positive community facilitators, role models, and they provide guidance and leadership to college members. RAs encourage and contribute actively to the intellectual, cultural, and social life of the college, develop a clear understanding of university policies and procedures, including emergency response protocols, and assist the college magisters and other university officials in responding to students in need.
Biography: We are Steph and Matt, the new Lovett first-floor RAs. We're thrilled to meet you all and to learn the traditions and joys of Lovett alongside you! Steph is the Associate Director of the Program in Writing and Communication at Rice and Matt will start teaching English at St. John's School in the fall. We both have a literature background, and Matt specializes in early 20th century American literature. Steph's work focuses on narrative and communication theory, and her latest project looks at digital storytelling and the history of WWII Japanese American incarceration.
Our joint hobbies include watching terrible movies (especially campy b-horror), listening to music (often 2000s-era punk & indie), playing games of all sorts (Smash, board games, pool, etc.), and taking walks at Hermann Park. We have some plans for a potential trivia night, and would welcome excursions to the local museums and zoo. We love exploring new things and places, so if there's somewhere you'd like to visit (did you know Houston has a funeral museum?!), tell us and we'll put together a touring group!
In his free time, you're most likely to find Matt reading a book in the Commons or playing video games at home, while Steph can be spotted doing yoga or some other new hobby in the Lovett courtyard. Though we currently don't have pets, we're big animal lovers and would like to start fostering animals. We see Lovett as the perfect environment to help socialize animals who need homes, and we'd be happy for any volunteers in the fostering process (walking dogs, petting kittens, and so on).
We've been teaching and working in academia for the past twelve years, and getting to know students is, in our opinion, the best aspect of the job, so we're excited to get to know you once you arrive at Lovett!
