OWL Team
Magisters
Dr. Nancy Niedzielski
Biography:
Hey Lovett! Nancy Niedzielski here -- so excited to be your college magister! I'm the current Chair of the Department of Linguistics, where I've been a faculty member for 25 years. I'm a native Michigander, growing up in a small town called South Lyon, which is sort of in the Detroit area (you may have heard of 8 Mile, thanks to fellow Michigander Eminem; I grew up on 7 Mile). While I love the Great Lakes, coneys, and the Detroit Lions, I've grown to love Houston almost as well in my 25 years here.
I have two grown kids: my daughter Keelia lives in Houston, and my son Keegan and his wife Niki live in Denver. I live with Audrey, a beautiful and crazy dog, and Hattie, a straight-up crazy cat. I'm a first-generation college grad, having received a Bachelor's in both Theatre and Technical Writing, then a Master's in Linguistics, from Eastern Michigan University. I then had to choose between taking a position at Chicago's Second City, or continuing on in Linguistics; based on a complex set of calculations, in 1996 I received a PhD in Linguistics from UC Santa Barbara. During grad school, I began working for Panasonic's Speech Technology Laboratory as a speech scientist, and continued on at the lab (even getting a few patents for some technology used in things like Siri and Alexa). I came to Rice in 1999 as a member of the Department of Linguistics, and I'm currently serving my second term as Chair of that department. My main areas of study are human speech perception, language variation, and acoustics, and while I continue to work in speech technology (for instance, I did a stint at NASA on the Robonaut project), my current interests are moving toward language issues in the legal arena. I have worked for two decades as a forensic linguist, and this is no doubt what moved me in that direction.
As I mentioned above, I love Houston, Texas. I love cooking and anything, really, to do with food, so Houston is a great place to land for that: the restaurants, the markets, the food festivals -- all just fabulous. Houston also has a world-class art scene, which I regularly take advantage of -- big fan of the Houston Ballet, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Houston Grand Opera. I'm also a bit of a sports fanatic (especially football), and although I have nothing against the Houston professional teams, my real loyalties lie with the Detroit teams -- especially the Lions. I have to say, though, that going to Rice games, attending Rice performances, seeing Rice art exhibits -- this is really what gets me. I'm so impressed with the talent and dedication it takes to catch a 50-yard pass, swim a 200-yard butterfly, sing an aria -- and to be able to have such talented people in my personal orbit is such a thrill. A few other things: I love nature, I love dogs, I play the oboe, I write comedy, I love the Great Lakes, I love coffee. And I love the Detroit Lions, if I haven't mentioned that yet.
Please always feel free to reach out, with serious things like academics, adjusting to Rice, navigating university life, or anything else you'd like a sounding board for. I'm also happy to bake something, talk about food, tell you about some really big lakes, or complain about the refs. I'm glad you're at Lovett, and honored to become a part of what Lovett will be for you.
Contact Information:
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!
