The mission of the Office of Faculty Development (OFD) is to identify and respond effectively to the needs of the faculty by creating a framework that responds to faculty needs and concerns as they evolve; creating and sustaining specific activities and processes that support faculty success; and continually and actively engaging faculty, and Faculty Senate, encouraging exploration of hard questions and promote a diversity of conversations.
Established in the 2012-2013 academic year, the OFD has its roots in Rice’s NSF ADVANCE Program which was awarded to increase the number of women and under-represented minorities at Rice and to transform the climate of the institution. The ADVANCE Program evolved over its six years to provide support and resources to all faculty through multiple programs introduced and "test-driven" in Engineering and Natural Sciences. The OFD now has as its audience all faculty at Rice.
In addition to programming initiatives for faculty, the OFD manages a series of assessments including, but not limited to, annual faculty climate surveys and faculty salary reports.