Rice enters new university paid partnership with the MFAH

By Viola Hsia     2/13/24 10:20pm

Starting this year, Rice IDs will no longer be sufficient to enter The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Instead, Rice now participates in the MFAH’s University Paid Partnership program, requiring students to pick up a UPP membership card to gain access. This is due to a change in the MFAH’s pricing, which has caused the Rice Program Council and Student Activities to revise their partnership, according to Brianna Bukowski, an RPC Passport to Houston Committee co-chair.

“For us to be able to continue our partnership as it was before (i.e., only requiring a Rice ID at entry), we would have been required to pay nearly three times the amount we were paying in previous years,” Bukowski, a Sid Richardson College junior, wrote in an email to the Thresher. “This simply was not feasible for our budget, and we found it best to switch our agreement to the [University Paid Partnership] program, leading to the change we are currently undergoing.”

Bukowski said the UPP program gives students a predetermined number of physical passes to show if they go to the MFAH. At time of publication, the Passport to Houston Committee has provided 469 passes since the new program went live Jan. 19, according to Tahj Blackman, assistant director of campus events. A total of 2,550 passes were ordered. The RPC will purchase up to 100 additional passes if needed.

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RPC Passport to Houston Committee co-chair Nick Harrison wrote that the RPC was excited for this switch, as it allows students even more access to the museum than before. 

“We are excited about the fact that Rice students can now access all sections of the museum, including permanent collections and all special exhibitions, given they have a UPP card,” Harrison, a Baker College junior, wrote in an email to the Thresher. “This is a fantastic benefit from being a member in the University Paid Partnership program, which was not provided with our previous agreement.”

Additionally, according to Harrison, the UPP pass also provides a 10% discount, as well as an invitation to the MFAH’s College Week, exclusive discounts on special ticketed exhibitions and free admission to most lectures.

RPC President Ryann Tudor said that she hopes this change won’t stop students from continuing to participate in the program.

“We understand that retrieving a physical UPP card from the Student Activities office and having to keep it on your person in order to access the MFAH is an extra task for students,” Tudor, a Wiess College senior, wrote in an email to the Thresher. “However, it only has to be claimed once per year, and we hope that students will respond with the understanding that this was a necessary change to the program.”

Blackman said that he was excited to see where this program would continue to grow, as well as other partnerships under the Passport to Houston.

“I really look forward to the Museum of Fine Arts wanting to look to us as community partners, and just growing that relationship beyond what it’s been where it is now, and really looking at what it could be,” Blackman said. “I’m curious to see what that looks like not only for or with the MFAH, but with other passport programs.” 

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