Virani School celebrates namesake donors

By Viola Hsia     2/18/25 10:15pm

The Jones Business School held a celebration for the donation establishing the Virani Undergraduate School of Business Feb. 13th. The celebration was held in the Jamail Plaza outside of the Jones School building and is the first official celebration of the Virani School of Business since its official naming last fall. 

“It was a great night of celebration for the Virani family’s gift,” said Peter Rodriguez, dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business. “[The Virani family] was able to bring lots of family members and close friends to Rice to celebrate this moment, along with a good contingent of Rice leaders and some faculty and some students too. It couldn’t have been better.”

The event began with remarks from Rodriguez, followed by a speech by President Reggie DesRoches.

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“The generosity of the Virani Family marks a transformative moment for Rice University and the Jones Graduate School of Business,” DesRoches wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Their visionary gift ensures that our business education continues to thrive, shaping the future of leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation. With the launch of the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, we are building on a strong foundation and preparing the next generation of business leaders to drive impact in Houston and beyond.”

The event ended with remarks from businessman and donor Farid Virani and undergraduate business major Caroline Mazur-Sarocka.

Rodriguez said it was important for the business school to officially celebrate the Virani family’s gift.

“We had the announcement only in the fall, and we always wanted a celebration,” Rodriguez said. “We just had the announcement before the family really wanted a chance to be able to gather their friends, cousins, business associates, and so we needed to put that at some point in the future.”

Clark said the event was a great way to commemorate the undergraduate business major, which first launched in 2021.

“This is something that the university and the undergrads were craving, for a long time, to have an undergrad business school that they could call home,” Clark said. “[The event] was touching, warm and just the feeling of creating something that students could feel was their place.”

Mazur-Sarocka, a Sid Richardson College senior, also spoke about the importance of a formal school for the undergraduate business major.

“I think a lot of students for the past couple of years have been unsure whether we’re part of the Jones school, whether we’re not, but especially as we all got into industry in Houston, all over the country and all over the world, being able to hone in on what our business program is and have a name to represent that will be really exciting,” Mazur-Sarocka said. “I can’t wait to go off to work post-grad and be able to share that I’m from the Virani School of Business.”

Rice alumna and philanthropist Asha Virani said the significance of the event aligned with the family’s purpose behind giving the gift.

“Personally for us, it was an opportunity that just felt so authentic to who we are and also recognizing Rice’s excellence and its students,” Virani said. “We knew if we’re going to make an investment on students, this is where we need to do it because this is where the world changers will come from.”

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