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NEWS 8/30/22 11:20pm

Jamey Rootes, sports management faculty, passes at 56

By Maria Morkas

Jamey Rootes, recently appointed director of the Hutchinson Leadership Initiative in sports analytics in the department of sports management, died in Houston on Aug. 21 at the age of 56. His wife, Melissa Rootes, shared the news on Monday, saying he had been battling mental health issues.

NEWS 8/23/22 11:50pm

Rice introduces Analyzing Diversity requirement

By Maria Morkas

Starting this fall, all matriculating students must take a class of at least three credit hours that meets the new Analyzing Diversity requirement. According to the General Announcements, these courses will primarily consist of three areas: social and cultural analysis, system inequities and their redress, and equity, knowledge and the university. These courses are meant to focus on how difference is understood across societies, how understandings have changed through time and their specific consequences on human development.

NEWS 8/23/22 11:48pm

Rice-Baylor Program ends after 34 years

By Hajera Naveed

Rice admitted its last class of Rice-Baylor College of Medicine Medical Scholars this year, and it has since elected to terminate the program citing differences in opinion on how the program should evolve, according to Vice President of Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva. In the past two years, Baylor College of Medicine had also limited the number of students admitted from six to three students.

NEWS 8/23/22 11:47pm

Critical Thinking in Sexuality curriculum changes

By Keegan Leibrock

Changes will be made to the Rice Critical Thinking in Sexuality curriculum, a violence-prevention program with discussions on sexual consent and communications, beginning this semester, which includes an optional sixth session and several changes to the course’s original curriculum. 

NEWS 8/23/22 11:44pm

Rice welcomes 1,210 new students with 8.7% acceptance rate

By Maria Morkas

Out of 31,442 applicants, only 8.7% of students were admitted, with a yield of 44%, for a matriculating class of 1,210 students as a part of the Class of 2026 this year, according to Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva. Amid plans of expanding the student body, this serves as a lower admittance rate, in comparison to 9% for the Class of 2025.

NEWS 8/23/22 11:39pm

DesRoches builds Rice’s senior leadership team

By Viola Hsia

The 2022-2023 school year brings with it not only a new president for Rice University, but also new leadership in other administrative positions. So far this year, the university has introduced five new members of administration: Omar Syed as vice president and general counsel, Paul Cherukuri as vice president of innovation, Ramamoorthy Ramesh as vice president of research, Kelly Fox as vice president of finance and administration and Paul Padley as vice president of information technology and chief information officer. Rice also named Amy Dittmar as the new provost.

NEWS 6/16/22 6:36pm

Michigan professor Amy Dittmar named Rice’s next provost

By Prayag Gordy

Amy Dittmar, the senior vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs and a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, has been selected as Rice’s new provost, incoming president Reginald DesRoches announced Thursday. DesRoches, the current provost, will become Rice’s president on July 1, and Dittmar will start August 1.

NEWS 4/19/22 11:00pm

SA drafts formal complaint against Chi Alpha after discrimination accusations

By Hajera Naveed

The Student Association executive board drafted a formal complaint against the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship to present to University Court for violation of the SA Constitution nondiscrimination policy that every Rice organization is required to adhere to. This complaint comes in light of the recently published Thresher article, where several students shared their experience with discrimation within the club on the basis of sexual orientation. 

NEWS 4/19/22 10:54pm

Residential colleges grapple with housing adjustments

By Nishanka Kuthuru

Several residential colleges, including Brown College, Duncan College and Will Rice College have reported a decline in student interest for on-campus housing next year, attributing this decrease to several factors including the pandemic, housing prices and food options. However, some colleges, such as Wiess College, have also experienced less on-campus housing availability, partly due to the larger size of incoming classes.

NEWS 4/19/22 10:53pm

Theatre expected to split from VADA

By Riya Misra

In the coming years, Rice’s visual and dramatic arts department is anticipating a drastic restructuring of its current curriculum, according to Dean of Humanities Kathleen Canning and VADA Chair Bruce Hainley. Theatre students voiced concerns about these changes, as well as safety and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance issues in the current theatre building, Hamman Hall.

NEWS 4/12/22 11:02pm

Rice debate places fifth, speech places twelfth at national competitions

By Eliza Jasani

Rice University’s speech and debate teams won several awards for their 2021-2022 competition season. Debate team members Jacob Tate and Maximus Renteria won the team its second national championship in the National Parliamentary Debate Association 2022 Championship tournament, and the team placed No. 5 in the overall season sweepstakes, according to David Worth, the director of the George R. Brown Forensics Society. The speech team placed twelfth in the overall season sweepstakes category at the American Forensic Association National Speech tournament.

NEWS 4/12/22 10:58pm

Rice adjusts policies in response to COVID surge

By Hajera Naveed and Maria Morkas

The recent rise in COVID cases on campus prompted the reinstatement of masks in classrooms, the reduction of indoor dining to half capacity and the closure of The Pub at Rice, according to an email sent by the Chair of Crisis Management Advisory Committee Kevin Kirby late last week. 

NEWS 4/7/22 10:34pm

Rice cancels remaining publics as Covid cases surge

By Prayag Gordy

Rice administration has canceled public parties for the rest of the semester, according to Thursday night emails from college presidents. Additionally, capacity in college commons has been halved, masks are required in classrooms and The Pub at Rice has closed until further notice, according to a message from Kevin Kirby, chair of the Crisis Management Advisory Committee.

NEWS 4/7/22 3:15pm

Brown-Jones public canceled amidst post Beer Bike rise in COVID cases

By Hajera Naveed

Over the past few days, Rice has seen a substantial rise in COVID-19 cases, according to an email sent to students, staff and faculty from the Rice Crisis Management Team. The Brown-Jones College public, scheduled for this Saturday, is now canceled as a result, according to Brown College Social Coordinator Lucian Bennett-Brandt. 

NEWS 4/5/22 11:10pm

Rice announces Google Storage reduction by Dec. 17

By Lin Lu

Rice University Google Workspace student accounts’ storage will reduce to 10 GB, while faculty’s account storage will reduce to 50 GB by Dec. 17 of this year. Associate Vice President of IT Infrastructure and Operations Marc Cougle announced the change in an email to Rice students and faculty on March 7. 

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