News

Rice alumnus wins VA governorship

Glenn Youngkin Will Rice College ’90 was recently elected governor of Virginia, the first Rice alumnus to win a governorship in the university’s history. Youngkin, a Republican, defeated Democrat and former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe in the race last Tuesday Nov. 2. Originally from Virginia, Youngkin graduated from Rice in 1990, where he played on the basketball team for four years. 

Rice announces $2 billion ‘Be Bold’ fundraising campaign

On Oct. 29, President David Leebron announced the launching of “Be Bold: The Campaign for Rice” at Owl Together’s Town Hall event. The campaign is a $2 billion fundraising effort, of which $1.2 billion have already been raised, aimed at expanding Rice’s facilities, faculty, student body, programs and overall reach and impact on the world. 

Uyghur activist speaks at Rice on genocide in Xinjiang

Rushan Abbas spoke at Rice last Thursday on the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, China. Abbas has been an advocate for the Uyghur people since the 1980s, and has been affected by this crisis on a deeply personal level, according to sociology lecturer Craig Considine. 

Rice business ranked No. 3 for entrepreneurship, up from No. 15 last year

Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business was ranked No. 3 in Poets & Quants’ World’s Best MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship rankings for 2022, up from No. 15 on the 2021 list. Peter Rodriguez, dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business, said that the Poets & Quants ranking is influential despite being relatively new. Rodriguez said that he is happy with the Poets & Quants ranking, which he believes tends to be more quantitative and holistic than the other rankings.

Students, faculty reflect on CDOD course after two weeks

For the past two weeks, new students have been participating in a new course known as Critical Dialogues on Diversity, discussing critical approaches to culture, identity and dialogue. The new course follows a pilot session that was taught in the spring by Associate Dean Catherine Clack and Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alexander Byrd, which was attended by a small group of students, who elected to take the course. Byrd said that this was one of the things to consider when they were transitioning from the pilot course to offering the class as a required course for all freshmen.

Mapping Rice’s COVID-19 policy changes throughout the fall semester

Rice Community Mourns Loss of Ricardo Poveda Calderon

Ricardo Poveda Calderon, a Rice graduate student studying in the mechanical engineering department, passed away Oct. 24 at the age of 32. Poveda was a Fullbright scholar and an active member of the Rice graduate student community. He was involved in the Latin American Graduate Student Association, Graduate Student Association and numerous intramural graduate club sport programs.

Faculty discusses rocky ImagineOne rollout during Faculty Senate meeting

Faculty discussed Rice University’s troublesome transition to ImagineOne that caused issues such as delayed payment, inaccessibility to grant money and inability to track spending and funds in the Oct. 27 Faculty Senate, after months of faculty members, staff and students expressing dissatisfaction with the new payment system. 

Rice paid parental leave policy excludes non-birthing staff

Within Texas, though, Rice is largely in line with other universities, including University of Texas, Austin, University of Houston and Texas A&M, all of which do not offer paid parental leave for their non-birthing parent employees. 

Social sciences offers new STaRT program

Rice University’s School of Social Sciences introduced a new program this year to help students forge connections and learn relevant skills to become better researchers. The program took place from Oct. 8 to 12 and will hold its next event in the fall of 2022.

Rice emphasizing sustainability with new Hanszen College wing

A new college wing is currently under construction for Hanszen College. According to the Rice University website, the building, which will be 4.5 stories tall including 164 beds, is slated for completion in July of 2022. 

Rice community discusses classroom mask policy continuation

Rice reports that the classroom mask mandate will most likely continue for the semester despite there being no evidence of transmission in the classroom, according to Kevin Kirby, the Crisis Management Advisory Committee chair. Some professors have said they prefer for the mask mandate to remain in place, due to the state of COVID in Houston.

Pub expected to reopen Nov. 1 with masks, reduced capacity

Willy’s Pub has scheduled its reopening for Nov. 1, according to General Manager Elizabeth Groenewold. Pub’s doors have been closed since early March 2020 following an alleged hazing incident and the later imposition of Rice’s COVID-19 rules. Pub’s capacity will be 100 students on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and will increase to 150 students on Thursday for Pub Night, according to Groenewold, a Will Rice College senior. Masks will be required unless actively eating or drinking. Pub’s pre-COVID capacity was 299.

Wellbeing & Counseling Centers see 37% increase in demand from last year

The Wellbeing & Counseling Center have both seen an increase in use since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Elizabeth Plummer, the clinical director of the Counseling Center. According to Plummer, walk-in appointments are available for emergency situations, and slots for these crisis appointments have been accounted for in the Counseling Center’s schedule to make walk-ins accessible. Since last year, the Counseling Center has seen nearly four times as many crisis appointments as they usually do, according to Timothy Baumgartner, director of the Counseling Center.

Administration lifts indoor alcohol ban in residential colleges

Rice is now permitting indoor consumption of alcohol in residential colleges if students abide by the rules and expectations in Rice’s Alcohol Policy, according to an email sent by Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman on Oct. 15. Alcohol restrictions on cross-college events will still remain in effect. 

Rice applies for Bicycle Friendly University Designation

Rice Transportation Demand Management recently submitted an application for a Bicycle Friendly University designation, after being awarded a bronze designation in 2017.  The American League of Bicyclists will announce awards early next year. 

Vice Provost for Research stepping down after seven years

Yousif Shamoo announced that he is stepping down as Rice University’s vice provost for research after seven years in the position. Shamoo’s transition will go into effect January 2022, according to an announcement from Provost Reginald DesRoches. 

SJP to handle cases of students abusing COVID-19 accommodations

Student Judicial Programs will handle disciplinary cases for students suspected of abusing Rice’s COVID-19 isolation policies, according to SJP Director Emily Garza. Garza and Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman told the Thresher that they are not aware of any reports of student misconduct with respect to COVID-19 accommodations.

Baker Institute director to step down after 28 years

Edward Djerejian, founding director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy, announced last week that he will step down at the end of June 2022. The first and only person to hold the position, Djerejian will have been at the helm of the Baker Institute for 28 years when he retires in April.

​​Rice joins inaugural cohort of Gulf Scholars Program for undergraduates to research environmental issues

Rice, along with six other universities across the Gulf Coast region, joined the initial phase of the National Academies Gulf Scholars Program. The program will expand undergraduate opportunities to research crucial environmental, health, energy and infrastructure issues in the Gulf Coast through a one-credit seminar course in the spring and fall semesters and a ten-week paid summer research experience, according to Jamie Padgett, the program’s faculty director.