Rice University

History

Rice was founded in 1891 by American business tycoon William Marsh Rice as The William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement for Letters, Science, and Art. Before the school opened, Rice was poisoned in a conspiracy: Rice’s lawyer prepared a false will in which he would be the benefactor. However, the lawyer was convicted and the school did not open until 1912.

Slowly Rice began to develop its unique identity: the student body adopted an honor system in 1916 and in 1957 the residential college system was adopted. It is interesting to note that the school’s original charter stated that the university should admit and educate “the white inhabitants of Houston and the state of Texas”; this stipulation was changed in 1963 and the school began to admit students of all races. The school’s original charter also specified that a Rice education was free of charge; this was changed in the mid 1960s as well.

Location

While Houston is the fourth largest city in the country, it doesn’t have a centralized city feel. Its sprawling nature can intimidate the more sheltered of Rice undergraduates. As one freshman remarks, “Houston isn't really a 'college town.'"

For the more adventurous Rice student, the METRORail system is located next to campus; using this public transportation, students can get to the downtown area and to Reliant Park. Houston’s cultural offerings include basically everything: the symphony, the ballet, bar-hopping (as one student from the class of 2010 informs us, “Houston is a great town and offers a variety of bars. If you want to drink underage most Mexican restaurants have amazing margaritas and usually will not card”), baseball games, and world-famous rodeos. However, to enjoy most of what the greater Houston area has to offer (like the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico), bringing a car to campus is necessary.

Campus

Even though Rice is located in the ultra-urban city of Houston, the campus is closed off and relatively self-sustaining. The Rice campus is organized into quadrangles, the most prominent of which is the Academic Quad. Here one can find the memorial statue of the school’s founder William Marsh Rice. Lovett Hall is the school’s architectural jewel. Students generally appreciate the campus’ Spanish Mediterranean architecture but find the ongoing construction irksome.

In terms of specific hangout destinations, students frequent Willy’s Pub and Valhalla attracts its fair share of traffic with the over twenty-oners. Students of all ages frequently head to Lovett Undergrounds to hear live music, listen to a poetry slam, and grab a cup of coffee. For anyone looking for a more chill, laid back atmosphere, the Media Center has a movie theater.

Issues

Rice gets a reputation for having an insular and apathetic student body. The school is located in a fairly conservative region, and the student body seems to identify with centrist-liberal causes. While Rice students aren’t going to be holding biweekly protests, they care about political causes in more of a scholarly pragmatic fashion. The Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign found a lot of supporters on the Rice campus, especially since Paul is the congressman for Rice’s district. More than focusing on one specific political issue, Rice prides itself on being tolerant and diverse. The school has a visible gay community and supports a number of minority clubs such as Native American Student Association, Black Student Association, and Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment. In terms of numbers, diversity is relative. It has more minority students than most schools in the area (11% Hispanic/ 7% African American), but would seem homogeneous to students from more racially diverse areas.

There is also a strong conservative minority on campus. As one junior states though, “I feel that Rice tries to be tolerant of all, but ends up discriminating against Bible believing Christians. In an effort to be tolerant, I sense some intolerance against certain groups at times.“

Dorms

The dorms at Rice are more than just a place to live. Rice University centers the undergraduate experience on the residential college system. Students are assigned to a specific college when they enter the school and remain a member until they graduate. There are nine colleges, all of which have unique personalities. Most students live on campus for their first three years and move into off-campus apartments as seniors.

Because Rice does not have a Greek system, students end up developing a sense of loyalty to their respective college as well as building social circles within those communities. Most enjoy the residential college system. One student from the class of ’11 says, the “really unique thing is our residential college system. It makes Rice more fun, I think.” Nonetheless, the system has a few drawbacks. As Aure from the class of 2010 explains, “The residential colleges are small though, which means that there's not really the critical mass to support a lot of alternative or specialized social groups. It also means that everyone knows everyone else's business, so that's just something you learn to deal with.”

President

David Leebron is currently the president of Rice University. He graduated from Harvard with a BA in history and science in 1976 and a JD in 1979. After he graduated, he worked as a clerk at the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; he then entered the private practice.

Leeborn re-entered the world of academics as a professor of law at New York University. His specialty included corporate finance, international economic law, human rights, privacy, and torts. He eventually became the dean of Columbia Law School. Leebroon was appointed Rice’s president in 2004. His overarching plan for Rice is called the Vision for the Second Century, which calls for the expansion of the undergraduate population, the addition of two more colleges, and the increase of students from outside the state of Texas.

Famous Alumni

Lance Berkman('97), All-Star Major League baseball stud

Alberto Gonzeles ('79), US Attorney General

Howard Hughes (didn’t graduate), Aviator/Billionaire

Jon Kline('69), United States Congressman

Peggy Whiston ('85), NASA Astronaut

Students

The College

Getting In

To Apply

Traditions

Facts

“Seventeen” magazine named Rice the “coolest college in the land” in its “Top 100 Coolest Colleges” issue in October of 2002.

To mark the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Olympic torch passed through Houston and consequently Rice University. While it was on campus, two streakers ran in front of it.

In 1962 Rice alum John Cox gave Yankee Stadium to his alma mater. In 1971, the city forced Rice to sell the stadium for $2.5 million dollars.

President John F. Kennedy announced at Rice Stadium that American was going to send a man to the moon.

News

Rice is featured in the Unigo Guide to Sinners and Saints 2008!

Come to Campus - But Leave Your Car at Home; Rice University Contracts With Zipcar to Bring Car Sharing to Campus

Texas schools toast the debate, not young drinkers

Matthew Wilson on 72-Hour Psychiatric Hold Rice University Student Found at the University of California at Berkeley

Sports