Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, also known as Rice University, is a private research university in Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, it spans 300 acres. The university consists of eight constituent schools in the fields of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering, humanities, music, natural sciences, and social sciences.

Established in 1912 as William M. Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art after the murder of its namesake William Marsh Rice, Rice has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1985 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Rice competes in 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a part of the American Conference. Its teams are called the Rice Owls.

The alumni include 26 Marshall Scholars, 13 Rhodes Scholars, 7 Churchill Scholars, and 3 Nobel laureates.

History

Background

Rice University's history began with the death of Massachusetts businessman William Marsh Rice, who had made his fortune in real estate, railroad development and cotton trading in Texas. In 1891, Rice decided to charter a free-tuition educational institute in Houston, bearing his name, to be created upon his death, earmarking most of his estate towards funding the project. Rice's will specified the institution was to be "a competitive institution of the highest grade" and that only white students would be permitted to attend.

On the morning of September 23, 1900, Rice, age 84, was found dead by his valet, Charles F. Jones, and was presumed to have died in his sleep. Shortly thereafter, a large check made out to Rice's New York City lawyer, signed by the late Rice, aroused the suspicion of a bank teller, due to the misspelling of the recipient's name. The lawyer, Albert T. Patrick, then claimed that Rice had changed his will to leave the bulk of his fortune to Patrick, rather than to the creation of Rice's educational institute.

A subsequent investigation led by the district attorney of New York resulted in the arrests of Patrick and of Rice's butler and valet Charles F. Jones, who had been persuaded to administer chloroform to Rice while he slept. Rice's friend and personal lawyer in Houston, Captain James A. Baker, aided in the discovery of what turned out to be a fake will with a forged signature. Jones was not prosecuted since he cooperated with the district attorney, and testified against Patrick. Patrick was found guilty of conspiring to steal Rice's fortune and he was convicted of murder in 1901 (he was pardoned in 1912 due to conflicting medical testimony).

Baker helped Rice's estate direct the fortune, worth $4.6 million in 1904 (equivalent to $125 million in 2024), towards the founding of what was to be called the Rice Institute, later to become Rice University. The board took control of the assets on April 29 of that year.

In 1907, the board of trustees selected the head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Princeton University, Edgar Odell Lovett, to head the institute, which was still in the planning stages. He came recommended by Princeton's president, Woodrow Wilson. In 1908, Lovett accepted the challenge, and was formally inaugurated as the institute's first president on October 12, 1912.

Lovett undertook extensive research before formalizing plans for the new institute, including visits to 78 institutions of higher learning across the world on a long tour between 1908 and 1909. He was impressed by the aesthetic beauty of the uniformity of the architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, a theme which was adopted by the institute, as well as the residential college system at Cambridge University, which was added to the institute several decades later. Lovett called for the establishment of a university "of the highest grade," "an institution of liberal and technical learning" devoted "quite as much to investigation as to instruction." [We must] "keep the standards up and the numbers down," declared Lovett. "The most distinguished teachers must take their part in undergraduate teaching, and their spirit should dominate it all."

Campus

Located near the city of West University Place, Rice University's campus covers a 285-acre (115 ha) area within Houston's museum district and is heavily wooded.

The campus is bounded by five streets: Greenbriar Street, Rice Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Main Street, and University Boulevard. Throughout its history, Rice University's buildings have been situated within this "outer loop." However, in recent times, new facilities have been constructed in proximity to the campus. Despite this, most of the academic, administrative, and residential structures are still situated within the original pentagonal area. Some off-campus buildings include the Collaborative Research Center, graduate student housing, the Greenbriar building, and the Wiess President's House.

Rice University's campus houses around 50 buildings that are dispersed between the main entrance located at its easternmost corner and the parking lots and Rice Stadium situated at the western end. The Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum, consisting of more than 4000 trees and shrubs is spread throughout the campus.

The university's first president, Edgar Odell Lovett, intended for the campus to have a uniform architecture style to improve its aesthetic appeal. Nearly every building on campus is noticeably Byzantine in style, with sand and pink-colored bricks, large archways and columns being a common theme among many campus buildings.

Lovett Hall, named for Rice's first president, is the university's landmark building. Through its Sallyport arch, new students symbolically enter the university during matriculation and depart as graduates at commencement. Duncan Hall, Rice's computational engineering building, was designed to encourage collaboration between the four different departments situated there. The building's foyer, drawn from many world cultures, was designed by the architect to symbolically express this collaborative purpose.

The campus is organized in a number of quadrangles. The Academic Quad, anchored by a statue of founder William Marsh Rice, includes Ralph Adams Cram's masterpiece, the asymmetrical Lovett Hall, the original administrative building; Fondren Library; Herzstein Hall, the original physics building and home to the largest amphitheater on campus; Sewall Hall for the social sciences and arts; Rayzor Hall for the languages; and Anderson Hall of the Architecture department. The Humanities Building, winner of several architectural awards, is immediately adjacent to the main quad. Further west lies a quad surrounded by McNair Hall of the Jones Business School, the Baker Institute, and Alice Pratt Brown Hall of the Shepherd School of Music. These two quads are surrounded by the university's main access road, a one-way loop referred to as the "inner loop". In the Engineering Quad, a trinity of sculptures by Michael Heizer, collectively entitled 45 Degrees, 90 Degrees, 180 Degrees, are flanked by Abercrombie Laboratory, the Cox Building, and the Mechanical Laboratory, housing the Electrical, Mechanical, and Earth Science/Civil Engineering departments, respectively. Duncan Hall is the latest addition to this quad, providing new offices for the Computer Science, Computational and Applied Math, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Statistics departments.

Organization

Rice University is chartered as a non-profit organization and is governed by a privately appointed board of trustees. The board consists of a maximum of 25 voting members who serve four-year terms. The trustees serve without compensation and a simple majority of trustees must reside in Texas, including at least four within the greater Houston area. The board of trustees delegates its power by appointing a president to serve as the chief executive of the university. Reginald DesRoches was appointed president in 2022 and succeeded David W. Leebron, who served since 2004. The provost, three executive vice presidents, and seven vice presidents report to the president.

The university's academics are organized into several schools. The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies has only graduate programs. Schools that have undergraduate and graduate programs include:

• Rice University School of Architecture
• George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing
• School of Humanities
• Shepherd School of Music
• Wiess School of Natural Sciences
• Rice University School of Social Sciences
• Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management

Rice's undergraduate students are admitted from a centralized admissions process, which admits new students to the university as a whole, rather than a specific school (the schools of Music and Architecture are decentralized). Students are encouraged to select the major path that best suits their desires; a student can later decide that they would rather pursue study in another field, or continue their current coursework and add a second or third major. These transitions are designed to be simple, with students not required to decide on a specific major until their sophomore year of study. Rice offers 360 degrees in over 60 departments. There are 40 undergraduate degree programs, 51 masters programs, and 29 doctoral programs.

Faculty members of each of the departments elect chairs to represent the department to each School's dean and the deans report to the Provost who serves as the chief officer for academic affairs.

Rice Management Company

The Rice Management Company manages the $8.1 billion Rice University endowment (June 2021) and $1.1 billion debt. The endowment provides 40% of Rice's operating revenues.

In August 2021, an economic development agreement that would provide Rice Management Company with up to $65 million in cost reimbursement from local taxes was given initial approval by the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. The agreement does not require a community benefits agreement in exchange for funding. Final approval requires a vote by the Houston City Council.

Academics

Rice is a medium-sized, highly residential research university. The majority of enrollments are in the full-time, four-year undergraduate program emphasizing arts & sciences and professions. There is a very high level of research activity. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as well as the professional accreditation agencies for engineering, management, and architecture.

Each of Rice's departments is organized into one of three distribution groups, and students whose major lies within the scope of one group must take at least three courses of at least three credit hours each of approved distribution classes in each of the other two groups, as well as completing one physical education course as part of the LPAP (Lifetime Physical Activity Program) requirement. All new students must take a Freshman Writing Intensive Seminar (FWIS) class, and for students who do not pass the university's composition examination (administered during the summer before matriculation), FWIS 100, a writing class, becomes an additional requirement.

Student body

As of fall 2022, men made up 51.1% of the undergraduate body and 63.1% of the professional and post-graduate student body. 36.9% of degree-seeking students were from out of state, 35.9% were from Texas and 27.2% were from outside of the United States. In 2022, the largest proportion of international students came from Asian countries, with 1623 out of the 2344 total students (or 69.24%) coming from China (1145), India (296), Taiwan (93), and Korea (89).

Honor Code

The Rice Honor Code plays an integral role in academic affairs. Almost all Rice exams are unproctored and professors give timed, closed-book exams that students take home and complete at their own convenience. Potential infractions are reported to the student Honor Council, elected by popular vote. The penalty structure is established every year by Council consensus; typically, penalties have ranged from a letter of reprimand to an 'F' in the course and a two semester suspension. During Orientation Week, students must take and pass a test demonstrating that they understand the Honor System's requirements and sign a Matriculation Pledge. On assignments, Rice students affirm their commitment to the Honor Code by writing "On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this [examination, quiz or paper]".

Research centers and resources

Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship – supports entrepreneurs and early-stage technology ventures in Houston and Texas through education, collaboration, and research, ranked No. 1 among university business incubators.

Student life

Rice University's 300-acre (120 ha) campus is located in Houston's Museum District and surrounded by greenery, adjacent to Hermann Park, Rice Village, and the Texas Medical Center. Hermann Park features many attractions, including the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Miller Outdoor Theatre, and a municipal golf course. The Houston METRORail system provides access to downtown's theatre and nightlife district and Reliant Park, with a station located adjacent to the university's main gate. In 2008, Rice University joined the Zipcar program, providing two vehicles to offer more transportation options for students who do not have access to a vehicle.

Residential colleges

In 1957, Rice University implemented a residential college system, which was proposed by the university's first president, Edgar Odell Lovett. The system was inspired by existing systems in place in England and at several other universities in the United States. The existing residences known as East, South, West, and Wiess Halls became Baker, Will Rice, Hanszen, and Wiess Colleges, respectively.

List of residential colleges

Below is a list of residential colleges in order of founding:

• Baker College, named in honor of Captain James A. Baker, friend and attorney of William Marsh Rice, and first chair of the Rice Board of Governors
• Will Rice College, named for William M. Rice, Jr., nephew of the university's founder, William Marsh Rice
• Hanszen College, named for Harry Clay Hanszen, benefactor to the university and chairman of the Rice Board of Governors from 1946 to 1950
• Wiess College, named for Harry Carothers Wiess (1887–1948), one of the founders and one-time president of Humble Oil, now ExxonMobil
• Jones College, named for Mary Gibbs Jones, wife of prominent Houston philanthropist Jesse Holman Jones
• Brown College, named for Margarett Root Brown by her in-law, George R. Brown
• Lovett College, named after the university's first president, Edgar Odell Lovett
• Sid Richardson College, named for the Sid Richardson Foundation, established by Texas oilman, cattleman, and philanthropist Sid W. Richardson
• Martel College, named for Marian and Speros P. Martel, built in 2002
• McMurtry College, named for Rice alumni Burt and Deedee McMurtry, Silicon Valley venture capitalists
• Duncan College, named for Charles Duncan, Jr., U.S. secretary of energy, 1979–1981
• Chao College, named after Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao, scheduled to open in the fall of 2026

Each residential college has its own cafeteria (serveries) and each residential college has study groups and its own social practices.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)