Garcia honored for commitment beyond associate counsel duties

DISTINGUISHED
EMPLOYEE AWARD:
Garcia honored for commitment beyond associate counsel duties
…………………………………………………………………

BY DANA BENSON
Rice News Staff

Carlos Garcia
left a downtown law firm more than five years ago to join
Rice as associate general counsel. Recently, the Rice community
finally got around to thanking him.

Garcia was the
recipient of the Distinguished Employee Award at a ceremony
last month. The award is presented by the human resources
department to recognize staff members who perform above
and beyond their job descriptions to the benefit of the
Rice community.

Totally surprised
by the award, Garcia said it was “nice to hear confirmation
that people appreciate the work you do.

“There’s
so much work to do here that I don’t fault people for
not saying that they appreciate you. But it’s nice
to pause and to know that they do,” he said.

A native of
San Antonio, Garcia, whose wife is a Rice alumna, is a graduate
of Yale University with a law degree from Stanford. He worked
for Houston’s Vinson & Elkins law firm for more
than seven years, but decided that he was ready for a change.

An experienced
litigator before coming to Rice, Garcia quickly became a
legal “generalist” once joining the Office of
the General Counsel. In his position, he works primarily
in the areas of employment and human resources issues, student
affairs, immigration and police issues. He still handles
litigation, working closely with the outside law firm that
represents Rice. While those are the main areas in which
his work focuses, he sometimes also handles regulatory and
fund-raising legal matters.

“In a lot
of ways, working here is like being a lawyer in a small
town,” Garcia said. “There’s a lot going
on in a lot of different areas.”

One area that
Garcia focuses on, immigration, led to his nomination for
the Distinguished Employee Award by Adria Baker, director
of Rice’s Office for International Students and Scholars.
He serves as the office’s legal contact for immigration
and foreign tax-related issues. But Baker pointed out that
the work he does for the office goes far beyond serving
as its legal adviser.

Garcia has co-presented
workshops to university departments regarding hiring foreign
nationals and gives a presentation annually at the orientation
for new international students.

“He has
shown a particular care for the international students,”
Baker said. “Carlos addresses the 150-plus newly arriving
international students each year with a wonderfully helpful
presentation. He updates and perfects the information each
year, and it has become the highlight session.”

Garcia goes
out of his way to serve many areas of the campus community,
not just the Office of International Students and Scholars,
Baker noted. He has served on numerous committees, including
the President’s Council for Minority Affairs, and on
several search committees. He also serves as an adviser
to several groups, including the student group than runs
Willy’s Pub and Valhalla.

His involvement
in so many areas on campus actually shows one of his weaknesses
as an attorney: the inability to say no. But Garcia said
that being able to help people is also what makes his job
so rewarding.

“The general
notion of helping people solve problems and seeing those
problems through to their resolution is very rewarding,”
he said.

Garcia said
the people here are another thing he loves about his job.
“There are a lot of people on campus who believe in
what they’re doing, and it’s great to work with
those people.”