School of Continuing Studies to be named for Susanne M. Glasscock

CONTACT: Margot Dimond
PHONE: (713) 348-6775
E-MAIL: mdimond@rice.edu

School of Continuing Studies to be named for Susanne M. Glasscock
Glasscock gift believed largest ever to endow a continuing education program

Mr. and Mrs. Melbern G. Glasscock and the Glasscock Foundation have given Rice University what is believed to be the largest endowment gift ever made to a university continuing education program in the United States, Rice President David Leebron announced Wednesday.

In recognition of this extraordinary gift, the school will be named the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University.

The Glasscock gift — the amount of which was not disclosed at the donors’ request — is designed to make sure that Rice, through the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, can provide fresh, innovative and accessible courses, leveraging the best in state-of-the-art classroom technology that characterizes Rice’s educational programs. The school draws approximately 10,000 enrollments each year to its programs.

”Mel and Susie Glasscock are committed to the quality and long-term success of the School of Continuing Studies,” Leebron said. ”The wise way they have structured their gift will ensure that we can continue to offer a wide range of preeminent courses that will enrich the lives and advance the careers of many Houstonians for generations to come.”

An event to celebrate the formal renaming of the school is planned for spring. The Shepherd School of Music, whose current name was dedicated in 1975, was the most recent Rice school to be named.

”It is most fitting that the school be named after a woman who is a visionary about the university’s commitment to the broader community and our school’s part in that commitment,” said Mary McIntire, dean of the School of Continuing Studies. ”In the six years I’ve known Mel and Susie, I’ve come to appreciate that they are ideal continuing education students, with broad interests and a love of learning.”

Mrs. Glasscock earned her B.A. in economics from Rice in 1962. Mr. Glasscock earned a B.S.M.E. from Texas A&M in 1959 and his M.S. in mechanical engineering at Rice in 1961. They have been regular Continuing Studies students for almost 30 years.

”Susie and I have been taking classes from the School of Continuing Studies since the 1970s,” Mel Glasscock said. ”We fit the profile of the school’s students, namely lifelong learners who want to be informed about a variety of subjects. I have been blessed beyond words to have Susie in my life, both personally and professionally, and it is most fitting to honor her in this manner.”

”I am very proud to have my name associated with a school of this caliber,” Susie said. ”Its mission is to offer the community educational opportunities that reflect the excellence of Rice University, and I have first-hand knowledge that it does so in a way that is very relevant to our world today.”

The School of Continuing Studies offers non-credit personal and professional development programs for the Houston community and beyond. Personal development programs include lecture courses in arts, humanities and sciences, studio art and photography, informational technology, creative writing, and languages. Professional development offerings include programs in human resources, accounting and financial services, paralegal studies, fundraising, and teacher development. Additionally, the school administers the new Master of Liberal Studies program designed for working adults.

The school’s extensive collaborations with cultural and arts institutions throughout the city, daytime courses available to retired individuals, and an array of programs to develop leadership among the city’s nonprofit organizations all underscore the school’s – and Rice’s – commitment to the community. In addition, the school provides one of the largest teacher professional development programs in the country for middle and high school teachers.

The School of Continuing Studies is one of many collaborations between Rice University and Houston entities catalogued at Engagement Rice/Houston: http://www.rice.edu/engage .

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