People, Papers and Presentations

President David Leebron spoke to the Consular Corps of Houston this week about international education and why the consular corps is so important to it. With 90 consulates, Houston has the third-largest consular corps in the nation and the largest in the Southwest. One of the Vision for the Second Century goals entails strengthening Rice’s international affiliations.

Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Bioengineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been selected to receive the Biomedical Engineering Society’s 2010 Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished Award. The award is presented each year to recognize outstanding achievements and leadership in the science and practice of biomedical engineering.

David Medina, director of Public Affairs’ Multicultural Community Relations, has been selected as a fellow of the 2010-11 class of the American Leadership Forum’s Houston/Gulf Coast chapter. The program helps develop skills and knowledge in dialogue, knowledge of self and others, collaborative leadership, consensus building, transcending personal limits and systems thinking. As a fellow, Medina will attend monthly meetings to learn more about challenging local, national and global issues. The program exposes fellows to new ideas, people and images of the future and poses ethical and moral dilemmas that encourage fellows to become more explicit in clarifying values and in developing a sense of moral stance.

“Put Your Finger on the Differences,” an article by Deborah Barrett, professor in the practice of professional communication, was recently published in the journal Communication Director. In the article, Barrett discusses overcoming cultural biases and moving beyond a superficial knowledge of culture to a more meaningful cross-cultural literacy.

Entries for ”People, Papers, Presentations” should be submitted to the Office of News and Media Relations by e-mail to ricenews@rice.edu or campus mail to MS 300.