Centennial Video Series: Commencement settings at Rice University

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Centennial Video Series: Commencement settings at Rice University
Rice University’s weekly centennial videos run through Oct. 12

HOUSTON – (May 4, 2012) – Two years ago storms drove Rice University’s commencement ceremony indoors for the the first time in 20 years. But weather hasn’t been the only influencing factor on the university’s graduation location during Rice’s 100-year history; hedges, trees and construction have also played a role. In this week’s Centennial Video Series, Centennial Historian Melissa Kean and video producer Brandon Martin take a look back at the various locations that Rice has held its ceremonies.

On May 12, Rice will hold its 99th graduation in its Academic Quad, the commencement setting since the 1980s. The Class of 2012 will hear a commencement address by Khan Academy founder Salman Khan, cross the stage to accept their diplomas, shake President David Leebron’s hand and then walk through Rice’s Sallyport at Lovett Hall.

To help celebrate the university’s centennial Oct. 12, Rice University is producing weekly videos exploring the school’s unique history.

The video, available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/RauTAcp3_V8, is also available to media in high quality and without music for editing purposes. For higher-quality video, contact David Ruth, director of national media relations at Rice, at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is known for its “unconventional wisdom.” With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 4 for “best value” among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to www.rice.edu/nationalmedia/Rice.pdf.