People, papers and presentations

Jenny Brydon, senior manager of international advising and programs in the Office of International Students and Scholars, was invited by the Houston Area Forum for Advisors to Internationals to serve on the Leadership Chair Team. She will serve first as chair-elect and then take on the role of chair. The leadership role is about four years long and benefits Rice because the university has a growing international population. The Houston Area Forum has been in existence for over 30 years and provides a communication avenue between federal, state and local government agencies and international student-scholar advisers in the Houston and Gulf Coast area.

Sarah Whiting, dean of the Rice School of Architecture and the William Ward Watkin Professor of Architecture, has been named Educator of the Year by the American Institute of Architects Houston. The annual award goes to a faculty member at one of the three Houston-area architecture schools. (The other two are University of Houston and Prairie View A&M.) Whiting will be honored at the organization’s annual meeting and affiliate appreciation party Oct. 19.