This year, Rice is combining its traditional homecoming and families weekend programming under the Owl Together banner: a weeklong celebration of Rice’s past, present and future with an eclectic mix of events held both virtually and in person.
From Oct. 25-30, Rice alumni of all ages, current students, their families and friends are invited to join in on the excitement. In keeping with campus COVID-19 protocols, all Owl Together guests attending in-person, indoor events will be required to wear masks, but outdoor events won’t require masking.
Rice’s residential colleges will host their own free, on-campus reunion events, as will the Graduate Student Association and many of Rice’s academic departments. There will also be a number of virtual Q&A sessions and lectures led by university faculty and Rice alumni, including a livestreamed conversation between NASA astronaut and Rice alumna Shannon Walker ‘87 and David Alexander, executive director of the Rice Space Institute, on Oct. 26.
President David Leebron will address the Rice community in his President’s Town Hall on Oct. 29. The event at Hudspeth Auditorium will also feature Association of Rice Alumni President Monique Shankle ‘86. Later that evening, Rice alumni are invited to gather at the Peter and Nancy Huff House for light refreshments and a Champagne toast at the Rice Ring Celebration, one of the university’s longest-standing traditions.
The week’s festivities all crescendo with the Oct. 30 homecoming gridiron showdown between Rice Owls Football and the University of North Texas’s Mean Green at Rice Stadium.
Eager Owls and members of the extended Rice family can find a full list of Owl Together events alongside registration info and pricing details at owltogether.rice.edu.