Rice and Baylor College of Medicine extend MOU

Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) informed their faculty, staff, students and alumni this week that their respective boards have authorized them to extend the memorandum of understanding (MOU) about a possible merger until Jan. 31. The two institutions signed an MOU last March.

A joint letter from Rice President David Leebron and BCM Interim President William Butler was e-mailed to the communities of both institutions Friday. The text of the joint letter appears below.

Dear members of the Rice and Baylor communities:

We are writing to update you on the status of merger discussions between Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. Teams from Rice and Baylor have been meeting regularly since we signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last March to work through the myriad issues that such a major and complex proposition raises. We are pleased to report that substantive progress has been made, enough so that our respective boards have authorized us to extend the MOU to Jan. 31, 2010. We will work hard to bring our discussions to a successful conclusion over the next four months.

While we do not yet know what that conclusion will be, our work to date has confirmed that a merger could produce many academic and research benefits for both of our institutions and the people we serve. A joint academic committee led by Rice Vice Provost for Research Jim Coleman and Baylor Associate Dean of Research Adam Kuspa explored opportunities for potential synergies and the process that would be needed to capture them. The committees concluded that a merger could lead to a wide array of academic benefits, ranging from new undergraduate programs to significant integrated efforts that combine undergraduate and graduate education with interdisciplinary research. The committees recommended creating infrastructure, such as an office of coordination, to identify and implement these initiatives so that resources and resulting benefits are optimized. We are encouraged by these findings and will act on the recommendations should we reach agreement on a merger. We invite you to read the report at http://www.rice.edu/Academic_Committee_Report.pdf.

Three other joint committees on clinical, financial and legal issues also have made progress. We have agreed on many governance and organizational issues, but much more remains to be done to create the financial underpinnings needed for a successful union. We are in discussions with several parties about becoming the primary private adult clinical practice partner for Baylor, a critical component for success. We also are exploring multiple sources of funding that would help the merger achieve its full potential.

While we cannot at this point predict what the next four months will bring, we have learned that there is much to commend an ultimate merger. We thank you for your patience over the many months invested in the discussions so far, and we ask for your support as we attempt to bring them to a conclusion in the near future. Please know that we hold dear the best interests of both institutions, of our potential partners and of our community. We will report again as the discussions progress.

David W. Leebron
President
Rice University

William T. Butler, M.D.
Interim president and CEO
Baylor College of Medicine