Rice Business trains leaders on campus and on-site with executive programs
Rice Business Executive Education offers custom-made programs for companies that want to strengthen leadership, enhance culture or address specific management challenges or organizational opportunities. Phillips 66 leaders approached the Executive Education team to develop a custom program focused on leadership, strategy, change management and financial decision-making.
Staff from every corner of campus came together June 3 to enjoy the annual Ice Cream Social hosted by Rice’s Staff Council.
Bob Dittmar named associate dean of Rice’s Virani Undergraduate School of Business
Rice Business is pleased to announce that Bob Dittmar, the Houston Endowment Professor of Finance, has been appointed associate dean of the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, effective July 1.
The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Rice is proud to announce that HEXAspec, a cutting-edge spinout from the lab of professor Jun Lou, has been awarded a $500,000 National Science Foundation Partnership for Innovation grant. The funding will support HEXAspec’s work to enhance the future of computing by substantially improving the thermal conductivity of chips.
Mayor Whitmire provides Houston update at Rice’s Baker Institute
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Rice Baker Institute of Public Policy fellow Ed Emmett discussed Houston’s challenges and opportunities to a packed house May 29 at Baker Hall on Rice’s campus.
Energy and health care industries come together at the Business Collaborative for Brain Health
The Business Collaborative for Brain Health, an alliance of private sector partners developing effective solutions to optimize cognitive health, hosted a program May 21 and 22 that brought together two of Houston’s largest industries: energy and health care.
Ruth Simmons and David Satterfield discuss future of DEI in higher education
David Satterfield, director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, sat down with Ruth Simmons, the President’s Distinguished Fellow and former president of Brown University, Smith College and Prairie View A&M University, for a reflective conversation on the mounting pressures reshaping American higher education.
12 startups selected to join Class 5 of the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship has announced the 12 startups chosen for Class 5 of its Clean Energy Accelerator, a program designed to propel early stage ventures advancing the global energy transition. These companies from both the Houston-region and across the U.S. and Canada are addressing carbon management, energy storage, materials, energy efficiency, wind and hydrogen.
Boniuk Institute convenes leading religion scholars at Rice Paris Center
The Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance recently gathered scholars representing nearly a dozen different nations at the Rice University Global Paris Center to discuss new directions for global research on religious violence and pluralism.
Rice’s Liu Idea Lab welcomes Sandy Guitar to advisory board
The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) at Rice is proud to announce the appointment of Sandy Guitar to its advisory board. Guitar is a highly respected leader in the venture and private equity worlds, bringing decades of experience in early stage investing, strategic growth and founder support to advance Lilie’s mission of empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs at Rice.
OwlSpark announces students, alumni and staff selected for its 13th cohort
OwlSpark, Rice’s startup and small business accelerator for Rice-affiliated ventures, brings together 11 companies in the program’s 13th year who represent a new wave of entrepreneurs tackling challenges across technology, consumer products, health care and more. Since 2013, the accelerator has supported 229 founders and launched 104 ventures with participants collectively raising more than $116 million in funding.
Proposed ‘anti-science’ federal budget will boost China’s progress, Baker Institute expert says
Experts on American science and research policy are available to discuss how the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts could affect the country’s citizens and global leadership.
New national survey reveals what American consumers truly value across 18 key industries
The 2025 Customer Value Report, authored by marketing researchers at Rice and the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School, evaluates 18 sectors representing the full spectrum of American consumer life — from banking, education and health care to streaming services and law enforcement.
Extreme price variation at Houston hospitals continues, expert says
Houston hospitals show significant pricing differences in their procedures, according to a new brief from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The research revisits the websites of the four largest Texas Medical Center (TMC) hospitals to assess whether they have followed federal hospital price transparency laws. The analysis focuses on the listed prices from Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center, Houston Methodist Hospital and Memorial Hermann-TMC.
Veloci wins the 2025 Rice Launch Challenge
Veloci, an innovative shoe company founded by Rice student-athlete Tyler Strothman, took home the top prize at the annual Napier Rice Launch Challenge (NRLC). The April 22 banner event featured pitches from the final five ventures of the competition to a panel of distinguished judges in front of a live audience.
