Science and religion are not ‘polar opposites,’ Ecklund argues on Nature’s podcast
Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund joined Nature’s career podcast “Working Scientist” to share her research on religion among scientists and discuss her book “Secularity and Science: What Scientists Around the World Really Think About Religion.”
The Collectiv Foundation, in collaboration with Rice, today announced the creation of the AI Native Dual-Use Sports, Health & Wellness Accelerator powered by The Collectiv in Houston’s Ion District, a 16-acre innovation hub in Houston’s Midtown developed by Rice. The accelerator platform is designed to support early stage founders building artificial intelligence technologies validated in sports and scaled across health, enterprise and consumer markets.
Rice’s Baker Institute announces spring public event calendar
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, ranked the world’s No. 1 university-based policy research institution, today announced its spring slate of public events, featuring conversations with leading world leaders, policymakers and thought leaders on the most timely domestic and global issues of the day.
Rice’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business today announced the launch of its Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management program, a 10-month, credit-bearing professional credential designed for current and aspiring leaders seeking deep expertise in the business of healthcare. Situated at the crossroads of Houston’s renowned Texas Medical Center and global healthcare innovation, the program blends rigorous business fundamentals with healthcare-specific strategy, operations and management.
Experts available to discuss economic, health, policymaking in partial US government shutdown
With a partial U.S. government shutdown increasingly possible by the end of the week, Rice experts can provide insight into what is at stake, how a shutdown could happen and the likely effects on the economy, public health and federal policymaking.
Rice’s online graduate programs earned significant gains in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings, with strong upward movement across engineering, computing and business disciplines. The 2026 rankings underscore Rice’s growing national profile for delivering rigorous, high-impact graduate education in a flexible online format.
OpenStax, Kendall Hunt K-12 partner on high school social studies
OpenStax, Rice’s initiative to make education more affordable and accessible to all learners, announced an expansion of its existing partnership with Kendall Hunt Publishing Co. Building on Kendall Hunt’s role as OpenStax’s official print partner, this collaboration expands the relationship to include the Kendall Hunt K-12 division as a curriculum partner, adapting OpenStax’s openly licensed social studies textbooks for enhanced impact in high school classrooms.
Incoming winter storm: Rice experts available to discuss forecast and impacts
As a major winter storm is expected to move into Texas beginning Friday night, Rice experts are available to provide insight into the storm’s impact on transportation.
Rice MBA alumnus Riley provides insights on leadership, crisis management in health care
Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business, sat down Jan. 14 with Dr. Wayne Riley ’02, president of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, to gather insights about Riley’s leadership of complex health care organizations. The event was the first of the 2026 season’s Rice Business Partners’ Thought Leadership Series.
After nearly 25 years of leadership that helped shape Rice’s role in entrepreneurship, Brad Burke will conclude his tenure leading the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and programming in the Ion District, Houston’s transformational innovation district, June 30.
Chief Justice Roberts to visit Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy March 17
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will return to the Rice campus and join the Baker Institute for Public Policy March 17 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Stude Concert Hall for a public conversation reflecting on the state of the American judicial branch and his two decades of service on the nation’s highest court.
What US engagement in the Middle East looks like today: Insights from Satterfield and Deutch
David Satterfield, director of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, sat down Jan. 12 with Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, for a wide-ranging discussion on U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Drawing on decades of diplomatic and policy experience, the two explored the evolving dynamics shaping the region today.
An all-veteran ownership team, Summit Point Leadership LLC, which launched through the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice and its Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Lab, has acquired the business of LDR Leadership LLC, a nationwide leadership, management and supervisory training firm.
Data center location decisions focus on cost and proximity, not job centers, study shows
Recent electricity outages and the surge in artificial intelligence-driven computing have made data center siting decisions more consequential than ever, especially as energy and water constraints tighten. Communities invest public dollars on the promise of jobs and growth, while firms weigh long-term commitments to land, power and connectivity.
Drug policy expert available to speak about fentanyl executive order
President Donald Trump’s executive order designating fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a significant escalation of efforts to curb the fentanyl supply, said Katharine Neill Harris, the Alfred C. Glassell III Fellow in Drug Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Harris is available to speak to the news media about drug usage and U.S. drug policy.
