Public school enrollments will continue to decline unless they become customer-focused, Rice study suggests
February 28, 2024
In September 2023, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a warning call stating “Public schools are approaching a ‘make or break moment.’” This week, several North Texas schools announced potential school closures and staff position eliminations. Nationally, public schools lost over 1.2 million students to private and charter schools over the first two school years of the COVID-19 pandemic with Texas witnessing a 2.2% decline.
Rice’s Office of Innovation awards inaugural One Small Step Grants
February 27, 2024
The Office of Innovation at Rice announced four awardees of the inaugural One Small Step Grants, marking a significant milestone in accelerating the transition from lab to market for Rice-developed technologies. Launched in September 2023 the grant aims to support lab-stage projects across Rice, providing crucial capital for projects to spin out of the university and successfully attract investment from angel investors and venture capital.
Rice OpenStax and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to host inaugural Open Nursing Education (ONE) Summit
February 21, 2024
To address nursing staff shortages, OpenStax, a nonprofit educational initiative of Rice University, in partnership with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), is creating the first Open Nursing Education (ONE) Summit. The two organizations are building upon their shared goal of addressing staffing shortages by reducing financial barriers for nursing students while facilitating discourse around important issues faced by the field.
Fashion icon Stuart Weitzman discusses career at Rice Business event
February 14, 2024
Stuart Weitzman – best known for his iconic, A-list shoe brand – spoke at Rice Business’ Shell auditorium Feb. 12 about his work and career. Rice Vice President for Innovation Paul Cherukuri opened the event introducing Weitzman as a world renowned “innovator, a founder and entrepreneur.”
Condoleezza Rice to speak at Rice Feb. 15, event available on livestream
February 8, 2024
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will speak with David Satterfield, U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues and director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, on Rice’s campus Feb. 15 about leadership in the U.S. and the world.
New Rice report offers options to improve ERCOT reliability
February 7, 2024
The reliability of electricity service in ERCOT has come under increased scrutiny since Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. Increasing demand will create issues, but there are several available “insurance” actions that will likely need to be called upon to ensure long-term reliability, according to a new report from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Child care cliff looms as expenses increase, availability decreases
January 31, 2024
Millions of child care providers in the U.S. face the prospect of having to either raise tuition, cut workers’ wages and benefits or downsize their operations as funds from the American Rescue Plan Act phase out. Up to 3 million children could experience a disruption in care nationwide — a “child care cliff,” according to a new report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.