Rice University’s top brass is represented in Houston Woman Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2022 list.
Among the honorees are Provost Amy Dittmar and Board of Trustees member Claudia Gee Vassar, as well as seven others with Rice connections. Each was nominated for inclusion by a Houston Woman Magazine reader and then selected by the staff of the publication.
“There are many outstanding women at Rice who are dedicated to the community and committed to excellence,” Dittmar said. “I am honored to receive this award and to join the ranks of other phenomenal Rice women counted among its recipients. Being relatively new to Houston, I am especially humbled by this recognition.”
Dittmar, whose background includes economics, finance and university administration, is the chair of Rice’s Strategic Planning Committee and is co-leading a budget transformation initiative. She came to Rice in August 2022 from the University of Michigan, where she held a series of top-level administrative roles.
In 2019, she served as acting provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, the chief academic and budgetary officer with direct reporting relationships for 19 schools and colleges as well as other units and key staff. Starting in 2020, she served as senior vice provost, a position in which she oversaw policy decisions and implemented a wide range of strategic, academic and budgetary areas of the university.
She also served as the University of Michigan Ross School of Business’ senior associate dean for graduate programs. In that role, she was primarily responsible for all graduate programs, the office of student life and finalizing the school’s diversity strategic plan. She also directed curriculum review, admissions, strategic planning and budgets for graduate programs, including full-time and part-time MBA programs, the global and executive MBA program, and master’s degrees for management, accounting and supply chain management.
Vassar ’99 is a native Houstonian and Rice graduate who earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. After practicing for nearly a decade, she began working with Houston nonprofits to help guide them through periods of transition and growth. She served as interim executive director for SIRE Inc., EMERGE Fellowship and ArtBridge, and she completed major consulting projects for Houston-area organizations including the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice and Main Street Ministries.
In September 2016, Vassar joined the Houston Botanic Garden, where she currently serves as the president and general counsel. Under her leadership, the garden completed a $38.5 million capital campaign and opened to the public during the pandemic in 2020, creating an oasis in the city that conserves biodiversity, connects people to plants and nature and operates as a living museum for the community.
In addition to her role with the Houston Botanic Garden and on Rice’s Board of Trustees, Vassar is a board member of DePelchin Children's Center and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Additionally, she was honored by the Houston Business Journal as a Most Admired CEO.
“The celebration of women of influence is truly inspirational. I am in awe of and stand on the shoulders of women before me who have had challenging journeys yet still contributed their talents to our world,” she said. “I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to make change in and influence our community for good, and I am honored to have been selected to be a part of this celebration with so many amazing women of influence.”
Dittmar and Vassar are joined by seven others with Rice connections:
- Hether Benjamin Brown is the executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Calpine Corp. She holds a certificate in accounting and financials for non-financial executives.
- Megan Eddings, founder of Accel Lifestyle, is a guest lecturer at Rice and her company was named one of the top three startups in the USA by Inc. Magazine.
- Amy Gibbs is the managing director of ROCO and received a certificate in nonprofit finance.
- Barbara Goodson, founder of Have Shears Will Travel, earned a certificate with distinction in nonprofit leadership.
- Mary Beth Gracy is the managing director of Accenture’s Houston office. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics.
- Judy Han Le, founder and president of TakeRoot LLC, earned her degree at Rice and serves as an instructor for the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies’ leadership certificate program.
- Soledad Tanner, chief executive officer of STC Consulting, completed a certificate of organizational leadership.
The full list can be found online here.