Deans, faculty, staff and board members gathered June 2 to celebrate Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez’s 10 years transforming the business school at Rice University and bid farewell as he steps into a new role as the 15th president of Wake Forest University.
Rodriguez has overseen a transformative period of growth and innovation at Rice Business, where he significantly expanded the school’s academic offerings, faculty and reputation. Under his leadership, MBA enrollment doubled, tenure-track faculty increased by more than 40% and the school launched its first fully online graduate business degree — an achievement that required extensive planning, coordination and approval processes.
“I think really one of the themes is excellence and scaling up,” said Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, in her welcome remarks. “You’ve really changed the face of business education at Rice. You launched new graduate programs, the new undergrad program. You’ve grown the faculty, expanded entrepreneurship programs, secured the gift in order to establish the undergrad program for a long time to come — and for doing all of that right before you were ready to leave, you won Dean of the Year from Poets&Quants. Citing a decade of your transformation, I think a lot of that success throughout is due to your curiosity, your questioning and curiosity of everything and everyone, not just in business but as a colleague across campus.”
An economist and professor of strategic management, Rodriguez was named dean of the year by Poets&Quants in 2025. He worked diligently to create and establish the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, named in honor of Houston community and business leaders, Asha Virani ’89 and Farid Virani.
Rodriguez also guided Rice Business through several major challenges during his tenure, including hurricanes, freezes, floods and the COVID-19 pandemic, while fostering a culture centered on being attentive, responsive and kind.
As dean, Rodriguez introduced a hybrid MBA program, expanded entrepreneurship initiatives and incorporated global field experiences into the MBA curriculum. Beyond academics, he guided major investments in the school’s physical footprint, including the renovation of McNair Hall, the groundbreaking of a new state-of-the-art business school facility and the establishment of the Virani School as the home of Rice’s undergraduate business program. Collectively, these accomplishments elevated Rice Business’ national and international standing while positioning it for continued growth and impact, Rice President Reginald DesRoches said.
“Perhaps even more important than these accomplishments is the culture that Peter helped build and foster here over the past decade,” DesRoches said. “He has cultivated a community of excellence, ambition and collaboration at Rice Business. He has been a transformational leader, and we are deeply grateful for his vision, energy and unwavering commitment to the school and the university. We know that Wake Forest University will benefit tremendously from his leadership, wisdom and ability to inspire those around him.”
Rodriguez was honored with a watercolor print of Lovett Hall signed by friends and colleagues and a large, engraved paver that will be installed in the new building adjacent to McNair Hall — expected to be completed in July and ready for the fall semester.
“By far, like every organization, the thing that always matters most is just the people,” Rodriguez said when he took the podium to say thank you. “Every organization is always just people working together, finding a way to see in each other an opportunity to do and to grow well. And Rice has always had the best people, and it still does. I’ll miss all of you dearly. I hope that you always stay close in one way or the other. I’ll keep all of you really close to my heart and remember this 10 years for what it was, which is a great period of transformation opportunity for me. I’m eternally indebted to everyone here at Rice and in the building for the support they’ve given me. I wish you all the very, very best for everything that you do.”
Rice will launch an international search for the next dean of Rice Business this summer. Dittmar has appointed Jeff Fleming, the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Professor of Finance, as interim dean. Fleming has been part of the Rice faculty for more than 30 years and has served in multiple senior leadership roles at Rice Business, including associate dean, senior associate dean and deputy dean.