President Reginald DesRoches shared the following message with the Rice community in an email Sept. 28:
Dear Rice community,
I am glad to share that we have formed a search committee and hired a search firm to begin our recruitment process for Rice’s next Vice President and Director of Athletics.
Three years after joining the American Conference, our student-athletes are showing that Rice can truly compete at the highest levels athletically and academically. Last year, five of our teams won conference championships, and four Rice coaches received Coach of the Year honors in the conference. In the classroom, 321 of our student-athletes were named to the American Conference All-Academic Team.
We are looking for a leader who will partner with university leadership to elevate Rice’s national profile, sustain our competitive spirit, enhance the experience for our student-athletes, and provide first-class athletic experiences for our fans, campus community and spirited alumni. Our next director of athletics will also guide Rice through the rapidly changing landscape of collegiate athletics. They will serve as a key steward of the Gateway Project, which will modernize historic Rice Stadium and connect our campus with Rice Village and the greater Houston community.
My sincere gratitude again to Tommy McClelland, who served as director of athletics for the past three years, and Eric George, who has been serving as interim director of athletics since August, as well as the entire Rice Athletics team for their excellent work and dedication.
Thanks also to the colleagues who have agreed to join me on the search committee:
- Elle Anderson ’01, Trustee
- Leo Costello, Associate Professor of Art History, Faculty Athletics Representative and Faculty Senate Speaker
- Amy Dittmar, Howard R. Hughes Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
- Thomas Killian, Dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences
- Patti Lipoma Kraft ’87, Trustee
- William “Bill” V. Neville III ’84, Trustee
Our search committee will partner with Parker Executive Search, a premier firm that brings more than three decades of experience recruiting for intercollegiate athletics programs, sports businesses, colleges and universities, and Fortune 500 companies.
You can access the detailed position profile here . Please share it widely within your networks. You can submit a nomination for the position here . We are also eager to hear what you hope to see in our next director of athletics. Please share your perspective through this brief survey .
If you have questions about the search process, please reach out to DeLaina Sarden, principal at Parker Executive Search, at dsarden@parkersearch.com .
Go Owls!
Reginald DesRoches, President
Rice University