As Houston’s pride parade made its way through the streets of downtown Houston, so did Rice’s students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters. The parliament of owls gathered to celebrate the 47th annual event, which held special significance in many regards.
Kathryn Cavender, associate vice president of the campus safety department, was recently celebrated for her 34 years of service at Rice, shortly before she enters her retirement. More than 100 people joined a reception at the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science to salute her dedication to the university and the people who fill its spaces.
Rice hosted the 15th annual Texas Leadership Consortium Summer Youth Program June 9-13. This weeklong camp engaged 100 students from Houston area high schools and middle schools to provide life lessons and college readiness activities.
Rice welcomed five distinguished alumni back to campus June 13 for the university’s fifth annual Juneteenth celebration. The event, featuring a panel discussion titled “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Leading in the Time of Black Lives Matter,” offered reflections and insights from former student leaders who navigated pivotal moments of leadership during the movement.
A powerful work of public art that captured global attention when it first appeared on the facade of the Jerusalem Tolerance Museum is now making history on American soil. The “Woman Life Freedom” mural, created by Iranian-American filmmaker and activist Hooman Khalili, was recently unveiled at Rice, becoming the first temporary installation of its kind on a U.S. college campus.
The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) at Rice has unveiled the eight high-potential ventures selected for the third annual Lilie Summer Venture Studio accelerator program. Summer Venture Studio is Rice’s accelerator for high growth, high ambition founders, offering a deep dive into venture building and equipping student-led teams with the funding, mentorship and resources needed to bring their bold ideas to life.
June serves as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and to celebrate, Rice and many campus affiliates will host events to spread awareness about the LGBTQ+ community and educate on sexual and gender diversity.
Five students joined peers from 30 institutions across Asia, Europe and North America to form the NextGen Symphony, a first-of-its-kind international orchestra.
The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Rice is proud to announce that HEXAspec, a cutting-edge spinout from the lab of professor Jun Lou, has been awarded a $500,000 National Science Foundation Partnership for Innovation grant. The funding will support HEXAspec’s work to enhance the future of computing by substantially improving the thermal conductivity of chips.
Nearly 1,000 Earth and planetary explorers from the greater Houston area attended Rice’s K-12 Earth and planetary open house at Rice Memorial Center’s Grand Hall May 3. The event was held by the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, the Rice Space Institute’s Center for Planetary Origins to Habitability and the Office of STEM Engagement in partnership with Houston Independent School District and NASA.
The inaugural cohort of Rice’s RISE (Responsibility, Inclusion and Student Empowerment) program received a commemorative stole to wear at commencement, symbolizing their participation in the pre-matriculation initiative.
Rice’s Campus Services and Sustainability recently was recognized by Keep Texas Beautiful with its Beautify Texas Award in the Outstanding Program of the Year category. The department was honored for its “Give a Hoot! Donate Your Loot!” move-out collection campaign coordinated by the Office of Sustainability and Housing and Dining.
Rice Athletics hosted its annual Night of Flight celebration and fundraiser May 1, bringing together alumni, student-athletes, supporters, family and friends to reflect on a year of achievement and momentum.
Rice conferred more than 250 doctoral degrees during its 112th commencement May 10 at Tudor Fieldhouse. Doctoral candidates along with friends, family and loved ones gathered for the ceremony, which included the awarding of doctoral regalia, congratulatory remarks, cheers and a few moments to reflect on this milestone.