Dear colleagues,
It’s hard to believe that the calendar year is quickly approaching its end. The next few weeks will be busy, but we can all look forward to a break soon. While we are in the midst of rushing to complete the semester, let’s take a moment to connect and enjoy some of our accomplishments. I continue to be invigorated by our community. These successes are grounded in caring for our entire community, which I am learning is part of Rice’s secret sauce.
Sgt. Maritza Lopez was selected by TACUPA (Texas Association of College and University Police Administrators) as the Larry W. Fultz Award for Excellence in recognizing her dedication to community policing. In 2022, Maritza was involved in numerous community outreach programs, which included National Night Out, Children’s Safety Fair, RUPD Trick or Treat on campus, Operation Blue Santa, and Special Olympics. In addition to community outreach programs, she is also involved in educational workshops for Graduate students and New Student Orientation. If you see Sgt Lopez around campus, please congratulate her and thank her for going above and beyond.
In athletics, our Rice Women’s Volleyball recently participated in the NCAA Championships with a win over the University of Colorado Boulder in the first round. Our football team is going to the Lending Tree Bowl game in Mobile, Alabama, on December 17. The Owls secured this bowl berth because of their GPA and graduation rate. We’re proud of our scholar-athletes and their work in representing Rice.
Our United Way campaign leaders announced this week that we had achieved our goal of raising $250k! There’s still time to give more to this worthy cause. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to contribute, you can find out more here: https://unitedway.rice.edu/. My very special thanks go to all who have given thus far and to our very own Susann Glenn for co-leading this important initiative.
On Tuesday, we held our first in-person Admin Forum since 2020! I saw a lot of participation, and great energy filled the room as people connected from across the university. We learned about many of the great “giving” efforts occurring on campus, including our inaugural volunteering day with United Way and Bread for Life, many wonderful student success initiatives, and RUPD’s commitment to giving back to the community with an update on food for fines program and operation blue Santa programs.
Please continue to take care of yourself as we navigate the competing pressures this time of year. Thank you for all you do for Rice and our community.
All my best,
Kelly Fox Vice, President for Finance and Administration