President’s Letter: Momentous Progress, Global Reach

When we launched Momentous: Personalized Scale for Global Impact in fall 2024, we did so with a clear belief: Rice can grow thoughtfully, expand its reach, and deepen its impact while remaining true to the distinctive culture, values and sense of community that have long defined this university.

Today, we are seeing that vision come to life. Rice is making significant progress toward the goals outlined in our strategic plan and, in many areas, moving faster than expected. We have increased the number of undergraduate and graduate students while maintaining our low student-to-faculty ratio and deep commitment to excellence and access. We have hired a record number of faculty, established new majors, increased research awards, launched new centers and institutes, and forged important partnerships and programs in Houston, notably with the Texas Medical Center and in key industries such as energy and tech and the nonprofit sector. We have also expanded Rice’s global reach through the launch of Rice Global India in Bengaluru and by growing and strengthening our presence in Europe and Latin America.

We saw that global impact this year in a historic milestone: NASA’s successful Artemis II mission, which carried humans around the moon for the first time in more than half a century, returned them safely to Earth and brought humanity farther from home than ever before. Rice alumni, faculty and students contributed to the mission’s preparation, execution and broader scientific understanding, continuing a long-standing partnership between Rice, NASA and the nation’s space program.

These efforts reflect Rice’s deep heritage of collaboration with NASA — a partnership that began with the establishment of Johnson Space Center and continues today through education and research. For me and many others, Artemis II reminded us that Rice’s impact is deeply part of humanity’s thrilling, always-evolving pursuit of discovery.

Rice’s global engagement was also visible here in Houston as our city welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2026. As the only higher education institution serving as an Official Houston World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter, Rice helped amplify Houston’s culture, diversity and hospitality while reinforcing the university’s role as an institution with global reach.

More than 500 Rice volunteers served as ambassadors at the FIFA Fan Festival and other World Cup activities, and the university engaged visitors through its “Rice Minds: Science at Play” exhibit, featuring a soccer ball-inspired structure modeled after the buckyball — the Nobel Prize-winning molecular discovery by Rice scientists that helped transform the field of nanotechnology.

The World Cup also created meaningful opportunities for our students. Through Rice’s sport management program and its strong connections across Houston’s sports industry, students gained firsthand experience supporting sponsorship activations, fan experiences, human rights initiatives, sustainability efforts and other World Cup-related work. Rice became part of the celebration as well, hosting more than 10,000 Netherlands fans on campus before the start of the Oranje Fanwalk and bringing our community together for watch parties and events that reflected the unifying power of sport.

Taken together, these moments tell an important story about Rice’s trajectory. Through Momentous, we are building the foundation for Rice’s future. Through Artemis II and other endeavors, we are contributing to discoveries that expand humanity’s understanding of our universe. And through the World Cup, we helped Houston welcome the world while creating opportunities for students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors to experience the creativity and spirit of Rice.

This is what global impact looks like at Rice: thoughtful growth, bold discovery, meaningful partnerships, and a commitment to preparing our students to lead in a world that is increasingly connected and ever-changing. As we continue this momentous journey, I am grateful for the alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends whose support, talent and belief in Rice make this progress possible.

From the Fall 2026 issue of Rice Magazine