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107-429: RMC, a division of Rice University , is leading development of the project. Local students and community members, concerned about, have expressed a range of concerns about the project including housing affordability, food accessibility, employment, and the potential gentrification of the nearby Third Ward , a predominantly African-American community. The Ion is located in what was originally Third Ward. The Ion District

214-540: A Greek system , with the residential college system taking its place. Five colleges, McMurtry, Duncan, Martel, Jones, and Brown are located on the north side of campus, across from the "South Colleges", Baker, Will Rice, Lovett, Hanszen, Sid Richardson, and Wiess, on the other side of the Academic Quadrangle. Of the eleven colleges, Baker is the oldest, originally built in 1912, and the twin Duncan and McMurtry colleges are

321-845: A lightwell . The building has coworking and office spaces, business incubators and accelerators , classrooms, a prototyping lab, investor studio, and restaurants. The building's Forum Stairs event area includes seating for up to 250 people. Tenants include Chevron Technology Ventures , Microsoft , and the coworking company Common Desk. TXRX Labs operates the 6,500 square foot Ion Prototyping Lab (IPL), which provides equipment, engineering and technical support, and training to member entrepreneurs and startups . Equipment includes 3D printers , laser cutters , lathes , CNC mills , and other manufacturing tools. Eateries include Late August (a collaboration involving retired professional athlete and chef Dawn Burrell ), The Lymbar (by David and Michael Cordúa ), Second Draught, and Common Bond On-the-Go, an outpost of

428-508: A CBA as traditionally defined, in favor of an agreement between the latter two entities without a community coalition signatory. Rice University is chartered as a non-profit organization and is governed by a privately appointed board of trustees . The board consists of a maximum of 25 voting members who serve four-year terms. The trustees serve without compensation and a simple majority of trustees must reside in Texas, including at least four within

535-694: A CBA contract and that the large coalition represents a substantive portion, but not the entire community. Students also shared that RMC "threatened to disown the [Student Association] as a legitimate campus body if the SA Senate passed a resolution supporting the HCEDD as a signatory party in the CBA." Rice Management Company has announced plans to invest $ 100 million in renovation for The Ion. The Ion falls within Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) #2, and RMC

642-463: A CBA with the Houston Coalition for Equitable Development without Displacement and the introduction of a January 27 Student Association resolution, Mayor Turner on January 29 wrote to the president of Rice's Student Association that he has told Andy Icken, the city's chief development officer, to negotiate a "CBA" with Rice Management Company and coordinate community input. Such an agreement between

749-497: A bakery located in Houston's Montrose neighborhood. In 2021, the Ion's management team invited local artists to submit proposals for site-specific art installations in windows along two streets. Works by two winning artists or teams will rotate every six months. The commission budget was $ 20,000 per display. Works by Lina Dib and Preston Gaines were installed in 2022; Dib's Self-Portrait in

856-472: A building that was previously leased to a Fiesta Mart supermarket. The market was a source of fresh produce for residents in nearby Third Ward which was classified as a food desert. A large plaza designed by James Corner Field Operations is adjacent to the Ion building. The Ion building sits across the street from the Wheeler Transit Center, a major transit hub. The developer also has plans to build

963-494: A centralized admissions process, which admits new students to the university as a whole, rather than a specific school (the schools of Music and Architecture are decentralized). Students are encouraged to select the major path that best suits their desires; a student can later decide that they would rather pursue study in another field, or continue their current coursework and add a second or third major. These transitions are designed to be simple, with students not required to decide on

1070-586: A common theme among many campus buildings. Noteworthy exceptions include the glass-walled Brochstein Pavilion, Lovett College with its Brutalist -style concrete gratings, Moody Center for the Arts with its contemporary design, and the eclectic-Mediterranean Duncan Hall. In September 2011, Travel+Leisure listed Rice's campus as one of the most beautiful in the United States. Lovett Hall, named for Rice's first president,

1177-571: A community benefits agreement in exchange for funding. Final approval requires a vote by the Houston City Council. Rice is a medium-sized, highly residential research university. The majority of enrollments are in the full-time, four-year undergraduate program emphasizing arts & sciences and professions. There is a very high level of research activity. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as well as

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1284-573: A community benefits agreement with Rice Management Company. The Ion's executive director at the time, Gaby Rowe, was invited to give a presentation on the innovation district and field questions before the public forums held by Rice and the City of Houston in September 2020. In addition to a CBA, student members of the coalition seek a Racial Equity Impact Assessment, as well as public transparency about Rice's community engagement efforts and neighborhood survey. Over

1391-465: A development agreement with the City of Houston in response to requests from community members and Rice students regarding the Rice Innovation District . This decision was made instead of implementing a community benefits agreement , which had been suggested by the community. Typically, community benefits agreements involve a community coalition as a signatory, but the proposed agreement with

1498-417: A development agreement, as it is between a developer and a local governmental planning agency, rather than between a developer and a community coalition. After Turner and Rice agreed to negotiate a development agreement, RMC and the City of Houston organized a workshop series which included a presentation of the district, a panel discussion of community experts, and breakout sessions for public input. Following

1605-557: A former Sears store into an innovation center in April 2018. The department store chain had a 99-year lease agreement with Rice University since 1945, and RMC bought the company out of the lease in 2017. RMC led the expansion and renovation of the store, which closed in 2018. SHoP Architects , Gensler , James Carpenter Design Associates , and Walter P Moore designed the new structure. In July 2019, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner , Rice University president David Leebron , and representatives of

1712-447: A fund-raising program designed to encourage annual gifts, was launched in 1976 and ended in 1996 having raised $ 185 million ($ 359 million). The Rice School of Social Sciences was founded in 1979. On-campus housing was exclusively for men for the first forty years, until 1957. Jones College was the first women's residence on the Rice campus, followed by Brown College . According to legend,

1819-534: A lawsuit to void the racial language in the trust in 1966. Rice began charging tuition for the first time in 1965. In the same year, Rice launched a $ 33 million ($ 319 million) development campaign. $ 43 million ($ 337 million) was raised by its conclusion in 1970. In 1974, two new schools were founded at Rice, the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management and the Shepherd School of Music . The Brown Foundation Challenge,

1926-559: A letter of reprimand to an 'F' in the course and a two semester suspension. During Orientation Week, students must take and pass a test demonstrating that they understand the Honor System's requirements and sign a Matriculation Pledge. On assignments, Rice students affirm their commitment to the Honor Code by writing "On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this [examination, quiz or paper]". Admission to Rice

2033-412: A municipality and a developer is traditionally described as a development agreement rather than a community benefits agreement, which by definition must include a community coalition. The City of Houston facilitated online informational webinars alongside RMC in September and October 2020 on job-training, housing affordability, and hiring opportunities. The Rice University Student Association Senate passed

2140-671: A one-way loop referred to as the "inner loop". In the Engineering Quad, a trinity of sculptures by Michael Heizer , collectively entitled 45 Degrees, 90 Degrees, 180 Degrees , are flanked by Abercrombie Laboratory, the Cox Building, and the Mechanical Laboratory, housing the Electrical, Mechanical, and Earth Science/Civil Engineering departments, respectively. Duncan Hall is the latest addition to this quad, providing new offices for

2247-564: A parking garage and a greenway for pedestrians and bicyclists. The Ion is a 266,000-square-foot (24,700 m), six-level building on Main Street in what was formerly a four-story Sears department store built in 1939 and closed in 2018. The $ 100 million renovation project, which began in 2019 and was completed in 2021, expanded the building to include two additional floors and involved removing aluminum sheeting, restoring Art Deco architectural stylings, adding additional windows, and constructing

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2354-459: A project, to press for community benefits that are tailored to their particular needs, and to enforce the developer's promises," and asks that RMC make HCEDD an equal party in the CBA negotiation process, as well as create processes for public openness and transparency. Allison Thacker and Ryan LeVasseur, RMC's president and director of real estate respectively, argued against the resolution, stating that HCEDD does not have legal authority to enter into

2461-477: A resolution on February 17, 2020, in support of a community benefits agreement process for the Innovation District. The resolution states that a CBA is "project‐specific contract between developers or cities and community coalitions. CBAs are legally binding, enforceable agreements that call for a range of benefits to be produced by the development project. They allow community groups to have a voice in shaping

2568-454: A second incubator in Houston, having considered the city since 2019. In September 2020, the firm confirmed plans to retrofit a former Fiesta Mart store, which the operator had closed two months prior because of declining sales. Additionally, Greentown Labs revealed plans to raise $ 10 million for the renovation project and three years of working capital . The firm had raised approximately $ 8 million by September 2020, and building construction began

2675-481: A specific major until their sophomore year of study. Rice offers 360 degrees in over 60 departments. There are 40 undergraduate degree programs, 51 masters programs, and 29 doctoral programs. Faculty members of each of the departments elect chairs to represent the department to each School's dean and the deans report to the Provost who serves as the chief officer for academic affairs. The Rice Management Company manages

2782-453: A spectacular international academic festival was held, bringing Rice to the attention of the entire academic world. Per William Marsh Rice's will and Rice Institute's initial charter, the students paid no tuition. Classes were difficult, however, and about half of Rice's students had failed after the first 1912 term. At its first commencement ceremony, held on June 12, 1916, Rice awarded 35 bachelor's degrees and one master's degree. That year,

2889-508: A theme which was adopted by the institute, as well as the residential college system at Cambridge University in England , which was added to the Institute several decades later. Lovett called for the establishment of a university "of the highest grade," "an institution of liberal and technical learning" devoted "quite as much to investigation as to instruction." [We must] "keep the standards up and

2996-750: Is a private research university in Houston, Texas , United States. It sits on a 300-acre (120 ha) campus adjacent to the Houston Museum District and the Texas Medical Center . Rice University comprises eight schools of academic study, including School of Humanities , School of Social Sciences , Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business , George R. Brown School of Engineering , Wiess School of Natural Sciences , Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies , Rice School of Architecture , and Shepherd School of Music . Opened in 1912 as

3103-580: Is a 16-acre (6.5 ha) innovation district in Midtown, Houston . The district is anchored by the Ion, which serves as a central "hub for startups, corporations, venture capitalists, business accelerator programs, academics and others", according to the Houston Chronicle . The district's Greentown Labs Houston is the largest climate technology and sustainable energy incubator in North America, housed in

3210-474: Is an incubator and the second U.S. location operated by Somerville, Massachusetts -based Greentown Labs. The approximately 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m) incubator provides funding and office space for approximately 50 startups. The retrofitted building was previously operated and vacated by Fiesta Mart and has community spaces, labs, concrete floors, loading docks, and a trash compactor. Rice Management Company (RMC) and its partners announced plans to convert

3317-448: Is organized in a number of quadrangles . The Academic Quad, anchored by a statue of founder William Marsh Rice, includes Ralph Adams Cram 's masterpiece, the asymmetrical Lovett Hall, the original administrative building; Fondren Library ; Herzstein Hall, the original physics building and home to the largest amphitheater on campus; Sewall Hall for the social sciences and arts; Rayzor Hall for

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3424-503: Is rated as "most selective" by U.S. News & World Report . For fall 2024, Rice received 32,459 freshmen applications of which 2,439 were admitted (7.5%) down from a record-low 7.7% acceptance rate in 2023. The 25th and 75th SAT scores for the class of 2024 were 1510 and 1560 respectively; the same numbers for the ACT Composite score was 34–35. Admission to the university is need-blind for domestic applicants. Rice

3531-430: Is seeking $ 75M in cost reimbursement from City of Houston taxes that are expected as a result of development on properties within the innovation district. The Ion falls within a Texas Census block group that is both a Texas Enterprise Zone and an Opportunity zone , qualifying it for certain financial incentives at the local, state, and federal levels. These can also result in tens of millions of dollars in cost savings for

3638-475: Is the university's landmark building. Through its Sallyport arch, new students symbolically enter the university during matriculation and depart as graduates at commencement. Duncan Hall, Rice's computational engineering building, was designed to encourage collaboration between the four different departments situated there. The building's foyer, drawn from many world cultures, was designed by the architect to symbolically express this collaborative purpose. The campus

3745-828: The Economic Development Administration 's Build to Scale program to support the Accelerator Hub's creation. The district received a $ 1.4 million federal grant from the Minority Business Development Agency in October 2020 to establish an aerospace engineering accelerator in partnership with NASA 's Johnson Space Center and DivInc. The ISRCA's third cohort began a 12-week program at the Ion in March 2021. The AIA for MBEs launched in April 2021, with four BIPOC -owned companies selected to participate in

3852-765: The Rice Institute after the murder of its namesake William Marsh Rice , Rice has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1985 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Rice competes in 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a part of the American Athletic Conference . Its teams are the Rice Owls . Alumni include 26 Marshall Scholars , 12 Rhodes Scholars , 7 Churchill Scholars , and 3 Nobel laureates . Rice University's history began with

3959-480: The Rice Institute Computer went online. 1960 saw Rice Institute formally renamed William Marsh Rice University. Rice acted as a temporary intermediary in the transfer of land between Humble Oil and Refining Company and NASA , for the creation of NASA 's Manned Spacecraft Center (now called Johnson Space Center ) in 1962. President John F. Kennedy then gave a speech at Rice Stadium reiterating that

4066-648: The South Street Seaport , and the design of 111 West 57th Street , also known as Steinway Tower. The Steinway Tower is one of several projects SHoP has designed in collaboration with JDS Development Group . Other buildings include the American Copper Buildings and 9 DeKalb Avenue , also known as the Brooklyn Tower. It has also designed the Museum of Sex , a renovation of Governors Island , and

4173-409: The "recommendations did not go far enough". HCEDD proposed an alternative set of commitments that included cultural preservation , enforcement provisions, and more ambitious housing elements, including "a net loss of zero affordable housing units on its residential properties as a result of the Ion district." HCEDD also continued to demand a community benefits agreement with RMC which would not include

4280-482: The $ 8.1 billion Rice University endowment (June 2021) and $ 1.1 billion debt. The endowment provides 40% of Rice's operating revenues. In August 2021, an economic development agreement that would provide Rice Management Company with up to $ 65 million in cost reimbursement from local taxes was given initial approval by the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. The agreement does not require

4387-679: The 2009 National Design Award for Architecture Design from the Smithsonian Institution 's Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum , the Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Awards, and awards from the American Institute of Architects ' New York City and New York State chapters. Justin Davidson , the architecture critic for New York magazine, called the firm "ubiquitous" and criticized its plan with

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4494-479: The Advancement of Letters, Science, and Art began course work with 59 enrolled students, who were known as the "59 immortals," and about a dozen faculty. After 18 additional students joined later, Rice's initial class numbered 77, 48 male and 29 female. Unusual for the time, Rice accepted coeducational admissions from its beginning, but on-campus housing would not become co-ed until 1957. Three weeks after opening,

4601-535: The City of Houston will not include such a coalition. Located near the city of West University Place , Rice University's campus covers a 285-acre (115 ha) area within Houston's museum district and is heavily wooded. The campus is defined by five streets: Greenbriar Street, Rice Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Main Street, and University Boulevard. Throughout its history, Rice University's buildings have been situated within this "outer loop." However, in recent times, new facilities have been constructed in proximity to

4708-593: The City of Houston. After the working group released its report, the City of Houston and Rice began negotiations and presented a proposed development agreement to the City Council for approval that included $ 15.3 million dollars in direct community investments to affordable housing, community capacity building, and support for underrepresented entrepreneurs as well as project-based contracting and investment opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) and underrepresented individuals. A board member for

4815-524: The Computer Science, Computational and Applied Math, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Statistics departments. Roughly three-quarters of Rice's undergraduate population lives on campus. Housing is divided among eleven residential colleges , which form an integral part of student life at the university (see Residential colleges of Rice University ). The colleges are named for university historical figures and benefactor. Rice does not have or endorse

4922-494: The Garden has been described as "a lush, though thoroughly artificial garden of Astro turf, plastic plants and pink flamingos" with "a horizontal screen, suspended at a slight angle, which captures and transplants images of people in front of the window into a virtual garden of psychedelic foliage, which incrementally covers up the mirrored subject unless he/she/they move their body". Located on San Jacinto Street, Greentown Labs Houston

5029-466: The Houston Coalition for Equitable Development Without Displacement (HCEDD), a group of community organizations, residents, and students concerned about the potential gentrification of the Third Ward, a historically and predominantly African-American community. The group tried to develop an exclusive and separate CBA with RMC which would not include the City of Houston as the counterparty, in alignment with

5136-748: The Ion Smart and Resilient Cities Accelerator (ISRCA), the Aerospace Innovation Accelerator for Minority Business Enterprises (AIA for MBEs), the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, and DivInc Houston. The Ion team established the ISRCA in September 2019 to focus on disaster recovery . Community Impact Newspaper has said the ISRCA "addresses the needs of Houston and cities across America by deploying technology into existing civic infrastructure", and participating startups "have

5243-505: The Ion and the Austin-based nonprofit organization DivInc announced a partnership to develop programs for women and minority entrepreneurs. The Latinx Startup Alliance partnered with the Ion to support Latino entrepreneurs and began hosting virtual programming in October 2020. The Houston-based law firm Baker Botts joined Chevron Technology Ventures and Microsoft as a founding partner in March 2021. According to Community Impact Newspaper ,

5350-632: The Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. A new Rec Center now houses the intramural sports offices and provide an outdoor pool, training and exercise facilities for all Rice students, while athletics training will solely be held at Tudor Fieldhouse and the Rice Football Stadium. In early 2019, Rice announced the site where the abandoned Sears building in Midtown Houston stood, along with its surrounding area, would be transformed into "The Ion,"

5457-623: The LPAP (Lifetime Physical Activity Program) requirement. All new students must take a Freshman Writing Intensive Seminar (FWIS) class, and for students who do not pass the university's composition examination (administered during the summer before matriculation), FWIS 100, a writing class, becomes an additional requirement. The majority of Rice's undergraduate degree programs grant B.S. or B.A. degrees. Rice has recently begun to offer minors in areas such as business , energy and water sustainability, and global health. As of fall 2022, men make up 51.1% of

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5564-465: The Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which had recently approved a $ 65 million reimbursement deal for the project, voiced concerns that Rice was “not putting enough money into the pot” with regard to affordable housing preservation in the district and clarified that "the community benefits agreement should include a local group, not the city." The proposed development agreement was introduced to City Council for approval on November 3, 2021. The mayor

5671-482: The Student Coalition for a Just and Equitable Innovation Corridor are advocating for a community benefits agreement (CBA), a contractual agreement between a developer and a community coalition. Residents of neighboring Third Ward and other members of the Houston Coalition for Equitable Development Without Displacement (HCEDD) have faced consistent opposition from the City of Houston and Rice Management Company to

5778-479: The TIRZ require RMC to enter into a Community Benefits Agreement with a community coalition before approving the deal, six of the seven board members voted for the agreement. Board member Caton Fenz, CEO of ConnectGen, noted that the development may incidentally result in some affordable housing, however the agreement does not include any mention of affordable housing or any measures to address gentrification , particularly in

5885-717: The Third Ward community neighboring Midtown. The Midtown TIRZ has bought an estimated $ 72 million worth of land in Third Ward covering 4 million square feet. Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies was the first school to announce coursework at the Ion, including data science and financial services. The district has the following restaurants either open or in development: See also: List of companies in Houston See: List of colleges and universities in Houston [REDACTED] Category [REDACTED] Texas portal Rice University Rice University , officially William Marsh Rice University ,

5992-524: The United States intended to reach the Moon before the end of the decade of the 1960s, and "to become the world's leading space-faring nation". The Rice Space Institute has collaborated with the Johnson Space Center for more than 50 years. The original charter of Rice Institute dictated that the university admit and educate, tuition-free, "the white inhabitants of Houston, and the state of Texas". In 1963,

6099-651: The agreement sets a new precedent for community members and developers to work together in Houston and that it was "more than any developer has ever done in the history of development agreements." Opponents to the development agreement in the community and on city council voiced support for the Ion but criticized the approval of a community benefits agreement that is not a "research-based and academically sound CBA." The Houston Coalition for Equitable Development without Displacement, also known as HCEDD, formed in October and held its first community meeting in November 2019 in pursuit of

6206-511: The bulk of his fortune to Patrick, rather than to the creation of Rice's educational institute. A subsequent investigation led by the District Attorney of New York resulted in the arrests of Patrick and of Rice's butler and valet Charles F. Jones, who had been persuaded to administer chloroform to Rice while he slept. Rice's friend and personal lawyer in Houston, Captain James A. Baker , aided in

6313-618: The campus. Despite this, most of the academic, administrative, and residential structures are still situated within the original pentagonal area. Some off-campus buildings include the Collaborative Research Center, graduate student housing, the Greenbriar building, and the Wiess President's House. Rice University's campus houses around 50 buildings that are dispersed between the main entrance located at its easternmost corner and

6420-480: The challenge, and was formally inaugurated as the institute's first president on October 12, 1912. Lovett undertook extensive research before formalizing plans for the new Institute, including visits to 78 institutions of higher learning across the world on a long tour between 1908 and 1909. Lovett was impressed by such things as the aesthetic beauty of the uniformity of the architecture at the University of Pennsylvania ,

6527-482: The chance to build relationships with mentors, corporate networks, municipality decision-makers, and stakeholder partners, and gain exposure in the Greater Houston region". The AIA for MBEs supports startups in their development of solutions for aerospace-related challenges, and the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator focuses on sustainable energy projects. In September 2020, the district received $ 1.5 million from

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6634-546: The city attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ion's redevelopment. Master plans for the district were revealed in November 2019. Jan Odegard, the former executive director of Rice University's Ken Kennedy Institute, became the Ion's executive director in June 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic , the Ion hosted online programming, including "Family Tech Night" and events for startups. In mid 2020, Greentown Labs announced plans to open

6741-404: The course of several months of public meetings, the coalition came to make up over twenty organizations, formed working groups, and elected a negotiation team. HCEDD has also held public workshops about the research behind the CBA process with Dr. Murtaza Baxamusa, known for his research on community benefits agreements. Shortly after a January 20 open letter from a Rice student coalition demanding

6848-432: The demise of Massachusetts businessman William Marsh Rice, who had made his fortune in real estate, railroad development and cotton trading in the state of Texas . In 1891, Rice decided to charter a free-tuition educational institute in Houston, bearing his name, to be created upon his death, earmarking most of his estate towards funding the project. Rice's will specified the institution was to be "a competitive institution of

6955-552: The developer through taxpayer subsidies over the course of a decade. Enterprise Zones are census block groups in Texas with a poverty rate at or above 20%. They are a way to collect various local and state incentives together to spur innovation in order to revitalize an area that is considered distressed. Local benefits may include but aren't limited to tax abatement , permitting fee waivers, publicly-owned buildings transferred below market cost, and low-interest loans. State benefits may include state sales and use tax refunds, depending on

7062-547: The development even without taxpayer subsidies, rather than companies that are creating jobs. On August 26, 2021, the board of the Midtown TIRZ voted to approve an economic development agreement between the TIRZ and Rice Management Company. In exchange for leading infrastructure improvements and building a new parking garage within the Innovation District, the TIRZ will provide $ 65 million in cost reimbursements for RMC's investment. Despite months of critical feedback requesting that

7169-472: The discovery of what turned out to be a fake will with a forged signature. Jones was not prosecuted since he cooperated with the district attorney, and testified against Patrick. Patrick was found guilty of conspiring to steal Rice's fortune and he was convicted of murder in 1901 (he was pardoned in 1912 due to conflicting medical testimony). Baker helped Rice's estate direct the fortune, worth $ 4.6 million in 1904 (equivalent to $ 122 million in 2023), towards

7276-401: The energy, life sciences, and technology-focused firm "has supported The Ion since its inception and has provided programming over the last few years". Aramco Americas also joined as a founding partner. In addition to being a tenant, Capital Factory formed a programming partnership with the Ion in October 2021 to offer events and resources on-site for startups. The Ion's Accelerator Hub includes

7383-825: The expansion of the Google headquarters in Silicon Valley, California . SHoP is also known for its work on large-scale development projects. These include the Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment , Essex Crossing , and Schuylkill Yards . In 2014, SHoP was named Fast Company magazine's "Most Innovative Architecture Firm in the World", and one of its "Most Innovative Companies in the World" for its policy of accepting equity in projects, rather than traditional payment, in exchange for services, as well as for its use of modular construction methods. SHoP Architects' awards also include

7490-634: The firm has approximately 180 employees. Its work has been exhibited internationally and included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art . Its first monograph , Out of Practice , was published in 2012 by the Monacelli Press. The firm is known for its designs of the Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn , New York , its contract with the Howard Hughes Corporation to develop

7597-563: The first 12-week program. At the Ion's groundbreaking ceremony in July 2019, students from Rice, Texas Southern University , the University of Houston and local high schools, who had formed the Student Coalition for a Just and Equitable Innovation Corridor to advocate for a community benefits agreement . In January 2020, representatives of 17 student groups wrote a letter to university president Leebron asking RMC to guarantee community benefits to local residents. Students asked Rice to collaborate with

7704-450: The following month. In February 2021, Turner hosted a "reveal" ceremony for the incubator, which had approximately 20 corporate partners and 16 inaugural startups at the time. Companies that contributed to the project included BHP , CenterPoint Energy , Chevron , Gexa Energy , Shell , Vinson & Elkins , Wells Fargo , and Williams . In April 2021, Greentown Labs received a certificate of occupancy and 30 companies began moving into

7811-611: The founding of what was to be called the Rice Institute, later to become Rice University. The board took control of the assets on April 29 of that year. In 1907, the Board of Trustees selected the head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Princeton University , Edgar Odell Lovett , to head the institute, which was still in the planning stages. He came recommended by Princeton's president, Woodrow Wilson . In 1908, Lovett accepted

7918-412: The governing board of Rice University filed a lawsuit to allow the university to modify its charter to admit students of all races and to charge tuition. Ph.D. student Raymond Johnson became the first black Rice student when he was admitted that year. In 1964, Rice officially amended the university charter to desegregate its graduate and undergraduate divisions. The Trustees of Rice University prevailed in

8025-615: The greater Houston area. The board of trustees delegates its power by appointing a president to serve as the chief executive of the university. Reginald DesRoches was appointed president in 2022 and succeeded David W. Leebron , who served since 2004. The provost, three executive vice presidents, and seven vice presidents report to the president. The university's academics are organized into several schools. The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies has only graduate programs. Schools that have undergraduate and graduate programs include: Rice's undergraduate students are admitted from

8132-497: The highest grade" and that only white students would be permitted to attend. On the morning of September 23, 1900, Rice, age 84, was found dead by his valet, Charles F. Jones, and was presumed to have died in his sleep. Shortly thereafter, a large check made out to Rice's New York City lawyer, signed by the late Rice, aroused the suspicion of a bank teller, due to the misspelling of the recipient's name. The lawyer, Albert T. Patrick , then announced that Rice had changed his will to leave

8239-581: The hub of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) South Main Innovation District. President of Rice, David Leebron stated "We chose the name Ion because it's from the Greek ienai, which means 'go'. We see it as embodying the ever-forward motion of discovery, the spark at the center of a truly original idea. It also represents the last three letters in many of the words that define the building's mission, like inspiration, creation, acceleration and innovation." Students of Rice and other Houston-area colleges and universities making up

8346-583: The languages; and Anderson Hall of the Architecture department. The Humanities Building, winner of several architectural awards, is immediately adjacent to the main quad. Further west lies a quad surrounded by McNair Hall of the Jones Business School , the Baker Institute , and Alice Pratt Brown Hall of the Shepherd School of Music . These two quads are surrounded by the university's main access road,

8453-471: The largest student racial group at Rice University is Asian. The Rice Honor Code plays an integral role in academic affairs. Almost all Rice exams are unproctored and professors give timed, closed-book exams that students take home and complete at their own convenience. Potential infractions are reported to the student Honor Council, elected by popular vote. The penalty structure is established every year by Council consensus; typically, penalties have ranged from

8560-586: The level of investment and the number of jobs created. This federal program is also for areas that are considered distressed, providing tax benefits such as tax abatement to private investors in hopes of creating economic development and jobs in those areas. These census tracts were nominated by Governor Greg Abbott , seeking to address issues including risk of economic disrupters such as hurricanes, relatively low population density, and persistent unemployment. A 2020 report found that many opportunity zone beneficiaries are real estate investors who were likely to still do

8667-580: The merger was ultimately rejected in 2010. Select Rice undergraduates are currently guaranteed admission to Baylor College of Medicine upon graduation as part of the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars program. According to History Professor John Boles' 2007 book University Builder: Edgar Odell Lovett and the Founding of the Rice Institute , the first president's original vision for the university included hopes for future medical and law schools. In 2018,

8774-493: The newest, and opened for the first time for the 2009–10 school year. Will Rice, Baker, and Lovett colleges are undergoing renovation to expand their dining facilities as well as the number of rooms available for students. The on-campus football facility, Rice Stadium , opened in 1950 with a capacity of 70,000 seats. After improvements in 2006, the stadium is currently configured to seat 47,000 for football but can readily be reconfigured to its original capacity of 70,000, more than

8881-412: The newly renamed BioScience Research Collaborative building (intended to foster collaboration with the adjacent Texas Medical Center ), a new recreational center and the renovated Autry Court basketball stadium, and the addition of two new residential colleges, Duncan College and McMurtry College . Beginning in late 2008, the university considered a merger with Baylor College of Medicine , though

8988-738: The next phase of the district's development. TXRX Labs has operated the Ion Prototyping Lab since January 2022. In addition to the tenant restaurants in the Ion building, Stuff'd Wings has been a district tenant since April 2022. Established in 2019, the restaurants previously operated as a food truck . The Ion district announced its first academic partnership in January 2020; Rice University's Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies offered courses on computer and data science , financial services , human resources , leadership development , and project management to Ion members. In March 2020,

9095-570: The numbers down," declared Lovett. "The most distinguished teachers must take their part in undergraduate teaching, and their spirit should dominate it all." In 1911, the cornerstone was laid for the institute's first building, the Administration Building, now known as Lovett Hall in honor of the founding president. On September 23, 1912, the 12th anniversary of William Marsh Rice's murder, the William Marsh Rice Institute for

9202-462: The parking lots and Rice Stadium situated at the western end. The Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum , consisting of more than 4000 trees and shrubs is spread throughout the campus. The university's first president, Edgar Odell Lovett , intended for the campus to have a uniform architecture style to improve its aesthetic appeal. Nearly every building on campus is noticeably Byzantine in style, with sand and pink-colored bricks, large archways and columns being

9309-418: The professional accreditation agencies for engineering, management, and architecture. Each of Rice's departments is organized into one of three distribution groups, and students whose major lies within the scope of one group must take at least 3 courses of at least 3 credit hours each of approved distribution classes in each of the other two groups, as well as completing one physical education course as part of

9416-485: The series, RMC convened a working group of civic and community stakeholders to help identify commitments to be documented in the development agreement between Rice and the City of Houston. Stakeholders included representatives from Houston's Black and Hispanic chambers of commerce as well as residents of communities surrounding the district. After meeting with HCEDD's eight-member negotiation team representing 32 organizations, RMC offered HCEDD four positions to participate in

9523-452: The single-sex floors of colleges that had them becoming co-ed by 2006. By then, several new residential colleges had been built on campus to handle the university's growth, including Lovett College , Sid Richardson College , and Martel College . The Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations was held at Rice in 1990. Three years later, in 1993, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy

9630-591: The south, and 9th among research universities. In 2020, Rice was ranked 105th in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings . In 2020, Rice was ranked tied for 95th internationally (41st nationally) by the Academic Ranking of World Universities . Rice University was also ranked 85th globally in 2020 by QS World University Rankings . Rice is noted for its entrepreneurial activity, and has been recognized as

9737-566: The space. The incubator opened on Earth Day 2021. The grand opening ceremony was livestreamed and had limited in-person attendance because of the pandemic, which also forced Greentown Labs Houston to scale back programming temporarily. Chevron Technology Ventures was named the first tenant and program partner for the Ion in August 2020. Microsoft, which also became a program partner, announced in August 2020 it would invest $ 1 million into social entrepreneurship programs as part of its participation, and

9844-600: The student body also voted to adopt the Honor System, which still exists today. In the 1920s, many of the university's early students were active supporters of the Ku Klux Klan , with a 1922 yearbook showing approximately twenty students wearing Klan robes in a posed photograph. President David Leebron reacted to the re-circulation of these images in 2019 by stating that "It is unsurprising but nonetheless deeply disturbing that racist imagery, including students in blackface and KKK outfits, appeared at Rice with some frequency during

9951-696: The top ranked business incubator in the world by the Stockholm -based UBI Index for both 2013 and 2014. SHoP Architects SHoP Architects is an architecture firm in Lower Manhattan , New York City , with projects located on five continents. Led by four principals, the firm provides services to residences, commercial buildings, schools and cultural institutions, as well as large-scale master plans. SHoP stands for Sharples Holden and Pasquarelli. Founded in 1996 by Gregg Pasquarelli, Christopher Sharples, Coren Sharples, Kimberly Holden, and William Sharples,

10058-737: The top spot for eight weeks. In 2003, the Owls won their first national championship in baseball, which was the first for the university in any team sport, beating Southwest Missouri State in the opening game and then the University of Texas and Stanford University twice each en route to the title. In 2008, President David Leebron issued a ten-point plan titled "Vision for the Second Century" outlining plans to increase research funding, strengthen existing programs, and increase collaboration. The plan has brought about another wave of campus constructions, including

10165-492: The total number of Rice alumni, living and deceased. The stadium was the site of Super Bowl VIII and a speech by John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962, in which he challenged the nation to send a man to the moon by the end of the decade. The recently renovated Tudor Fieldhouse , formerly known as Autry Court, is home to the basketball and volleyball teams. Other stadia include the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium and

10272-550: The undergraduate body and 63.1% of the professional and post-graduate student body. 36.9% of degree-seeking students are from out of state, 35.9% are from Texas and 27.2% are from outside of the United States. In 2022, the largest proportion of international students came from Asian countries, with 1623 out of the 2344 total students (or 69.24%) coming from China (1145), India (296), Taiwan (93), and Korea (89). Consequently, accounting for international students, whose identities are not disaggregated in Department of Education statistics,

10379-416: The university added an online MBA program, MBA@Rice. In June 2019, the university's president announced plans for a task force on Rice's "past in relation to slave history and racial injustice", stating that "Rice has some historical connections to that terrible part of American history and the segregation and racial disparities that resulted directly from it". In 2021, President Leebron decided to pursue

10486-410: The widely accepted definition of a CBA. Later in January 2020, Turner announced that the City of Houston would negotiate a "community benefits agreement" (CBA) with RMC in response to concerns about community impact raised by individuals representing a variety of organizations largely concentrated in the nearby Third Ward , a neighborhood to the east of the Ion. Such an agreement is typically considered

10593-508: The women's colleges were purposefully situated at the opposite end of campus from the existing men's colleges as a way of preserving campus propriety, which was greatly valued by Edgar Odell Lovett, who did not even allow benches to be installed on campus, fearing that they "might lead to co-fraternization of the sexes". The path linking the north colleges to the center of campus was given the tongue-in-cheek name of "Virgin's Walk". Individual colleges became coeducational between 1973 and 1987, with

10700-442: The working group. After several months, the working group produced a report that recommended commitments for both Rice and the City of Houston in three focus areas of economic opportunity: housing affordability, inclusive contracting, and hiring. HCEDD, which did not participate in the working group after not being allowed to participate in full with their elected negotiation team, criticized the working group's report and process saying

10807-447: The years prior to the admission of black students." In 1923, a Ku Klux Klan event was held on a Rice owned Louisiana Street location, near to the home of a Black woman who had filed a lawsuit against the institute in 1909. The Founder's Memorial Statue, a bronze statue of a seated William Marsh Rice, holding the original plans for the campus, was dedicated in 1930, and installed in the central academic quad, facing Lovett Hall. The statue

10914-436: Was confirmed as a tenant, along with Common Desk, in late 2020. Houston-based Transwestern became the property manager in November 2020. The Austin -based innovation and mentorship provider Capital Factory has Houston headquarters in the Ion, as of 2021. In October 2021, the musical theatre production company Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) announced plans to establish an education and arts center as an anchor tenant in

11021-478: Was crafted by John Angel . In 2020, Rice students petitioned the university to take down the statue due to the founder's history as slave owner. In January 2022, the Board of Trustees announced plans to relocate the statue within the academic quadrangle. In November 2023, the statue along with its plinth were taken down in conjunction with a renovation of the Academic Quad. During World War II , Rice Institute

11128-544: Was created. In 1997, the Edythe Bates Old Grand Organ and Recital Hall and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, renamed in 2005 for the late Nobel Prize winner and Rice professor Richard E. Smalley , were dedicated at Rice. In 1999, the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology was created. The Rice Owls baseball team was ranked #1 in the nation for the first time in that year (1999), holding

11235-609: Was not present for the City Council meeting and six councilmembers initiated a procedural delay of the vote for a week. The following week, the Houston City Council approved the agreement by a vote of 14 to 3. According to the Houston Chronicle , the agreement includes a "$ 5 million investment fund for minorities and women in tech, $ 4.5 million for affordable housing developers, and $ 2 million in technology sector job training", among other community-focused initiatives. District K Councilmember and Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Martha Castex Tatum said

11342-587: Was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program , which offered students a path to a Navy commission. The residential college system proposed by President Lovett was adopted in 1958, with the East Hall residence becoming Baker College , South Hall residence becoming Will Rice College , West Hall becoming Hanszen College , and the temporary Wiess Hall becoming Wiess College . In 1959,

11449-445: Was ranked tied at 17th among national universities and 108th among global universities, 6th for "best undergraduate teaching", 5th for "Best Value", and tied for 16th "Most Innovative" among national universities in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022 edition. In 2024, ' Forbes ' magazine ranked Rice University 9th nationally among 500 liberal arts colleges, universities and service academies, 1st among universities in

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