AMD’s relationship with Rice Business today is real, but still targeted rather than deep. Over the past year, AMD has posted a handful of open opportunities with us and served as one of the hosts for our Austin MBA Career Trek — though the company hasn’t yet been an active on-campus recruiting partner. LinkedIn shows roughly 35 Rice University alumni currently working at AMD, a solid foundation, even though we don’t yet know how many come from Rice Business specifically.

We see this proposal as a natural step in that continuing relationship, not as a first introduction — but as a chance for AMD to expand its footprint in Greater Houston and, specifically, at Rice, at a moment when the university is eager to deepen the connection.

Now, as Rice Business opens Virani Hall, our new 112,000-square-foot expansion adjacent to McNair Hall, we’d like to invite AMD to become part of its story — with the AMD name permanently attached to one of the building’s signature spaces. 
 

Rice Business is in a moment of extraordinary momentum. Undergraduate enrollment in business courses has grown from 823 students in 2020–2021 to more than 1,250 in 2025–2026 — a 52% increase in five years — and business is now one of the most popular undergraduate majors at Rice.

That growth is translating directly into outcomes employers care about:

• 95% of Rice undergraduate business majors from the Class of 2025 secured their post-graduate path within six months of graduation
• $105K average starting salary for Rice undergraduate business students
• No. 17 Best Colleges overall (U.S. News & World Report, 2026)
• No. 24 Best Undergraduate Business Program (U.S. News & World Report, 2026)
• No. 12 Best School for Entrepreneurship (U.S. News & World Report, 2026)
• #1 MBA in Texas (Financial Times, 2023–2026, based on global rankings)

Virani Hall, featuring tiered and seminar classrooms, collaborative spaces and a high-profile event venue, is designed to give these students the foundation they need before they enter the workforce — and to give partners like AMD a visible, lasting presence in the building where that foundation is built.

More than a quarter of Rice undergraduates — roughly 1,250 students — took at least one business course last year, and that population will move through Virani Hall throughout the year. With the building’s new cafe, the return of Audrey’s, and the touchdown and study spaces built into Virani Hall, undergraduate foot traffic through the building is expected to grow further still — meaning a named space here reaches far beyond Rice Business’ own students and faculty.

Rice Business is pleased to present two distinct naming opportunities in Virani Hall for AMD's consideration — a large-scale event venue, or a suite of two adjoined undergraduate classrooms. Either would give AMD a prominent, permanent presence in the building.

Gift Request: $5,000,000

The AMD Event Center will be a 3,000-square-foot event space with 200 seats and a 22-foot ceiling — a focal point of the new building and a premier hub for academic and corporate events. It is one of the most visible and heavily visited spaces in Virani Hall, and the AMD name would be seen there by everyone who passes through it.

Groups such as Rice Business Partners, Rice Alliance and the Liu Idea Lab will hold gatherings and celebrations in this space. Executive Education participants and Rice Business alumni will assemble here in a welcoming, modern setting. This is also where board meetings and key presentations will take place — putting the AMD name in front of corporate executives, visiting dignitaries and other high-profile guests at exactly the moments that matter most.

Rice Business hosts more than 250 events annually, with dozens of those student-led — including the Rice Energy Finance Summit, the Rice Business Healthcare Conference and the Women in Leadership Conference, several of which draw 400–500 guests each year. With so many people crossing its threshold — students, faculty and staff every day, alongside the corporate leaders and dignitaries who visit for these events — the AMD Event Center would place the AMD name at the literal center of Rice Business’ most visible gatherings.

Gift Request: $3,000,000

The AMD Classrooms are two adjoined, 120-seat spaces designed primarily for Rice’s undergraduate business majors, with availability for other Rice undergraduates as well. Outfitted with the latest instructional technology, these rooms will host the case discussions, guest lectures and team projects that shape how our students think about business from day one — presented and named together as the AMD Classroom Suite.

This is where the AMD name will greet hundreds of Houston’s future business leaders, every week, for years to come — long before they ever submit a resume. A visible, permanent presence in the classrooms where Rice’s undergraduate business students spend their first years will build AMD’s talent pipeline earlier, and deeper, than any career fair table ever could.

The best naming gifts at Rice Business don’t just mark a door. They become part of how students talk about their own school — on schedules and shorthand notes passed from one class to the next — and said so often that it stops sounding like a company name at all and starts sounding like home. 
 

Whichever space AMD chooses to name, Rice Business will be honored to recognize the gift in the following ways:

• Physical signage displaying the AMD name, using designs and materials consistent with the building
• Recognition of AMD’s named space in event announcements, building signage and printed materials
• Naming rights for the usable life of the space