Pillar 3

This course gives students the opportunity to apply their MBA learnings to address an opportunity or challenge in the diversity, equity and inclusion space faced by a client organization. Clients represent a variety of industries and will challenge their student-managed teams to address a focused, high-priority DEI-related business issue. The lab is project-centric and student-driven, with regular check-in meetings with the team’s assigned coach and the full class.

“The initial pilot of the Rice MBA DEI lab had three projects for three different organizations, and one was a nonprofit. The students enjoyed working on the real-world challenges and had impactful recommendations, some of which have already been implemented at the client organizations. The students were excited, engaged and applied their MBA learning as well as concepts during our class time.”
Pranika Uppal Sinha (’04)

This course explores how processes at the individual, group, organizational and societal levels intertwine to shape diversity, equity and inclusion at work. We will discuss how to improve our ability to work within and lead diverse and inclusive teams as well as how to design an equitable workplace.

The Global Programs and Experiential Learning Office offers a full portfolio of externally focused applied learning courses that allow MBA students to work on business challenges with domestic and international corporate and small business partners, not-for-profit organizations and startups.

Domestic Experiential Learning 

The Washington Campus (TWC), located in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit, nonpartisan higher education association that promotes and supports public affairs and policy education for current and future organizational leaders. This year, a total of 17 students from the Full-Time, Professional, Executive and MBA@Rice programs participated in this learning intensive. 

The Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University (CPRL) partners with universities nationwide to allow students to engage in consulting projects focused on educational equity and transformational change in public education. Students go through a rigorous application process and compete for minimal spots. This year, one Full-Time Rice MBA student participated in the CPRL. 

Exchange Programs

During this academic year, Rice Business welcomed 13 international MBA students from six different institutions spanning three countries: France, Germany and Mexico. These students participated in various engagements with Rice Business faculty, staff and fellow students, both within and beyond the classroom setting. 

Each fall, Rice MBA students have the chance to pursue international study opportunities for one term or a full semester. Most recently, five Full-Time MBA students represented Rice University abroad by taking part in exchange programs facilitated by university partnerships in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. 

Global Electives

In December 2024, a group of 25 students traveled to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to collaborate with a nonprofit designed to enhance education, protection and care for the children of HCMC. Immersed in the rich Vietnamese culture, students explored the city through a coffee tasting at a local roastery, site visits with our nonprofit client, and panel discussions with industry and economic experts. At the end of this 10-day course, each student team presented their actionable recommendation to the client they had spent the week learning alongside.

Global Field Experience

The Global Field Experience (GFE) exposes MBA students to an international business environment focusing on emerging markets. Teams in this course apply lessons and frameworks from core courses to specific hands-on, real-life business problems. Objectives are to further an appreciation of the opportunities and obstacles of doing business in different parts of the world, heighten interest in engaging global ventures, increase sensitivity to cross-cultural issues and broaden perspectives on challenges of global business.  

This core course includes Executive MBA, Full-Time MBA, MBA Professional Evening, MBA Professional Weekend and MBA@Rice students who traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama and Peru. The office traveled with 500-plus students in the 2023–2024 academic year. 

MBA@Rice in Panama City, Panama

Full-Time MBA in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Full-Time MBA in Santiago, Chile

Full-Time MBA in São Paulo, Brazil

Professional MBA-Evening in Bogota, Colombia

Professional MBA-Evening in Lima, Peru

Professional MBA-Weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil

EMBA in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Rice Master of Accounting program is known for its intimate cohort-based approach, enrolling just 30–40 students annually. In one year, the MAcc program prepares students, regardless of their undergraduate degree, to sit for the CPA Exam and launch careers in business.  

Accounting as an academic discipline and career has long been an attractive choice for first-generation college students because it offers a high return on investment in the form of secure employment and lifelong professional growth opportunities. However, Black and Hispanic employees have traditionally been underrepresented in public accounting firms’ workforces.

Professor Ben Lansford, director of the MAcc program and professor in the practice of accounting, reports that the Class of 2024 included 58% female and 13% underrepresented minority students. Before graduation, 100% of the Class of 2024 accepted full-time job offers.

Scholarships

Since the 2016 re-launch of the MAcc program, the program has offered merit-based scholarships to attract diverse, top talent to the program, averaging about 2.5 full-tuition scholarships, per cohort, for Black and Hispanic students. Recent scholarship recipients and graduates include:

The Executive Education team has collectively continued to lead the effort to infuse diversity, equity and inclusion into multiple Rice Business Executive Education offerings.

Executive Education Open-Enrollment Programs

Content on diversity, equity and inclusion has been integrated into all open-enrollment leadership programs. This content figures prominently in both Week 1 and Week 2 of the Rice Advanced Management Program (RAMP) and in the Leadership Accelerator and Management Incubator. In all three open enrollment programs, topics include implicit bias, interpersonal discrimination and stereotype threat, as well as the associated effects on promotion, hiring and team dynamics. In RAMP, inclusion is discussed as an example of how to build organizational culture.

Executive Education Online Programs

In collaboration with our global platform partners 2U/edX, Rice Business transitioned its fully online executive education program “Leading Workplace Diversity” from a high-cost, small-cohort product to a lower-cost scalable course distributed on the global online platform edX. The program was reconfigured to become a two-course professional certificate program and is now being delivered to a global audience. The content for these courses was designed jointly by Rice faculty members Michelle “Mikki” Hebl, the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Professor of Psychological Sciences, and Eden King, the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Psychology. This online course is delivered on demand with the expectation to engage thousands of learners a year. This is a self-paced course; anyone may enroll anytime. In addition, the content will be leveraged for custom delivery to clientele at large enterprises through Rice Business Executive Education. 

Executive Education Women Leaders Initiative

Leading up to 2024, the Executive Education team launched several initiatives in support of women leaders to create more gender balance across our open enrollment participation. 

1. Women Leaders Scholarship for Rice Advanced Management Program and Executive Leadership in Healthcare Program 
   Last year, we introduced the Women Leaders Scholarship, reducing the financial constraints to encourage women to apply and register for our advanced management programs. This initiative has increased the number of women in our cohorts. Most recently, the spring 2024 cohort of the Rice Advanced Management Program consisted of 43% women leaders. Since inception, Rice Business Executive Education has awarded a total of 16 women with a total of $135,500 in scholarships for advanced management programming. 
2. International Women’s Day Promotion 
   For International Women’s Day, Rice Executive Education offered a 50% tuition discount to three of our programs: Leading Innovation, The Leadership Accelerator, and Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers. In addition to providing financial support for tuition, we were able to increase the number of women participants in each class to almost 50%. Eleven women leaders took advantage of this offering, and we discounted $32,500 in tuition fees. 
3. Women in Leadership Conference Marketing Initiative 
   In a conscious effort to increase women leaders in our programs, we offered three complimentary seats to the Women in Leadership Conference attendees. More than 150 participants signed up for the offer.  

• Julian Duncan, Fall 2023
  The Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted the fall 2023 fireside chat with guest Julian Duncan ’99, chief marketing officer for the Houston Rockets. Mr. Duncan was joined by Constance “Connie” Porter, senior associate dean for DEI and associate clinical professor of marketing, who moderated an engaging discussion about the importance and future of culture and community in the workplace. Mr. Duncan holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Rice University.
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• Janis Burke, Spring 2024
  The Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted the spring 2024 fireside chat with guest Janis Burke, chief executive officer for the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority. Ms. Burke was joined by Anthea Zhang, the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Chair Professor of Strategy, who moderated the discussion.
  

  

The Emerging Leaders Postdoctoral Research Fellowship program appoints scholars of exceptional potential who have earned their Ph.D. within the last five years, and whose professional trajectory shows great promise for thoughtfully addressing equity issues in their respective disciplines through their research, teaching and/or service. These residential fellowships are for one year and may be renewed for an additional year. In addition to focusing on the completion of a research project, fellows will teach one course during the term of their appointment that meets the guidelines of the university’s Analyzing Diversity general education requirement. Fellows receive a mentored relationship with one or more Rice University faculty members who are committed to helping advance the fellow’s research project and teaching acumen. They also strengthen their university leadership capacity through their membership in the Rice University Academy of Fellows and their collaborative relationships with the community of professionals and scholars in the Office of DEI and beyond.

“Joining Rice University as a postdoctoral researcher was a natural choice given the opportunity to further refine my approach toward research in the relatively small field of organizational theory. Alongside my mentor, Minjae Kim, and the organizational behavior department, I have not only advanced my research agenda, but have also grown by learning more about the academic landscape. Connie Porter has also served as an informal mentor, encouraging me to relentlessly pursue my passions and goals, both personal and professional. I am extremely proud to work at Rice and eager to continue my journey here and beyond.”
Brandy Edmondson, Ph.D., Emerging Leaders Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Brandy Edmondson obtained her Ph.D. in business administration from the Work and Organizations department of the Carlson School of Management (University of Minnesota) after completing her Bachelor of Arts in economics from Spelman College. Her research examines evaluations and decision-making in organizations as it pertains to societal and organizational culture. Brandy considers herself to be an interdisciplinary scholar. Her research spans organizational behavior, human resources and strategy with a particular interest in psychology and sociology. Brandy’s main research goals are to use her interdisciplinary training to find novel ways to test for the presence of impediments to career and organizational success, identify the underlying mechanisms that create them, and provide unique insights into corresponding implications for organizational policies. 

Brandy is honored to be a past leader of the Sadie Collective executive team and to have completed research through a Massachusetts Institute of Technology visiting doctoral fellowship, The Ph.D. Project, The Ph.D. Excellence Initiative, and the American Economic Association Summer Program. 

“My name is Minjae Kim, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business, and I work with Brandy Edmondson as a mentor during her time as a postdoctoral research fellow. I am delighted to share my thoughts on mentoring Brandy Edmondson as part of the Emerging Leaders Postdoctoral Research Fellowship program. 

“My experience as a mentor to Brandy has been incredibly rewarding. She came in as a well-trained scholar of organizations already but wanted to get a better understanding of ‘macro organizational behavior’ more specifically, which often requires weaving together theories from sociology, psychology and economics, among others. In this learning process, she has shown herself to be a dedicated scholar with a passion for her research, and it has been a privilege to support her growth and development throughout her time so far here. I have found the mentoring relationship to be mutually beneficial, as it has allowed me to contribute to Brandy’s professional journey while gaining valuable insights and perspectives from her innovative work on disadvantages that students from underrepresented racial minority groups experience at the workplace. 

“I was motivated to participate as a mentor in the program because I believe in the importance of fostering a supportive environment for emerging scholars, as I myself have benefited earlier in my career. Guiding and mentoring the next generation of researchers not only strengthens our academic community but also enriches our collective knowledge and diversity of thought. 

“The Emerging Leaders Postdoctoral Research Fellowship program represents a crucial initiative in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at Rice Business. By investing in talented individuals like Brandy, we not only enhance our research capabilities but also cultivate a more inclusive academic environment where all voices are valued.” 
Minjae Kim, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, Rice Business

Critical Dialogues on Diversity (CDOD) is a set of required undergraduate workshops designed to explore critical approaches to culture, identity and dialogue fundamental to living and working at Rice and essential for taking full advantage of a Rice education. CDOD is an invitation to undergraduates to think about how to better navigate difference while honoring each other’s humanity and dignity while holding space for the complexities diversity brings about. Rice Business DEI assistant director Regina Edwards serves as a frequent facilitator of the five-week workshop.

For the second year in a row, the CDOD Curricular Collaborative brought together Rice University students, staff, community members and faculty to review the curriculum of the five-week workshop Critical Dialogues on Diversity (CDOD). Regina Edwards, assistant director of the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rice Business, and Alicia LaChapelle-Friday, research scientist at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, reviewed, analyzed and synthesized the student evaluations through mixed methods and offered expertise as CDOD facilitators and researchers.  

RISE stands for responsibility, inclusion and student empowerment and is an annual, preterm residential program offering incoming freshmen the opportunity to explore questions of racial justice, equity and urban life. Rice Business collaborated with other cross-campus partners to offer financial and program support to this university-sponsored, 10-day seminar that is aimed at familiarizing first-generation, low-income and/or underrepresented minority students with both Rice and Houston. Dean Peter Rodriguez and Senior Associate Dean Connie Porter regularly participate in one of several “pop-in” panel discussions where staff, faculty and other campus leaders engage with students in critical conversations about life at the university and in Houston.

In the context of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), intellectual humility calls us to consider the limitations of our knowledge. It also asks us to be open to unlearning when confronted with ideas that spur us to reactionary stands. Lastly, it also reminds us that we all have room to learn, and this matters if a university seeks to be inclusive as much as it is excellent. Faculty and undergraduate and graduate students shared perspectives on maintaining intellectual humility at the forefront of their work.

Panelists included Jordan Edmonson Business ’27 (RISE ’23) and Aquib Yacoob ’24 (MBA).

• Lilie added six new adjunct and clinical faculty.
  • All six are women or members of underrepresented minority groups.
• All five finalist ventures for Lilie’s 2024 Napier Rice Launch Challenge had at least one co-founder identify as female or as a member of underrepresented minority communities.
• Three of our four final judges for Lilie’s Napier Rice Launch Challenge identify as an underrepresented minority student or female (or both!).
• 70% of the 56 ventures in the Lilie Launchpad Mentorship Program had at least one student founder identify as female or as a member of underrepresented minority communities.
• Six of the 10 Rice Innovation Fellows, a research commercialization program run by Lilie, identify as female or as members of an underrepresented minority group.
• Six of the eight student startups participating in Lilie’s Summer Venture Studio Accelerator program have at least one student founder identifying as female or as a member of underrepresented minority groups. 65% of student founders in the program have diverse backgrounds. 

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Rice Alliance) is the university’s nationally recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education and the launch of technology companies. This strategic alliance between Rice Business, Brown School of Engineering and Wiess School of Natural Sciences works in collaboration with the vice provost and the Office of Research. Rice Alliance has several initiatives committed to strengthening the inclusive culture of our diverse community, including the Rice Business Plan Competition, IGNITE, Rice Accelerator Programs and the Energy Technology Venture Forum.

Rice Business Plan Competition

The Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) is the world’s largest and richest intercollegiate student startup competition. The RBPC offers an educational program that gives collegiate entrepreneurs the real-world experience to pitch their startups, enhance their business strategy and learn what it takes to launch a successful company. Since 2001, teams have raised more than $5.6 billion in funding.  

RBPC has advanced the following DEI-related initiatives in 2024: 

Photo of the Eagle Investors with their prize winner, Protein Pints

• Increased outreach to HBCUs and MSIs to promote RBPC as a place of opportunity for founders and startups from diverse backgrounds.
• Through sustained and targeted outreach, grown and maintained the number of participating judges from diverse populations: 
  • 2022: 260 registered judges (11% Black or Hispanic) 
  • 2023: 351 registered judges (13% Black or Hispanic) 
  • 2024: 369 registered judges (12% Black or Hispanic) 
• Through sustained and targeted outreach, increased the number of participating judges who are women: 
  • 2022: 260 registered judges (31% women) 
  • 2023: 351 registered judges (37% women) 
  • 2024: 369 registered judges (38% women) 
• Awarded four prizes specifically for underrepresented founders: 
  • $100,000 nCourage Courageous Women Entrepreneur Investment Prizes 
  • $25,000 Urban Capital Network in partnership with South Loop Venture Diversity Investment Prize  
  • $25,000 Dream Big Ventures Latino Entrepreneur Investment Prize 
  • Latino Startup Alliance/Latinx Global Prize (in-kind) 
• Served as the final “project” for the Eagle Investors program, which engages underrepresented students with the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Students engage in a yearlong curriculum that culminates in participation at the annual Rice Business Plan Competition. At the RBPC the students serve as special prize judges, applying what they learned about innovation, entrepreneurship and investing to select a startup to award a cash prize. 

Ignite Entrepreneurial Trek to Silicon Valley

The Ignite Trek provides entrepreneurial students with a chance to meet some of the most successful and up-and-coming entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. One of the goals of the Ignite Trek is to expose greater numbers of students from diverse backgrounds to entrepreneurship and venture capital. Ignite is a joint program between Rice Business, the Brown School of Engineering and the Wiess School of Natural Science. Students hear the personal stories of entrepreneurs working to build their companies and learn from the successes (and failures) of the best and brightest that Silicon Valley has to offer. This is an intense immersion experience with company visits and entrepreneurial speakers throughout the trek. Previous site visits include Airbnb, Tesla, LendUp and Benchmark Capital.

Ignite has focused on DEI-related initiatives, including the following: 

Photo of Ignite Trek participants at VC firm on Day 2 of visit to Silicon Valley

• Increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds applying for and being accepted to Ignite.
• Expanded data collection of attendees to capture backgrounds and ensure an inclusive environment representative of Houston’s diversity and provided more opportunities to accommodate participants. 

Accelerator Programs 

The Clean Energy Accelerator (CEA) and OwlSpark Startup and Small Business Accelerator (OwlSpark) aim to ensure our entrepreneurs-in-residence and mentors pools make up a diverse community, creating a culture that is open and welcoming to all participants, and increase the scope of the programs by partnering with other accelerators that focus on diversity. The program has resulted in: 

• An increased number of entrepreneurs-in-residence and mentors from diverse populations beginning with the OwlSpark Class of 2018 and the inaugural class of the CEA in 2021.   
• Since 2021, program materials include inclusion and accessibility options for both accelerators. 

Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers 

The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) is the premier leadership organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. Comprised of more than 600 members from more than 300 universities, it has become the industry vehicle by which top and emerging entrepreneurship centers can work together to share information; develop programs and initiatives; and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening and celebrating the contributions and impact of individual centers — as well as the overall role of university-based entrepreneurship centers. The Rice Alliance is the global headquarters for GCEC.

The GCEC is proud of the diversity of member universities and colleges, as well as individual members. To date, the GCEC has undertaken the following initiatives to grow equity and access in the organization: 

• In 2021, the GCEC began offering conference scholarships to faculty or staff at historically Black colleges and universities. These scholarships cover 100% of the conference registration fee, making this opportunity more accessible.  
• At the GCEC we want to attract faculty and staff from all kinds of schools and colleges. To help increase the number of small schools, we introduced awards for schools with 5,000 students or less.  
• For the last several years, the GCEC Conference agenda has featured content on inclusivity and how our members can create programming and courses to serve traditionally underestimated students. This has led to many GCEC member institutions creating their own inclusivity metrics so that an impact can be made globally.  
• To reach more members in emerging markets, the GCEC launched its inaugural Global Summit: Bangkok in 2024. This was the organization’s first convening in Southeast Asia.  

Visionary Voices: Leading Authentically with Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill

Co-sponsored by Rice Alliance, the Ion District celebrated Pride Month with a special edition of “Visionary Voices” speaker series, featuring a powerful conversation between two leaders who’ve paved the way for LGBTQ+ representation in their respective fields: Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill and former Houston Mayor Annise Parker. 

A trailblazer in the energy sector, Meg O’Neill’s leadership journey at Woodside has been marked by her commitment to authenticity and inclusivity. As one of the most senior openly gay leaders in the energy industry, Meg has set the global stage in creating a culture which encourages employees to show up authentically. Mayor Parker reflected on her own journey as the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city and a seasoned veteran of the energy sector, as she moderated this discussion with Meg. 

Attendees gained valuable insights into the unique experiences and milestones that have shaped both Meg and Annise’s remarkable careers, as well as the importance of visibility and representation in corporate leadership and public service. From driving meaningful change and success in business to championing inclusion, they explored the profound impact of embracing one’s true self and how diversity enriches leadership and organizational culture. 

Key topics included: 

• Embracing authenticity in leadership 
• Navigating intersectionality in the energy industry 
• The power of visibility and representation 
• Strategies for fostering inclusivity in corporate culture 

Juneteenth Journey: Bridging Past and Present Through Technology

Blacks at Microsoft (BAM), in partnership with Ion + Rice Alliance, presented Juneteenth Journey: Bridging Past and Present Through Technology, featuring speakers from the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum and Emancipation Park Conservancy. 

This presentation offered insights into the historical significance of Juneteenth and illuminated the evolution of technology from the 1860s through World War II to modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the technology of today. Experts from the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum and Emancipation Park Conservancy illustrated how technology has evolved as well as the parallels between the innovative spirit of the Buffalo Soldiers and today’s technological advancements, emphasizing the role of diversity and inclusion in driving innovation. 

Rice Business Office for DEI and CERCL co-hosted the 50 Years of Hip Hop celebration. As we celebrated hip hop’s 50th anniversary, we fostered conversations about how hip hop entrepreneurship, as an urban subculture, expresses a lifestyle, mindset and philosophy of life that has global impact. Students from Rice and neighboring universities heard from serial entrepreneur, disrupter, movie producer and co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Damon Dash; Marcus Bowers, globalpreneur and founder/COO She’s Happy Hair; DJ the Money Coach, CEO of Deransburg International P.O.M – P.O.M. Lifestyles; Jaqueline Beauchamp, co-founder, chairwoman and CEO of Engaged Media Gaming Disruptor; and Claudia Darobi, founder and CEO principal of DiverseCiti Atlanta, LLC. In addition, a panel of local hip hop artists/entrepreneurs discussed the art and business of hip hop.

For the third consecutive year, Regina Edwards, Office of DEI assistant director, facilitated a gender identity workshop for the staff DEI committee at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. 

Topics include: 

• Identity, privilege and bias 
• Transgender allyship 
• Gender and gender identity