Built for Business. Designed for Connection.

For more than 50 years, Rice Business has prepared leaders to navigate an increasingly complex world. Over the past decade, the school entered a new era, launching the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, expanding its graduate programs, doubling MBA enrollment and growing its community of faculty, staff and alumni.

As Rice Business grew in size, scope and reputation, it became clear we needed more space.

After more than two years of construction, Rice Business opened the doors to Asha and Farid Virani Hall and formally dedicated the building at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 10. The building is named in recognition of the generosity of Dr. Asha Virani (B.A. ’89) and Farid Virani, whose family name also distinguishes the Virani Undergraduate School of Business.

The new 112,000-square-foot building joins McNair Hall to give Rice Business nearly 300,000 square feet of space for learning, research and connection. Together, the two buildings form a business school hub where undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, alumni and business leaders can meet, exchange ideas and work through meaningful challenges.

Virani Hall gives the school room to serve its growing community for generations to come.

Come on in. Let us show you around.

1. The Terrace is a signature outdoor gathering space — an open-air patio designed for networking, celebration and the kind of spontaneous conversation that shapes a community. The Terrace will host Partio on fair-weather days, along with receptions, mixers and countless smaller moments.

2. New workstations for our doctoral students mean dedicated space for research, collaborative work or individual focus — in the heart of Virani Hall.

3. A business school’s curriculum teaches its students how to build their business acumen; its gathering spaces are where those students become a community. We’ve always believed academics and connections matter equally, and our new building was designed with that conviction at its core.

4. The Ralph S. O’Connor Atrium encloses the Woodson Courtyard, the site of many Partios over the years, and opens onto the terrace. The atrium can accommodate events big and small like conference mixers, coffee chats, everyday study breaks and even Partio, when the weather calls for it.

5. Some of the most meaningful moments at Rice Business don’t happen in a classroom — they happen when people come together. Those moments might come as students work together on a case, grab coffee with a faculty member or meet friends in one of the many informal hangout spots throughout Virani Hall — with Houston’s skyline just outside our windows.

6. Upstairs from the atrium, the 3,000-square-foot Event Center seats more than 200 beneath a 22-foot ceiling. The school will use the Event Center for convocations, career events, board meetings, executive education sessions and conferences. Rice Business hosts more than 250 events each year, like the Rice Energy Finance Summit and the Women in Leadership Conference. The center gives the school a purpose-built venue for many of those occasions.

7. Virani Hall adds what we needed most: more classrooms. Its teaching spaces include two 120-seat tiered classrooms primarily for Rice’s undergraduate business majors, two 65-seat tiered classrooms, and a 45-seat classroom built for smaller graduate cohorts and visiting executives. Some of our new classrooms offer floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace just outside.

8. Additionally, Virani Hall is home to nearly 30 new offices anchored by two corner offices. One is the Dr. Stephen A. Zeff Faculty Office, named by donor Timothy T. Griffy ’79, ’80 in Zeff’s honor.

9. The Everett-Hollingsworth West Commons features two main focal points: a double staircase in bronze, a gift from Russ Pitman ’58, and on the second floor, a seating area that looks across to the Turrell Skyspace.

10. Virani Hall comes with a new dining option, the Kalra Family Dining Hall, and the return of Audrey’s, as well as the beautiful Judy Ley Allen Cafe Seating area (pictured here).

11. Fun fact: Audrey’s was named for Audrey Moody Ley (B.A. ’35), mother to Judy Ley Allen who studied at Rice before earning her B.A. from Stanford and her MBA from Harvard.

12. Virani Hall is filled with open, communal areas and casual “touchdown” spaces where students can meet and work between classes — the O’Connor Atrium and the Elkins Foundation Concourse (pictured here) among them. These areas are open not just to business students, but to undergraduates and graduates from across the university. Virani Hall was made possible by the generosity of many — including alumni, parents, board members and numerous community patrons. Thank you to each of our donors.

Asha ’89 (B.A.) and Farid Virani The Estate of Ralph S. O'Connor The Elkins Foundation Judy Ley Allen Patti ’66 (B.A.) and Richard Everett ’67 (B.A.) Starlett and Ben Hollingsworth ’64 (B.A.) Nina and Sonu Kalra MD Anderson Foundation Karen and Chris Kreidler ’85 (B.A.; MBA, 1987) Russ Pitman ’58 (B.A.) Rice Business Alumni Association Board Amy Sutton ’89 (B.A.; MBA, 1990) and Gary Chiles ’86 (B.A.) Leslie ’81 (MAcc) and Jack Blanton ’01 (MBA) Kathy and Paul Mann ’96 (MBA) Rice Business Partners Board Jennifer ’92 (B.A.) and Charlie Geer ’92 (B.A; MAcc, 1993) Vivian L. Smith Foundation Anadarko Rice Business Alumni Heather and Daniel Bradshaw ’22 (MBA) Isabel and Ransom Lummis ’89 (MBA) Kristen and Gregory Mancini Clara and Emeka Oyolu ’05 (MBA) Waverly ’95 (B.A.) and Adam Peakes ’95 (B.A.) EMBA Class of 2000 Class of 2006 Katherine and Osmar Abib ’81 (B.A.) Karen ’77 (B.A.; MAcc, 1978) and Larry George Melissa and Tim Griffy ’79 (B.A.; MAcc, 1980) Kris and Richard McGee ’83 (B.A.) Angela Minas ’86 (B.A.; MBA, 1987) Debbie and Chris Patton ’92 (B.A.; MAcc, 1992) Emily ’94 (B.A.; MAcc, 1995) and Kevin Rabbitt ’95 (B.A.)