From the Dean

In this issue, you’ll read about the “50 Things We Love About Rice Business.” I know I’m a bit biased, but there’s a lot to love about this school — especially how much we’ve grown. What started as a gift from Houston Endowment in 1974 became 55 students with two program options in 1977. Since then, we’ve become a top-ranked business school offering nine programs, including an undergraduate degree. We now have over 1,100 graduate students and a booming population of undergraduates studying with our world-renowned faculty and an alumni network of over 10,000.

One of my favorite things about the school and university is that we’re not afraid to do things differently when the market dictates it. We launched Rice’s first online degree, MBA@Rice, and followed that with a Hybrid MBA program — one of the first of its kind —because we knew from market research that flexibility in MBA degrees was highly valued. We also knew undergraduates wanted a business education similar in strength to what we could offer at the graduate level, so we created the undergraduate business major (read about our first class of graduates). And now, we look forward to the completion of a new building in 2026 that will accommodate this growth. Our commitment is to attract more talented and innovative students, faculty and staff to Rice, who will further improve our programs and research capabilities. This wonderful new facility is critical to fulfilling that commitment.

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Members of the Rice community came together to celebrate these successes in September at our 50th Anniversary Gala. It was truly a night to remember. What an honor it was to stand at the podium and look out at the alumni, donors, staff and faculty who have made Rice Business what it is today — and who will have a hand in who we will become moving forward.

As we wrap up our anniversary year, I ask you to think about the things you love about your business school and the ways you can join us in building its future. I truly believe Rice is home to some of the best minds in business, but no single dean, faculty member, donor or student creates this kind of legacy on their own. Thank you for being a part of our incredible story.

— Peter