Rundown

Argentina

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Beautiful Buenos Aires. In October, Rice Business alumni from the classes of 1987 through 2022, along with their guests, traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a weeklong exploration of Argentine culture and business. As one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in South America, Buenos Aires provided the perfect setting to explore a range of business topics, from innovations in environmental sustainability to Argentina’s unique economic challenges and opportunities. Cultural highlights of the trip included a visit to a traditional estancia, tango lessons, a graffiti art tour, a kayaking excursion along the Tigre Delta, and a bounty of steak and Malbec wine.

For more information about alumni events, visit: business.rice.edu/alumni

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Santiago, Chile

A total of 65 MBA professional students traveled to Santiago, Chile for their Global Field Experience course this fall. They completed 17 consulting projects with a focus on growth strategy and market expansion projects for Chilean small businesses, visited agency and program leaders at the U.S. Embassy, and met entrepreneurs with ventures focused on sustainability and accessible health care. Bonus: They got to speak with leaders from the wine industry in the Casablanca region.

Learn more about the Global Field Experience.

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Lecture from a Legend

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Stephen A. Zeff, the Keith Anderson Professor of Accounting, accepted an invitation from the president of the European Accounting Association (EAA) to deliver the annual distinguished Yuji Ijiri Lecture on Foundations of Accounting during the EAA congress in May in Helsinki. Ijiri, who died in 2017, was a highly acclaimed accounting scholar at Carnegie Mellon University.

The world’s five major academic accounting associations agreed to rotate hosting duties of the annual lecture. Zeff’s humble response to the invitation? “It is quite an honor, especially for one who is 89 years old, when his colleagues believe he still has something to contribute.”

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Texas Super Lawyer

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Congratulations to lecturer of management Larry Stuart, who teaches Business Law and Applied Contract Law in the EMBA program, for his selection by Thomson Reuters as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer and for his recognition on their Top 100: 2022 Houston Super Lawyers List. Only 5% of nominated lawyers in each state are selected for inclusion.

Learn more

New Faculty Make a Mark

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Minjae Kim, assistant professor of management – organizational behavior, has been at Rice Business for just two years and has already been selected as one of Poets&Quants’ 50 Best Undergrad Professors for 2022. Students say that Kim is “fantastic at inspiring us to think deeper and think from more than our own perspective.”

During his time at Rice, Kim has taught undergrad courses and conducts research in a number of areas. But one thing all of those avenues of research have in common: commitment. Kim explains: “We often expect our exchange partners (e.g., employees-employers; customers-producers) to be committed to us but want to be flexible and have a choice of a different exchange partner. I study how individuals and organizations can appear committed to their exchange partners. I often discover that some ‘irrational’ actions that people and organizations take are actually outcomes of careful and strategic calculations.”

To learn more about that irrational behavior — and recommendations for a must-read book and a must-see movie from Kim — check out his full interview at poetsandquantsforundergrads.com.

Reunion 2023

The story of us. Share yours at Reunion Weekend.
Join us April 28–29 for Alumni Reunion Weekend 2023 and reconnect with your classmates, faculty members and staff!

Here’s what we have planned for this year’s activities: special events for milestone reunion years, presentation of the Alumni Awards, faculty panel discussions, Last Lecture, family partio and more!

For more details and to register: business.rice.edu/reunion

Energizing Alum

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During the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) symposium this past November, Phoebe Wang ’13 accepted the 2022 C3E Business Award. C3E is a collaboration focused on advancing women in the energy sector and raising their visibility. Led by the U.S. Department of Energy, its three university partners are MIT Energy Initiative, Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy and the Texas A&M Energy Institute.

Wang is a cleantech venture capitalist who serves as an investment partner at the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund. She has more than a decade of experience in cleantech with a strong passion for fighting climate change for future generations. In addition to her investment experience, she has been an entrepreneur who built a startup in technology commercialization and — earlier in her career — an engineer in chemical and semiconductor industries.

Giving Back

In November, staff and faculty prepared 6,300 meals for hungry children in Houston, many of whom live in food deserts. They filled pallets of snack bags, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ham and cheese sandwiches to be delivered by Kids’ Meals.

On the same day, other Rice Business Gives Back volunteers were at Hermann Park Conservancy weeding, mulching and helping to maintain McGovern Centennial Gardens. A big thank you to all who gave their time to Kids’ Meals and Hermann Park last fall — one of two service days hosted by Rice Business Gives Back.

Moon Shot

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Over three days last September, NASA and Rice celebrated the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s iconic speech at Rice Stadium, a truly prescient, inspiring take on where we were at the time and where we wanted to go — to the moon! Kennedy’s speech, the university’s role in space exploration and the country’s history were captured in events and exhibits that were capped off with a keynote from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

On the Move

Cheers to Strategy and Environment faculty contributing to their profession as much as their research.

Laszlo Tihanyi, the William Alexander Kirkland Professor of Strategic Management, wrapped up his term as editor-in-chief of one of the most prestigious journals in the field of management, the Academy of Management Journal.

Yan "Anthea" Zhang, the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Chair Professor of Strategy, assumed her role as president of the Strategic Management Society (SMS), which consists of over 3,000 academics, business practitioners and consultants focusing on the development and dissemination of insights on strategic management. Her new position comes after being named a fellow of SMS in 2021, a distinction honoring members who have made significant contributions to the theory and practice of strategic management.

"Paws" and Reflect

When the job search feels exhausting, let the Career Development Office come to your rescue. Relax and Reset was created to help students through their first recruiting season. A little self-care was just the thing — therapy dogs from Faithful Paws Pet Therapy, chair massages, a make-your-own bath salt station, as well as calming arts and crafts. Students also heard from a panel of their second-year peers discussing recruiting experiences and how to remain resilient when faced with career challenges. Our team of advisers were on hand throughout to discuss and facilitate next steps for all those continuing along their career journey — and our stellar team of pups offered nonjudgmental ears.

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By the Numbers

We know you’ve heard a lot about our rankings lately. Maybe too much? But, it’s our belief that the more you know about our growing reputation, the more pride you’ll feel about your alma mater. We get it that the rankings game is fickle, but when we’re recognized favorably by U.S. News, Businessweek, Fortune, Financial Times, Princeton Review and Poets & Quants, we want to spread the word.

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See all of our latest rankings here.

Jones Scholar Recipients 2021–2022

The Jones Scholar Award is an academic honor conferred by the faculty on students whose cumulative GPA at the time of graduation is in the top 10% of their graduating class. Each graduate of Rice Business completes a rigorous set of courses, develops a robust complement of skills and knowledge, and refines their capabilities in leadership, critical thinking and problem solving. The Jones Scholars comprise a group of students who have performed exceedingly well — with high distinction — in completing a challenging curriculum. Note: Due to the compressed timeline of the end of the semester, final grades were not available to present the recipient names at Investiture. Congratulations to those from the Class of 2022 listed below.

Learn more about the Jones Scholar Award.

Gratitude in Action

The Rice Business Scholarship Luncheon took place Feb. 17 in the Anderson Family Commons to honor our donors who open doors for our scholars. Erhun Aiwerioghene ‘24 remarked about the importance of giving back to the community — an effort he hopes to make someday for future Rice Business students.

Lauren Friezo spoke in honor of her father, Michael P. Friezo ‘88, finance executive and co-founder of the oil and gas analytics company FLOW Partners, who passed away July 15, 2022. “It was a culture shock,” said Lauren, when she described her father’s move from New Jersey to Texas to attend Texas Christian University. But her dad knew that through empathy, curiosity, compassion and understanding, he could relate to anyone, anywhere. It was through that empathy that Friezo gave back to students who needed help supporting their Rice Business education.

Rice Energy Finance Summit

Last November, more than 375 attendees gathered in Shell Auditorium for the 2022 Rice Energy Finance Summit (REFS). The price of oil and gas wasn’t the highlight of 2022’s event, however. REFS, a student-run institution at Rice Business, covered all forms of energy with 28 expert speakers representing 28 different companies ranging from Shell USA and upstream E&P operators to geothermal and power transmission companies.

They also welcomed financiers, consultants and legal counsel with expertise in each represented sector. The conversations that day covered C-suite reactions to changes in the market related to Ukraine and the energy transition, ESG investing through a private equity lens, the impact of new projects on decarbonization, and keeping the lights on (literally) as a power supplier with an expanding energy mix. This event proved once again to be a top spot for new energy connections. The REFS committee and Rice Business were proud to host this transformative event. We again thank our wonderful corporate sponsors for making that day’s activities possible.

Learn more about the Rice Energy Finance Summit.

Women in Leadership Conference

By Dildora Ahmedova, Forté Fellow | MBA 2023

I attended my first Women in Leadership Conference (WILC) four years ago as a working professional. The next year, I submitted my MBA application to Rice Business with the goal, if admitted, to help organize WILC and inspire the next generation of female leaders.

I was admitted to Rice Business as a Forté Fellow and immediately joined the executive committee for WILC 2023, tasked with marketing the conference. I organized panels and collaborated with a team of strong student leaders. Forté Foundation CEO Elissa Sangster gave the kickoff keynote speech and underscored the work that remains regarding pay gaps and gender disparities in executive roles.

What resonated with me most was Sangster’s call for us to all become vocal allies, mentors and sponsors. Advocating for women within an organization creates a culture of inclusion and equality. Women bring unique perspectives to the workplace and contribute to better decision making, which drives innovation and growth. Equal gender representation in leadership roles is critical for organizations to be competitive in the business world. Society has made progress in promoting diversity and bringing women to leadership positions, but women remain significantly underrepresented in the C-suite due to lack of advancement opportunities and the “broken rung” obstacle at the first step to management.

Being part of the planning committee for WILC 2023 has been a highlight of my MBA experience at Rice Business. This year’s theme of “Every Woman, Every Voice” highlighted the importance of sponsorship, mentorship and allyship as critical components for equality and equity in leadership. WILC 2023 sold out and achieved record attendance, surpassing more than 500 in-person attendees. The event provided a valuable opportunity to connect, build relationships, learn new skills and strategize competencies to succeed in leadership roles. Most importantly, the conference empowered its participants — including me — to aspire to greater heights in their careers and to inspire the next generation of women in leadership.

Learn more about the Women in Leadership Conference.