Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business welcomed Nancy Rothbard, the David Pottruck Professor of Management and deputy dean at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Jan. 30 to speak about her research and spend a week with Rice Business faculty.
The new Dean’s Distinguished Visiting Fellow Program aims to promote high-quality and high-impact research and contribute to the growing academic community at Rice Business. During their week-long visit, the visiting faculty can conduct research seminars, professional development workshops or present other relevant topics to aid junior faculty and Ph.D. student development.
Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business, welcomed Rothbard and said her presence as the inaugural speaker is “setting the highest bar” due to her impactful academic career.
Rothbard presented her research to the audience of students and faculty, who created an interactive atmosphere while discussing the overlap in their own work and research.
Rothbard’s paper “Creating the Will Without the Way? How and When Employee Belonging Leads to Voice on DEI Issues” examines the assumption that a “sense of belonging” can improve an organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion environment. Her body of work examines the intersection of identity, personal boundaries and the workplace.
Learn more about the Visiting Fellow Program here.
Peter Rodriguez, the Houston Endowment Dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business at Rice University, has been named the 2025 Poets&Quants Dean of the Year, a national honor recognizing visionary leadership and outstanding contributions to business education.
In less than a decade, Rodriguez has transformed Rice Business in nearly every dimension. Beyond creating a thriving undergraduate offering, he has overseen a 192% increase in student enrollment. The growth stems from a doubling of MBA students and the launch of an online MBA—the university’s first online degree—along with a hybrid MBA option.
Rice University professor Mikki Hebl says job seekers’ willingness to accept lower pay and roles reflects a softer labor market and shifting values toward flexibility, balance, and meaningful work.
