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.
An all-veteran ownership team, Summit Point Leadership LLC, which launched through the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University and its Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Lab, has acquired the business of LDR Leadership LLC, a nationwide leadership, management and supervisory training firm.
Congratulations to Robert J. Gaudette on being named President of NRG Energy, and on his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 30, 2026. Rob is a distinguished Rice Business alum and continues to give back to the school through the Board of Advisors and joined us this year as a speaker at the Rice Energy Finance Summit.
A new study co-authored by Rice Business’ Tommy Pan Fang provides the first large-scale statistical analysis of data center location strategies across the United States. It offers policymakers and firms a clearer starting point for understanding how different types of data centers get located in response to economic and strategic incentives.
