Dear Asha and Farid,

I am pleased to share this proposal with you to name the next academic building on the Rice University campus. This building will become the academic home for students of the Virani Undergraduate School of Business.

The care and support you have shown for our students has been transformational. From the day that we announced your gift commitment, our undergraduates have demonstrated pride in their new identity as Virani Undergraduate School of Business students. Your direct involvement with their experience has been a driving force in that pride. Creating a physical space that embodies that same sense of belonging is a wonderful opportunity, but it is also an important next step. The growth we’ve seen — and expect to continue to see — at Rice Business makes the need for physical expansion crucial for our future.

As you know, we are funding its construction almost entirely via philanthropy and through support from generous donors like you. We are remaining focused but also energetic —humble, hungry and scrappy!

It has been a highlight of my career and tenure as dean to work with your family on creating the Virani Undergraduate School of Business. It would be an unprecedented honor to also celebrate with you the grand opening of Virani Hall.

Thank you for consideration of this proposal, and I look forward to discussing it with you soon.

Warmest regards,

Peter

Virani Hall, the newest academic building at Rice University, will be a warm and welcoming space for students in the Virani Undergraduate School of Business. It will be where they study, collaborate, learn and share. As an academic hub for the Virani Undergraduate School of Business experience, it will also be an important part of the students’ overall Rice experience:

• Where did they overcome their doubts to deliver that important presentation?
• Where did they meet that lifelong friend for coffee after a difficult exam?
• Where did the student club meet that resulted in that life-changing small business idea?

Virani Hall will be the home for these and countless other student experiences.

The building’s design represents the spirit of the Virani Undergraduate School of Business. Natural light and open spaces form the core of the building. The new classrooms provide space for current and future undergraduate populations (as well as graduate students, faculty, guests and visitors). And collaborative and event spaces create opportunities for sharing ideas — not just for students but for the broader community.

Art will be an integral part of Virani Hall, as it is for the building’s complement, McNair Hall. Art installations are being planned for the new building, including a hanging, kinetic sculpture from Elias Crispin, similar to the one that the Spanish artist installed at The Louvre in Paris. As with McNair Hall, Rice Business will work with the Moody Center for the Arts to curate modern, colorful pieces that add vibrant focal points in Virani Hall.
 
 

From a few classrooms in Herman Brown Hall in 1977 to full occupancy of McNair Hall, Rice Business has seen growth in its enrollment, alumni and reputation. McNair Hall has met our promising future since 2002. Today, with the addition of the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, the growth of the Jones Graduate School of Business, and the faculty and staff to support them — it’s time to expand.

• We’ve had 41% growth in faculty (tenured and tenure-track) since 2019
• Student enrollment is up by 168% from 1,202 to 2,021
• The Academic Programs and Student Experience Office has grown three times its size since 2020.
• We added a new Office of Business Operations in 2022.

The addition of hundreds of undergraduate students has been the most notable source of growth for Rice Business in the last five years:

• 177 total undergraduate degrees awarded to-date
• 362 declared business majors
• 1,214 Rice undergraduates enrolled in business classes
• 10,377 total undergraduate credit hours

The Virani School continues to be a source of pride for Rice University and Rice Business. 

Virani Hall will be built at a pivotal time in the school’s history and its construction will mark one of the few times in the university’s history that an academic school and academic building will carry the same family name.

Rice University will proudly recognize your family’s support by displaying the name Virani Hall in the following ways:

• External signage consistent with the design elements of the construction and the broader university
  • Pin-mounted signage on the building’s façade — above the west entrance, above the atrium entrance and on the exterior of the event space
  • Metal etched sign south of the atrium entrance displaying both Virani Hall and Virani Undergraduate School of Business
  • Stone bench with the Virani Hall name located outside the west entrance
• Interior signage above the donor wall in the west commons
• The joint Rice Business logo featuring Jones and Virani school names outside of the event space
• The Virani Undergraduate School of Business banner originally unveiled at the celebration event in February 2025
• Beyond physical signage, the name Virani Hall will appear in countless references throughout the life of the building for decades to come. This will include wayfinding information for student classes, announcements of special events and media mentions of events that take place in the building. 

In 2023, the business school held nearly 250 events for internal and external audiences. Forty of those were student-led, including the Rice Energy Finance Summit, which welcomed 400 attendees, and the Women in Leadership Conference, with more than 500 attendees. With so many people crossing our threshold, the addition of places to meet in Virani Hall will align with our culture of inclusiveness. We want everyone to feel welcome.

These new areas will provide more space for undergraduate-focused events, such as the Undergraduate Clubs Expo and the undergraduate major declaration celebration event. Other groups, such as Rice Business Partners, Rice Alliance and the Liu Idea Lab, will have a new area to hold gatherings and celebrations. Executive Education and Rice Business alumni will also be able to creatively assemble with more room to spread out in a welcoming, modern space for events and alumni visits.

Virani Hall allows Rice Business to accommodate more than students, faculty, staff and alumni. In addition to tiered and seminar classrooms, faculty suites and a common area called The Walk, the new building will include a 3,000-square-foot event space with 200 seats. This large event area will give the school an opportunity to welcome and integrate the greater university and Houston communities.

The iconic new building will become a hub for business education and discourse — not only for Rice, but for the city of Houston. The versatile classrooms and meeting rooms will enable new styles of learning tailored to a top-ranked business education. The event spaces will host speaker series, conferences, competitions and other special events that will invigorate dialogue on pressing business issues.

Beyond the business program, Virani Hall will be an inspiring destination open to the entire Rice community. Undergraduate students from all disciplines will be welcomed to attend events, meet with professors, and simply have a space to study, relax and recharge between classes. As a visually stunning structure, Virani Hall will serve as a symbol of Rice University’s commitment to cutting-edge business education and research.

We’re thrilled by the possibilities this space will offer — inspiring students, solving problems, and empowering future business leaders — and we look forward to discussing this proposal and future arrangements with you soon.