RICE: Where Are We Now? Where Can We Go?

What remains to be done?

We have accomplished much during the last 10 years, but there are, in my view, seven principal areas of need we must address in the next several years.

Building a 10th college, which will enable us to house 85 percent of our undergraduate students on campus.
Using the old Tidelands property at the corner of Main and University to build a bioscience and bioengineering facility to strengthen our growing collaborations with the Texas Medical
Center.
Expanding the Cain Project beyond science and engineering so as to improve writing and speaking skills of all our students.
Expanding and strengthening scholarships and assistance for overseas study.
Building a Recreation Center on campus, probably beginning with a new, improved swimming pool.
Seriously considering, sometime before 2010, constructing a convocation center. This could serve as a venue for international conferences and other major events as well as for basketball and volleyball.
Continuing to improve our library facilities. Some headway has been made through renovations to the library and by opening the new off-site remote library on Main Street. In addition, the renovation of Herring Hall for humanities faculty whose offices are currently in Fondren will liberate space for library resources. But the library of the 21st century will be a far different sort of facility than we have seen in the past, and we would do well to assure our students and researchers of a library whose resources are on par with their leading-edge academic facilities.

The next president of Rice has been chosen and announced. David Leebron, dean of Columbia Law School, will take over on July 1. Those of you who have met him are already aware of his grace and wisdom. Those of you who have yet to meet him are in for a treat. David and the board will be working to establish well-ordered priorities and methods of financing those priorities.

How might they be financed? One way is through further fundraising efforts. Our first comprehensive capital campaign is drawing to a successful close, and with the experience we have gained from it, we have, for the first time, the networks and infrastructure to mount future major, sustained fundraising efforts.

Some debt finance also could be deployed. We have a triple-A-plus rating. Only nine universities enjoy such a lofty financial standing. We have it because of our reputation for cost control and good management. With this rating, we can borrow more cheaply than, say, Penn or Berkeley or Tulane or even Duke.

Finally, Rice is perhaps a bit smaller than needed to fulfill our aspirations. The university might consider whether it may be appropriate to allow enrollment to grow by 1 percent a year over the next decade. With by far the lowest student–faculty ratio in the nation, Rice could afford some growth without a decline in quality.

In any case, over the past decades, the Rice community—faculty, staff, students, administration, and board of trustees—have wrought wonders on this campus.

For all that has happened at Rice, we give thanks. For all that is to come, we say—yes.