The Rice Historical Society

History is a fragile thing. It can be lost, destroyed, altered by interpretation, or deliberately suppressed. Most often, it is simply misremembered. Try reminiscing with an old friend about bygone days, and you’ll find that historical accuracy is doubtful, even for relatively recent personal events. So, what can be done to prevent the Sallyport from becoming another Rashomon Gate? The Rice Historical Society is working on just that.

Rice University is an ideal subject for historical study because it is a unique and well-defined entity with roots that do not extend so far into the past that they are obscure. As Karen Hess Rogers ’68, emerita member of the Rice Board of Trustees and the principal founder of the Rice Historical Society (RHS), puts it, “You can wrap your arms around Rice’s history.”

There is more than love in that embrace. Rice’s past is intrinsically interesting because it is so connected to the growth of Houston and Texas. William Marsh Rice was intimately involved in the development of Texas, and many of the individuals who have nurtured Rice over the years have been movers and shakers on the local, state, and national scenes. More recently, Rice’s indelible influence on major scientific and humanistic advancements makes the university’s past even more important to remember.

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