Rice University

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Rice University, over in Harris County. Now settle in, because this one's got mystery, money, and a whole lot of vision packed into it. William Marsh Rice came to Texas in 1838, and whatever he touched out here had a way of turning into wealth.

By the time his story was winding down, he was one of the richest men in the state. And like a lot of men who spend a lifetime building something, he started thinking about what he'd leave behind. His answer was a polytechnic school — a place devoted to the advancement of literature, science, and art.

The State of Texas chartered the William M. Rice Institute on May 19, 1891. Sounded like smooth sailing from there, right?

Well. Rice himself put the brakes on it. He stipulated — in plain legal language — that the school would not open until after his death.

Now that's a man playing the long game. The trouble is, when William Marsh Rice died in 1900, he died under suspicious circumstances. Investigations followed.

Legal struggles followed those. For a spell, the whole future of that institute hung by a thread. But the estate was eventually settled, and what emerged on the other side of all that uncertainty was something Houston had never had before — its first university.

The trustees were sitting on a multi-million dollar endowment, which sounds like a fine position to be in. Only problem? They didn't have much experience in education.

So they went out and found Dr. Edgar Odell Lovett, the first president, who came over from Princeton University. And Lovett did something you don't always see — he took his time.

He spent months traveling, visiting experts around the world, listening and learning. By the time he was done, he'd broadened Rice's original vision into something bigger: a university built on the union of teaching and research. In 1909, the Boston firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson drew up the campus plan — classically-inspired architecture woven together with Mediterranean influences.

Something that looked like it had roots, even on land that was brand new to the whole idea. Then on September 23, 1912, the doors opened. Fifty-nine young men and women walked into four buildings and became the first class of what would grow into one of the great universities in America.

Rice joined the Southwest Conference as a charter athletic member in 1914. That first class graduated in 1916. Two world wars came, and the Great Depression rolled through, and growth slowed the way it always does when the world decides to remind you it's bigger than your plans.

But in 1945, trustees broadened the curriculum and launched a substantial building program, pushing forward again. In 1960, the school was renamed Rice University. And two years after that, in 1962, the campus hosted President John F.

Kennedy, who stood there and urged the nation to send human beings to the moon before the decade was out. Not a bad place to plant a speech like that — a university built on the idea that teaching and research belong together. Rice has gone on to count among its alumni and faculty Nobel Prize recipients and Pulitzer Prize recipients, people who've carried whatever they found in those classically-arched halls out into the wider world.

In 2012, Rice University stepped into its second century, still aiming, as they put it, to produce leaders across the spectrum of human endeavor. From a man who made his fortune in Texas in 1838, to a charter that almost didn't survive, to 59 students in four buildings on a September morning in 1912 — that's a foundation worth building on.

What the marker says

William Marsh Rice (1816-1900) came to Texas in 1838 and through extensive entrepreneurship became one of the state's wealthiest men. Rice envisioned a polytechnic school as his philanthropic legacy. The State of Texas chartered the William M. Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art on May 19, 1891. Rice delayed the project by stipulating that it open after his death. When he died under suspicious circumstances, investigations and legal struggles jeopardized the school's future. After his estate was settled, development began for the first university in Houston. Trustees had a multi-million dollar endowment but little experience in education. The first president, Dr. Edgar Odell Lovett of Princeton University, spent months visiting experts around the world. His experiences helped him broaden Rice's vision to a university uniting teaching and research. In 1909, the Boston firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson developed the campus plan, combining classically-inspired architecture with Mediterranean influences. On Sep. 23, 1912, classes opened with 59 young men and women and four buildings. Rice was a charter athletic member of the Southwest Conference (1914) and quickly achieved academic accreditation, with the first class graduating in 1916. Two world wars and the Great Depression slowed growth. In 1945, trustees broadened the curriculum and initiated a substantial building program. Renamed Rice University in 1960, the school has hosted presidential visits, including John F. Kennedy's in 1962 when he urged the nation's space program to explore the moon by the end of the decade. Rice boasts many distinguished alumni and faculty, including Nobel and Pulitzer Prize recipients. In 2012 Rice University embarked on its second century of producing "leaders across the spectrum of human endeavor." 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836-2011