Texas lawmakers’ drawn-out battle over drawing U.S. House district boundaries reached a turning point as Democrats accused Republicans of adopting maps to gain more seats in the state’s congressional delegation. Meanwhile, in the state’s largest county, Republicans accused Democrats of redrawing precinct maps to solidify their control over the Harris County Commissioners Court. Veteran Rice political analyst Bob Stein offered context and perspective to reporters covering the redistricting battles for media outlets as varied as Reuters, NPR, CBS News and the Guardian, which earned more than 3,000 media mentions of Rice’s name. Coupled with his comments offered for stories on Hurricane Ida and other subjects, Stein accounted for more than 5,500 media mentions in a two-month period.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order prohibiting any entity, including private businesses, from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for their workers. Meanwhile, major corporations like Texas-based American Airlines and Southwest Airlines announced they would abide by federal guidelines requiring employers with more than 100 workers to be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19. Rice political scientist Mark Jones offered perspective to reporters from a wide range of national media sources — including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes and the Atlantic — as well as international outlets such as Sputnik and Radio France Internationale. Jones’ remarks on this issue alone accounted for more than 2,500 media citations.
A survey by NPR, Harvard and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that of the four largest U.S. cities, Houston has the worst problem with people facing financial hardship during the pandemic. For context, a reporter at Houston’s NPR affiliate turned to Jie Wu, director of research operations at Rice’s Kinder Institute. The network picked up the story and aired it during NPR’s Morning Edition, which is broadcast on more than 800 radio stations across the nation.
For a full list of September and October media stars,
please see the last section of this report.
Government Relations
Government Relations hosts visit to the Ion, keeps up with Texas Legislature
Government Relations stayed busy as ever in September and October, with special legislative sessions continuing in Austin and a pair of U.S. senators coming to the Ion in Midtown.
In coordination with the Office of Research, Rice Management Co. and the staff at the Ion, we hosted a successful roundtable that convened Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Steve Daines of Montana for a conversation with a select group of industry leaders from across Houston about the critical semiconductor shortage currently impeding the economy. President David Leebron and senior representatives from Intel Corp., Gulf States Toyota, MD Anderson Cancer Center and Hewlett Packard Enterprise participated in the roundtable. The visit included giving the senators an abbreviated tour of the Ion in addition to a technology showcase that featured — among other innovations — cutting-edge 5G wireless broadband antennae from the Rice alumni-led Skylark Wireless, along with diamond materials produced in labs at the Rice University National Security Research Accelerator, which is funded by the Army Research Laboratory.
Then, in early October, Government Relations arranged a special congressional update for the Rice community that featured our congressman, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who spoke about his legislative priorities and answered questions about the latest developments in Washington, D.C. Open to Rice faculty, students and staff, the event was attended by about 60 people.
Meanwhile, throughout September and October, the Texas Legislature continued working on a number of priorities designated by Gov. Greg Abbott for the second and third special sessions of 2021. Government Relations monitored a number of potentially problematic proposals along the way. We engaged on one piece of legislation in particular that would have encroached on the institutional autonomy of private universities across the state, and that legislation — while it did get a hearing — didn’t progress far before the third special session concluded. In the end, very little that was of concern to Rice made it to the governor’s desk. We continue to watch developments, but most indications are that a fourth special session of the 87th Legislature is unlikely anytime soon.
University Relations
The Welcome Center hosts Rice Day with astronaut Shannon Walker
Rice welcomed astronaut Shannon Walker ’87 back to campus for Rice Day on Oct. 12, the annual celebration of Rice’s founding in 1912. As President David Leebron noted in his introduction of Walker, “President Lovett would, I’m sure, be immensely proud that we have convened more than 100 years later, on the exact anniversary of his own international celebration of the new Rice Institute, to celebrate the fact that a Rice graduate has returned to the Earth having served as the commander of the International Space Station and a member of Crew-1, the first fully crewed commercial space flight in history.”
Walker presented more than a dozen campus academic and student organizations with Rice-related items provided by University Relations that were flown in space during her latest six-month mission to the International Space Station, including a pair of spectacles that once belonged to Rice’s founding president, Edgar Odell Lovett. “As an astronomer whose vision it was to place ‘no upper limit’ on the academic aspirations of the new institution, we thought it would be especially appropriate for his spectacles to be carried to the International Space Station by NASA’s first-ever native Houstonian astronaut who also happens to hold three Rice degrees,” said David Alexander, executive director of the Rice Space Institute.
In addition to presenting the flown items, Walker also took part in a question-and-answer session moderated by Alexander with questions submitted by Rice students and faculty, as well as by the live audience. The video from the event, which premiered during the 2021 Owl Together celebration, may be foundhere.
Event attendees were able to take home NASA posters, stickers and lapel pins and enjoyed a reception with Walker on the Welcome Center’s Brochstein Plaza, complete with custom “Owlstronaut” and Crew-1 mission patch cookies and Tang.
Fall semester campus tours
Registration for fall semester campus tours opened on the Welcome Center’s new visit.rice.edu website in August. In one month, all available tours for the fall semester were filled. Since September, student assistants have led 17 tours for 700 middle school students from around the city. While some districts have been unable to visit due to field trip restrictions as well as staffing shortages, we are hopeful that more districts will allow field trips in the spring.
Creative Services
School of Humanities brochure
Creative Services designed and edited a brochure to help increase awareness of the School of Humanities’ offerings for students. The brochure outlines the school’s departments, centers and programs; majors, minors and concentrations and more.
Rice Research Review mailer
Creative Services designed and edited a Rice Research Review mailer for the Office of the Provost. Rice Research Review is an annual online publication that highlights a sampling of Rice’s research pursuits and accomplishments over the previous year. The mailer advertises the first edition of the review, which focuses on 2020.
Shepherd School early fall calendar
Creative Services designed a calendar to promote the Shepherd School’s early fall concerts. The calendar outlines a variety of performances that took place throughout September and October, including doctoral recitals, guest artist recitals and chamber music.
Multicultural Community Relations
Reach for the stars by pursuing a college education
Multicultural Community Relations (MCR) hosted a virtual quarterly meeting for the Rice K-12 Outreach Council Sept. 15. Departments from Rice with K-12 programs and members of nonprofit educational groups met to learn from an array of speakers. Tamara Siler ’86, deputy director of admission, access and inclusion at Rice, spoke about “Recruitment Resources Through an Access and Inclusion Lens.” Patricia Reiff ’74, professor of physics and astronomy and associate director for outreach for the Rice Space Institute, talked about her efforts to help underserved students, especially about her programs Reach for the Stars and GOE STEMFest. Nathan Cook, director of Government Relations at Rice, spoke about “Public Policy on Public Education: A State Legislative Update on Education Priorities Addressed by the 87th Texas Legislature’s Regular and Special Sessions.” Olivera Jankovska, director of the Mayor’s Office of Education, discussed the city of Houston’s youth empowerment programs, including Child Friendly Cities and Hire Houston Youth.
Diverse student groups meet with Public Affairs
The MCR team and Vice President for Public Affairs Linda Thrane met with representatives of diverse student organizations for the annual networking luncheons at Cohen House. The purpose is to meet student leaders of color and find out how MCR and Public Affairs can support the endeavors of these clubs. Attending the Sept. 29 luncheon were members of the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice (HACER), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Rice Mariachi Luna Llena, Rice Salseros and the Latin American Graduate Students Association (LAGSA). Attending the Oct. 7 luncheon were members of the Black Student Association (BSA), the Black Graduate Student Association at Rice (BGSA), the Black Male Leadership Initiative Association, the Rice Black Women’s Association, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Caribbean Student Society and the DAWA Pre-Health Society.
José F. Aranda Jr. speaks at ‘Books That Shaped My Life’
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, MCR invited José F. Aranda Jr., professor of Chicanx and American literature, to speak at the “Books That Shaped My Life” lecture series. A diverse group of faculty, staff, alumni, students and community members from Houston and San Antonio came together virtually to be regaled by Aranda as he talked about growing up in the barrios of Houston and attending Yale University. A lively discussion followed his presentation.
Welcoming new Black faculty to Rice
New Black faculty members at Rice were welcomed through an Oct. 14 virtual event sponsored by the Association of Rice University Black Alumni (ARUBA), the BSA and MCR. Alumni, faculty, staff and students from around the country gathered to celebrate the new Black faculty from a range of academic disciplines. Alumni also met student leaders and were pleased to see the expanding number of Black student groups. The evening culminated with recognition of Roland Smith, the recently retired associate provost for diversity and inclusion, and Catherine Clack, associate dean of undergraduates, who is celebrating her 40th anniversary at Rice.
Rice At Large
The fall issue of Rice At Large, the quarterly newsletter that highlights outreach at Rice, featured a cover story on former Owl basketball player Tim Harrison ’20, who started a nonprofit that helps young people reach their full potential. Also appearing in the publication are stories about an art exhibit at the Moody Center that engages Hispanic students at Rice and the Tapia Center STEM summer camp.
Marketing and Digital Communications
Rice.edu
Visits to the homepage decreased as summer ended and the Canvas login page from rice.edu was removed. Total page views were 543,053, with visitors spending an average time of 4 minutes, 13 seconds on the site, which continues to show that they are finding the information they need.
September/October Page views: 543,053 Average time on page: 4 minutes, 13 seconds Bounce rate: 46.25%
As of Oct. 31, Public Affairs and the Office of Information Technology have successfully launched 238 Drupal 8 websites. On Oct. 1, 2021, the Rice News and Media Relations website relaunched with updated branding and a new user experience.
The two departments are also collaborating on an additional 39 new websites that have come into the Rice-branded theme. Some of the websites currently under development are:
Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)
Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL)
Curriculum Management
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
English as a Second Language (ESL)
Environmental Science
Houston Methodist — Rice Center for Human Performance
Human Resources
KnOWLedge Café (Human Resources Intranet)
Office of Faculty Development (OFD)
Rice 360°
Rice Emergency Medical Services
Rice Magazine
Strengthening Training & Resources for Inclusion in Data Engineering & Sciences (AGEP STRIDES)
The Chemistry of Art
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research
Vice Provost for Innovation Search
Vice President for Administration
Social media
Impressions: This reflects the number of times the content was seen. Followers: This is the number of people who follow the main Rice accounts. Engagements: This reflects the number of interactions (likes, shares, comments, clicks) on a post.
In September and October, Rice’s social media channels received:
Nearly 2 million impressions
Nearly 124,000 engagements and a 5.3 percent engagement rate
Gained 4,264 followers
Total followers across all social media platforms: 240,919
Notable factor: Rice channels received 13,991 clicked links, a 27% increase from July and August
Total followers: 39,958 Gained: 480 followers Top post: “That September glow on campus” produced 1,145 engagements. Second-highest post: “These campus views never get old” produced 907 engagements.
Total followers: 59,550 Gained: 670 likes Top post: “Campus in September” produced 1,856 engagements. Second-highest post: The Moody Foundation Grant announcement produced 1,815 engagements.
Top followers: 96,624 Gained: 2,002 followers, a 10% increase. Top post: U.S. News & World Report top 20 universities produced 3,400 engagements. Second-highest post: The Moody Foundation Grant announcement produced 3,206 engagements.
Total followers: 44,787 Gained: 1,489 Top post: Photo of Rice in the fall produced 2,439 engagements Second highest: ‘owl about studying’ produced 2,161 engagements
Media Stars
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, had the highest number of media mentions — 5,506 — in September and October, mainly for comments about Texas political stories that gained national attention. Below are members of the Rice community who were mentioned in the media 10 or more times in September and October.
Bob Stein
5,506
Mark Jones
4,030
Daniel Cohan
1,659
Jie Wu
1,051
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
693
Jim Blackburn
504
Jim Krane
430
Jon Kimura Parker
421
Lauren Anker
414
Mike Bloomgren
288
Scott Sonenshein
278
Lauren Taylor
198
Matteo Pasquali
194
Oliver Dewey
190
Raghav Chugh
118
Travis Alexander
108
Mark Finley
79
Phil Bedient
74
Tony Payan
64
Jake Constantine
63
Robert French
63
Vivian Ho
63
Bill Fulton
57
Anna Mikulska
46
Jim Elliott
40
Carly Graham
40
Richard Gordon
36
David Leebron
30
Gabriel Collins
29
Bing Deng
29
Francisco Monaldi
29
James Tour
29
Dilip Asthagiri
27
Tom Kolditz
27
Philip Singer
27
Morénike Giwa Onaiwu
25
José Onuchic
25
Paul Cherukuri
24
Pulickel Ajayan
21
Muhammad Rahman
19
M.A.S.R. Saadi
19
Stephen Klineberg
18
Douglas Brinkley
17
Wei Li
17
Shuai Yang
17
Adrienne Correa
16
Weiyin Chen
15
Zhihua Cheng
15
Matthew Jones
15
Muhua Sun
15
Ken Medlock
14
Emir Sendogan
13
Lauren Howe-Kerr
12
John Diamond
11
George Zodrow
11
Loren Hopkins
10
Sonia Ryang
10
Richard Stoll
10
The chart below shows Rice’s media mentions since 2007. The green column reflects the number of mentions through Oct. 31, 2021.
