Accelerate Magazine

Issue 3 — Spring 2025

A Message From Stephen Bayer

At the of close the academic year, we reflect on a season of remarkable milestones: the graduation of another exceptional class of Owls, a groundbreaking for the new Moody Center Complex for Student Life, and 50th anniversary celebrations across engineering, natural science and music. With campus settling into the rhythm of summer and our fiscal year drawing to an end, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your generosity and thoughtful engagement. Your support fuels Rice’s future, opening doors, advancing discovery and nurturing the brilliant minds that move our world forward.

Throughout my career in higher education, I have learned that truly great institutions are built and sustained by extraordinary people. Among the most vital investments we can make in academic excellence are endowed faculty chairs. These positions are key to attracting and retaining world-class scholars and educators, and they are critical to Rice’s ambition to be the premier teaching and research university in the world. In this issue, you’ll meet three outstanding faculty members whose work is transforming their fields and inspiring the next generation of thinkers and leaders.

As we celebrate the impact of our faculty and students, we are also mindful of the broader forces reshaping higher education today, from shifting federal policies to evolving expectations around access, affordability and innovation. In this changing landscape, we have the unique opportunity to lead — and to define excellence and impact in a way that only Rice can. You’ll see this reflected in the stories of our thoughtful and generous donors, graduate students who are shaping the future of technology and urban development, and students who are immersing themselves in global experiences. In each story, philanthropy is a catalyst, empowering discovery, expanding opportunities and strengthening our community and the world beyond.

Thank you for being a part of this important work. With your support we look to the future with optimism, ready to build on our momentum and embrace the possibilities ahead.

Sincerely,

Stephen Bayer
Vice President, Development and Alumni Relations