Unconventional Wisdom
THE RICE POSITION
At Rice, we believe nothing is impossible. There is no “what if” that cannot become “what is.” It just takes radical thinking to get there and a community of brilliant dreamers and doers to lead the way. That’s why we challenge convention at every turn: from the very way we live, to the teaching and research approaches we take, to the solutions we find, to the way we collaborate, to the way we insist on advancing tomorrow’s thinking, because today’s is not far enough. It sounds like a lot from a small university, but that’s what makes us special. That’s what gives us Unconventional Wisdom.
THE RICE MISSION STATEMENT
As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to pathbreaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contribution to the betterment of our world. It seeks to fulfill this mission by cultivating a diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders across the spectrum of human endeavor.
Life Changing |
Inspired |
Accomplished |
TOP RANKED
Academic Departments
Steeped in Tradition
Elite,
Not Elitist
INCREDIBLE
Research Accomplishment
BEAUTIFUL
Metropolitan Campus
Small School
WITH
Global Vision
Quirky
&
Proud of it
Residential College
INTERDISCIPLINARY
Research Approach
Low Faculty
to
Student Ratio
Excellent Undergrad Education
Active Learning
Key Themes
We are collaborative, transparent and focused on building meaningful relationships. |
As an interdisciplinary institution, we believe collaboration is an incredibly important means of approaching every challenge and opportunity with a holistic perspective. As such, we stress the importance of relationships — whether by exploring the connections within seemingly disparate ideas or building bridges between students, professors, schools and our surrounding community. |
We are in constant pursuit of wisdom and commit ourselves to this endless exploration. |
Our world is one of infinite inquiry. As a leading research institution, we understand the importance, potential and responsibility of exploring new and existing ideas. We approach this challenge without hubris to humbly refine and bolster knowledge — even when new discoveries alter or overhaul our existing understanding. |
We are curious and imaginative and maintain a sense of wonder in all we do. |
Wonder is one of the most potent drivers of a comprehensive education. Rather than accepting our world at face value, we encourage our students and faculty to maintain a strong sense of imagination in their work. We believe that by maintaining a sense of wonder in all that we do, we perpetuate the joy of learning and make that experience meaningful by uncovering new potentials and possibilities for a better future. |
We believe in individual ability and empower people to be themselves. |
We believe that by empowering people to be themselves, they’re better equipped to create positive impact. Our culture at Rice is uniquely accepting — and this strongly engrained sense of belonging at Rice enables our students, faculty and staff to explore the best aspects of their personalities and interests. |
RICE VALUES
Rice faculty, staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community and Excellence.
Responsibility is something fundamental to a mission-driven academic community. We take responsibility for making Rice better, and also for our own happiness and success. We take responsibility for our actions and words, and understand how they may impact our friends and colleagues. We especially take responsibility for our mistakes. That way we can learn from them and even translate failure into success.
Integrity is one of the strongest threads in Rice’s cultural fabric. In the classroom, office, lab, field of play, in our residential colleges and in our community engagement, we are guided by our commitment to honesty and doing what’s right. This value is embodied in the notion of Rice’s honor and our Honor Code. We accept nothing less than complete academic and research integrity.
Our success as a community depends first and foremost on our respect for each other, and how we reflect that respect in our everyday interactions. That is especially important as we learn from and build friendships with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The Rice community cares about each member. We hope that individual acts add up to the culture of caring that we espouse. Our shorthand way of expressing this to others in need of some assistance: HCIH — How can I help? As part of our values, we extend hospitality and help to every member of our community.
Excellence for Rice, means that we are never satisfied with a good result, because we can always find ways to do even better. “When I arrived at Rice for the first time ... I was struck by the beauty of the campus and the quality of the education, research and community service it produced. But I was surrounded by people — trustees, alumni, faculty members, students, staff — who believed that Rice could be better. I am proud to be part of a community that constantly strives to become better.” — David Leebron