Office of the President
Rice University was among 136 higher education institutions asked by Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa — respectively the chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee — to share information about policies and practices regarding tuition, student aid and endowments.
Rice has a good story to tell. It is a relatively small research university compared with most of its peers. In fact, only CalTech has fewer students among the 60 members of the American Association of Universities, which is the association representing the country's top higher education research institutions. Rice is best known both for the quality of its undergraduate education, in which students enjoy a five-to-one student-teacher ratio and a 93 percent graduation rate, and for the disproportionately huge impacts of its research — among them, the Nobel prizewinning discovery of fullerenes that launched the nanotechnology era.
Rice's tuition and student aid policies are aimed at keeping its education accessible and affordable to students from all backgrounds and to sustaining its endowment for generations of students to come. The following is adapted from a letter that President David W. Leebron sent to Sens. Baucus and Grassley. The full response is also available for download here
February 22, 2008
The Honorable Max Baucus
The Honorable Charles Grassley
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senators Baucus and Grassley,
Thank you for the opportunity to share information about Rice University and the role that tuition and endowments play in helping this institution make a significant difference in the lives of our students and in the success of our community and country. As our university approaches its centennial anniversary in 2012, we are more determined than ever to invest its resources — human and financial — into research and education that will create the leadership and knowledge required to realize a more prosperous and peaceful world.
No two institutions of higher education in America are precisely alike. What sets Rice apart from many other research universities is our small size: A student population of 5,000 makes us the second smallest university represented by the American Association of Universities. Even so, we have developed and nurtured an ability beyond our size to contribute to important research across the spectrum of human knowledge and to bring that research activity into the undergraduate educational experience. Our mission statement reflects this attribute: “As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to pathbreaking research, unsurpassed teaching and contributions 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.”
Our contributions to the arts and sciences also belie our small size. Two Rice professors — Richard Smalley and Robert Curl — made research breakthroughs in 1985 that launched the nanotechnology era.They won a Nobel Prize for their efforts. Breakthroughs in artificial heart research and space science have translated into treatments and technologies that make everyday improvements in people’s lives. Advances in digital signal processing pioneered at Rice make many modern technological conveniences possible. Our Shepherd School of Music nurtures talent that brings audiences around the world together in harmony; our architecture school trains people to design structures that can redefine a city or house a family with even the most humble budget; and our business school is preparing to train principals in the business and leadership skills needed to improve the operations of our public schools.