Presidents Remarks 2004

Outside the Hedges

Every institution develops its own mini-culture and vocabulary. One of the first Rice phrases I learned was “beyond the hedges,” covering everything from Rice Village to the far-flung reaches of the world. It is an expression that we hope to give a new, more positive meaning. As a matter of educational philosophy, civic responsibility, and competitive advantage, Rice should be fully engaged with the City of Houston, and capitalize on all that it has to offer. The Ligustrum japonicum bushes that encircle our campus should contribute to aesthetic beauty, not be barriers to engagement with our diverse, dynamic, and ambitious international city.

Edgar Odell Lovett expressed the special quality of our city nearly a century ago:

Houston—heavenly Houston, as it has been happily named by a distinguished local editor of more than local fame—you will find in some ways a bit too close to New York, perhaps, but here you will find many a heartening reminder of the memories and traditions of the South, and all the moving inspiration in the promise and adventure of the West. Here, in a cosmopolitan place, in a community shaking itself from the slow step of a country village to the self-conscious stature of a metropolitan town, completing a channel to the deep blue sea, growing a thousand acres of skyscrapers, building schools and factories and churches and homes, you will learn to talk about lumber and cotton and railroads and oil, but you will also find every ear turned ready to listen to you if you really have anything to say about literature or science or art.

Lovett foresaw Houston's growth into a major metropolis, and Rice's critical role in that transformation. Indeed, I learned immediately that, even for those Houstonians who never attended Rice, our university occupies a special place. They see in Rice a symbol of the city's commitment to excellence and a necessary engine for its progress.

Rice's engagement with Houston begins with our academic mission. We have created numerous relationships with the city that inform the scholarly work of our faculty and the intellectual conversations on our campus—from collaborations with the institutions of the Texas Medical Center to working with the Houston Zoo to preserve threatened species, from the Houston Area Survey to the Rice Building Workshop, and much more. In this issue of Sallyport , you will find Rice scientific studies of the city's air quality, and a joint venture with the Houston Independent School District that enables secondary school students to produce their own online scientific videos. We extend the benefits of our knowledge to the city through our teaching and programs, from the School of Continuing Studies to Shepherd School concerts, from our unique installation art gallery to the President's Lecture Series.

Engagement with Houston also offers our undergraduates a vitally important learning environment. Whether it is attending an exhibition in the world-class Museum District that neighbors campus, participating in a public service internship with a government or nonprofit organization, or hopping on the light rail to enjoy Houston's diverse cultural and culinary offerings, this dynamic city must be an integral part of students' experience on an urban campus.

To foster this, we have just issued to all undergraduates a “Passport to Houston, Version 1.0”—a Metro rail/bus pass coupled with free admission to our city's renowned Museum of Fine Arts as well as information on the city's manifold other cultural and educational offerings. In the future, we plan to add more free or discounted passes to museums, performing arts venues, and learning opportunities. It will, in fact, be a passport to an important part of a Rice education.

This learning from our city must be just the beginning of efforts to bring the world to Rice, and Rice to the world. In future communications, we will discuss that broader engagement as we seek to build a university that knows no borders or boundaries.