Statement of support for The Rice Investment

The Association of Rice Alumni (Rice Alumni) Board, which represents more than 55,000 Rice undergraduate and graduate alumni worldwide, is committed to encouraging, promoting and supporting the university’s efforts to strengthen excellence and affordability.

Through its influence on and endorsement of the university’s strategic plan, the Vision for the Second Century, Second Decade, the Rice Alumni Board has passionately advocated for and supported Rice’s goal of addressing the growing challenges of affordability in higher education, not only for low-income students, but also for middle-income families who can face undue burden in covering the costs of a top-tier education.

On September 18, 2018, Rice University took a bold step toward achieving this goal with the announcement of “The Rice Investment,” a new financial aid initiative that will significantly expand scholarship support for low and middle-income families. Under this important plan, which was fully endorsed by the Rice Board of Trustees and will launch in fall 2019, talented domestic students and families with typical assets will receive grant aid to cover full tuition if they earn up to $130,000 per year and half tuition for families earning between $130,001-$200,000, while eliminating loans for all domestic students who qualify for need-based financial aid.

We believe that this historic effort promises to substantially advance the institution and its students and to strengthen the Rice Alumni community:

• First, for the many talented undergraduate students and their families who stand to benefit from this generous support, we believe The Rice Investment will open a world of opportunity they may not have been afforded otherwise at a top-20 university — one that boasts, among other things, excellent teaching, a distinctive residential college experience and an alumni community dedicated to their professional and personal development.
  
• Second, we believe The Rice Investment honors the tradition of affordability that dates back to the university’s founding, while at the same time building toward Rice’s future with an investment to attract and support an economically diverse student body that will enrich both the campus and alumni communities for decades to come.
  
• Third, we believe that The Rice Investment is a tremendously valuable opportunity for the Rice Alumni community to contribute to the continued excellence of Rice University and its students, whether through their investments of volunteerism, of philanthropic support, or as ambassadors in their communities. Such support will be integral to both the immediate and the long-term advancement of the university.

THEREFORE, the Association of Rice Alumni Board, as representatives of the Rice alumni community, in conjunction with our existing mission, fully supports The Rice Investment and pledges to enthusiastically promote and support this initiative among the greater Rice Alumni community.