Dear Fellow Owls,
This spring all-alumni newsletter will be the final one for my tenure as your alumni president. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve our community; thank you for this. I would also like to thank our Office of Alumni Relations for constantly striving to be the most supportive partners possible as we create the networks and memories that bind us together.
I am also very proud of our ARA Board. The many hours they sacrificed, away from work and loved ones in service of our goals, has not gone unnoticed. This year the ARA Board worked to strengthen relations with, among others, the Rice Athletics department. We strived to improve and make more inclusive our alumni volunteer experience, as well as refine our recent and graduate alumni experiences.
This year has been a whirlwind. Some of my personal highlights have been events like our Bayou Bucket win, Alumni Weekend, Laureates Awards Celebration, NeighborHOOTS events around the country, holiday parties, active European and East Asian groups, robust regional activities, meeting Raymond Johnson and speaking at the Black Student Association panel.
That being said, the biggest highlight of my year has been meeting so many Owls and seeing the amazing breadth of our alumni communities. You should be proud of yourselves and each other. We are a kind group with a good sense of humor, and we also happen to be smart, thoughtful and ambitious. As a subscriber to the RUBPA newsletter, where there’s a lot more than baseball, I learned that MinJung Kim ’24, a recent graduate, was awarded a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. As a child of immigrants and the spouse of an immigrant, I am reminded of why Rice is meaningful to me. As I mentioned in my matriculation speech that kicked off this year, Rice was the first place where I felt the stress of navigating American culture lifted off my shoulders. My Rice communities welcomed me as we learned from each other, and as MinJung said, "Rice truly has a special place in my heart." Rice has evolved a lot since I was a student, but that sense of community and support is still present and is what makes our desire to participate in our alumni communities so strong. Thank you for making this possible.
I am thrilled to welcome David Mansouri as our new ARA Board President beginning July 1! Just as I am so proud to be an architecture alumna, I know David is equally proud to be an alumnus of both the Shepherd School of Music and the School of Social Sciences. As an alumnus from Tennessee, I know he will bring a perspective that will be much appreciated and needed. David is such a dynamic thinker and an intentional leader; Rice alumni are fortunate to have him lead us, and I have personally been fortunate to have David’s counsel this year. I can’t wait to see what he, the Alumni Relations Office and our ARA Board have planned for next year.
With deepest gratitude,
Tania Min ’90, ’92
Outgoing President, Association of Rice Alumni
Dear Fellow Rice Alumni,
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as president of the Association of Rice Alumni (ARA), and I look forward to being a steward of the ARA’s mission in the coming year.
The purpose of the ARA is “to provide the means of a continuing relationship between Rice University and its former students” and to sponsor “distinguished programs meant to stimulate intellectual and social participation of all members of the Association and to enable them to contribute to and share in the enhancement of the university.” This is a unique and exciting time to be part of the Rice community, with the launch of bold new programs and initiatives, the continued growth of our undergraduate and graduate population, and the expansion of our alma mater’s global reach and recognition.
Like many of you, my connection to Rice has been an important part of my life. While an undergraduate at Rice, I was a Shepherd School student, a political science major and a proud Will Ricer. As an alum, I have enjoyed serving as an externship host for current Rice students, interviewing prospective students through RAVA, serving as a member of the ARA Board and cheering on and supporting the Owls. These experiences help to inform the perspective I bring to the ARA work in the coming year.
Alumni have an important role in the life of the university, and it’s my goal to increase and expand the ways in which alumni can contribute to and share in strengthening the university and its vibrant community. In the year ahead, we have opportunities to engage more alumni in ARA and Rice programming, particularly those alumni who may not have connected with the university recently; to strengthen the volunteer experience to ensure that the gift of time leads to meaningful impact; and to expand the programs and support available to alumni, including to young alumni.
This work and outreach of the ARA in the coming year will be done in partnership with the amazing team in the Office of Alumni Relations and with the leadership of the ARA board, a group of 28 alumni who reflect the diversity and intellectual breadth of the Rice community. I am particularly excited to welcome seven new members of the board this year – Sacha Abinader ’05, Paula Desel ’81, Norman Hale ’76, Tawfik Jarjour ’12, June Marshall ’00, Wanda Pan ’77 and John Sneider ’94.
Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to Tania Min ’90 ’92 for her leadership of the ARA this past year. Tania leads with humility and curiosity, and she has a tenacious passion for making the university and the Rice community an inclusive and connected place. Thank you, Tania, for all you have done for Rice and for what you will do in the years to come!
Onwards!
David Mansouri ’07
Incoming President, Association of Rice Alumni