Key leaders advance undergraduate and graduate education at Rice

I’m pleased to share that Bridget Gorman and Seiichi Matsuda have been reappointed to five-year terms as dean of undergraduates and dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies, respectively. Their new terms begin July 1, 2025.

This marks the second phase of reappointments during my time as provost. Last year, C. Fred Higgs III was reappointed as vice provost for academic affairs, and Robert Bruce was reappointed dean of the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. Their terms began in July 2024.

Bridget, Seiichi and Fred’s leadership and support are critical as we seek to advance undergraduate and graduate education, two of the key drivers supporting premier teaching and research at Rice, while we expand and invest in our faculty. Rob’s leadership is critical as we innovate in degree, certificate and noncredit programs and advance the importance of lifelong learning. Each of their reappointments follows a comprehensive review of their major accomplishments, along with an evaluation of the near-term strategic opportunities in their areas.

Bridget has provided strong leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the 20% growth of the student body over the last four years to 4,800. She has enhanced student support services so that Rice Owls can perform at the highest levels academically while maintaining their health and well-being. For example, since spring 2020, she grew the total number of staff positions in the Rice Counseling Center and Student Wellbeing Office by 55%. She also launched several new programs designed to enhance student success, including Owl Access, a prematriculation program for first-generation and limited-income students. She supported efforts to enhance co-curricular and outside-the-classroom opportunities for global travel and civic engagement through the launch and expansion of the Center for Civic Leadership's Moody Global Fellows and Moody Civic Immersion programs. She has responsibility for Rice’s general education program, including ongoing reform efforts led by the associate dean of undergraduate education, Leslie Schwindt-Bayer. She also works closely with other Rice leaders on maintaining and expanding residential colleges, including the launch of College 12 (set to open in Fall 2026).

During his time as dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies, Seiichi has advocated for enhanced graduate student support, including working with my office to establish minimum stipends and provide annual increases to account for changes in the cost of living. He also worked to improve the availability and affordability of graduate student dining options and to establish the first graduate space in the Grad Bubble. This support is essential to our growing graduate population, which has increased almost 20% over the last four years. With expected future growth and the increasing importance of graduate programs in the strategic plan, we will expand the GPS office. I have asked Seiichi to lead a plan to further enhance graduate programs at Rice through admissions, degree completion and support for graduate students. Through his efforts to build relationships internationally and with school and department-level leadership, Rice has been able to recruit the top graduate students in the world. In 2024, Rice graduate students won a record 112 major awards, including 29 Fulbright awards, 26 GEM Fellowships and 21 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. Seiichi himself was named the recipient of the 2022 Debra W. Stewart Award for Outstanding Leadership in Graduate Education, the top honor bestowed by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Fred has led academic affairs during the university’s largest faculty hiring initiative. The Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs supports faculty in all aspects of their work, providing essential onboarding for over 170 nontenure track faculty and more than 200 tenure-track faculty hired in the past five years. It also offers professional development fore tenure-track faculty and has recently added staff to extend this support to nontenure track faculty. Under Fred’s leadership, office has shepherded through nearly 25 university policies and procedures that affect faculty, and the faculty lifecycle process — from hiring, reviews and promotions to retirement — has been streamlined and digitally transformed through the implementation of the Interfolio suite. His office also manages dual career hiring, faculty awards and postretirement services. Fred chaired the search committee for the associate provost for digital learning and strategy, resulting in the hire of Shawn Miller, and oversaw the recruitment of Kelia Hubbard as head of the Office of International Students and Scholars. Through the Office of Faculty Development, the Program in Writing and Communication and OISS, the VPAA division supports faculty, students, staff and international scholars in their academic pursuits.

Rob leads the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies with excellence and adaptability. In the past five years, the school has launched numerous new programs in service to Houston and beyond. Digital Skills Boot Camps opened in 2018 and have served over 2,500 students. During the pandemic, the school launched OpenRICE, which hosts free webinars on pressing issues. In April 2021, Continuing Studies became the first Rice school to have stand-alone graduate certificates approved by the Graduate Council and Faculty Senate. The school created the University John Freeman Faculty Excellence Award in 2020 and the Dearborn Faculty Support Fund in 2023 to aid in recruiting and recognizing outstanding Rice faculty who teach in the Master of Liberal Studies program. The school’s Center for Education teacher preparation programs have received Texas Education Agency awards every year since 2018, and the center has produced 12 Rookie Teacher of the Year recipients in as many years. In 2025-26, Rob will become board president of UPCEA, an online and professional education association with over 15,000 higher education and corporation members. Rob also served on the search committee for the associate provost for digital learning and strategy.

Please join me in congratulating and supporting these leaders as we work together to advance premier teaching and research in support of undergraduate and graduate education at Rice.