Robert L. "Bobby" Moody, longtime Rice supporter, benefactor and transformational Galveston community leader, died Nov. 7.
Robert Moody was an ambitious, visionary businessman and leader. Rice students can likewise shape their education to match their ambitions through programs established by the Moody family's generosity. These programs create tremendous, unrivaled opportunities to broaden their perspectives and engage in meaningful experiences.
The Moody Foundation's support has already expanded study abroad opportunities for students and will continue to do so.:
- Four undergraduate students traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica, this summer for the inaugural year of the Moody Global Fellows program. Rice partners at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in San Jose arranged meetings and tours for the visiting students based on their academic interests. Additionally, six undergraduate students traveled to Brazil to meet with Rice partners at the University of Rio de Janeiro.
- International education experiences can be challenging for STEM students because of the rigid sequencing of the curriculum. Funds from the Moody Foundation are being used to support travel to international partners and develop curricula that meet the academic discipline's learning objectives.
- Resources that provide information about opportunities and financial accessibility are also being created to boost the percentage of students who study abroad from 31 to 50 percent.
Because of the Moody Foundation's support, Rice students of various backgrounds and academic interests participate in meaningful civic engagement work with Houston organizations.:
- This summer, more than 90 incoming students participated in the Ross Rankin Moody Civic Immersion Program, which introduces new students to peers and Houston community leaders through a week of service-based learning with organizations such as the Houston Food Bank, The Beacon homeless shelter and FIEL Houston, a nonprofit focused on immigrant civil rights.
- Students who have demonstrated need receive stipends for travel and other associated costs, which allows them to participate at no cost to them.
Importantly, the Moody family's philanthropy has created meaningful educational experiences for students who otherwise could not afford them.
- These include the Rice Emerging Scholars Program, a 6-week summer intensive that equips incoming students, particularly first-generation and low-income students, with the skills they need to succeed in STEM courses.
- With support from the Moody Foundation, the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates will expand Rice's summer curriculum to offer more courses that are difficult to get into to ensure that all students have the ability to complete their studies in four years.
- We will also be hiring a full-time coordinator to train undergraduate and graduate tutors who can assist students across disciplines.
Because of the Moody Foundation's gift, more research experiences are available to students who would otherwise need to earn money or return home during the summer months.:
- Summer undergraduate research fellows, many of whom are underrepresented, first-generation or low-income students, are provided a stipend for living expenses while they do supervised research with Rice faculty.
- The Bishnoi Sustaining Excellence in Research (SER) Scholars program, which provides funding for low-income STEM students to pursue their first mentored research experience during the academic year, will be expanded beyond STEM research to other fields where they are heavily represented.
- The new Elizabeth Lee Moody Undergraduate Research Fellowship in the Humanities and Arts provides at least one summer of funding to undergraduates in the humanities or arts to pursue research or internship opportunities with holistic support from faculty throughout the year.
Most students are familiar with the Moody X-Fest, an incredibly fun, engaging campus-wide celebration that culminated with a food and music festival in April headlined by the rock band Grouplove.
My sympathies go out to the Moody family as they grieve his loss.