Dear Rice Community,
I hope your first week of class went well and that you are getting back into the rhythm of university life. I moved to Houston and started my role as provost earlier this month so, like many of you, I am new to Rice.
Prior to arriving in Texas, I spent 19 years at the University of Michigan, where I held various leadership positions, the most recent of which was senior vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs. I was also a professor of economics and finance, a role I will continue to play at Rice.
I have been incredibly impressed by so many aspects of the Rice community and culture in my short time here. What I have learned so far is that Rice is unique in many ways. From how you greet new students (with the enthusiasm of O-Week) to the way you’ve welcomed me (in a warm and personable way), Rice has gone above and beyond.
I’ve already gotten to meet, and even know, many members of the Rice community. Students, staff and faculty all have been welcoming and helpful in providing me with information about the university, its culture and its people.
There is still much for me to learn and I look forward to doing so in the coming months in both formal and informal settings. I already have had a number of tours of the amazing facilities at Rice and have gotten to visit with people in their academic homes. I will be setting up time to come to each school in various ways — department meetings, small group sessions and events. And I will be announcing other ways that will provide me with the opportunity to hear what you think makes Rice such a special place and how it can be even better.
In the meantime, I will continue to work with President Reginald DesRoches and his leadership team to build on the mission and accomplishments of the university. I believe that we have many new opportunities for growth with an expanding student body, more top-notch faculty members and several capital projects, among other things.
We also are not grappling as much with the overwhelming distraction of COVID-19. The virus poses a different challenge today than it did more than two years ago. We now have vaccines and treatments to combat its effects, and we have a better understanding of how we can protect ourselves with simple precautions like wearing masks in certain public settings when needed.
Being responsible for your own health and being respectful of other people’s health is still especially important with the emergence of other viruses, such as monkeypox. While monkeypox is not as contagious as COVID-19, we will work together as a community to limit its exposure and spread. For more information about monkeypox, click here, and to see our latest communication about COVID-19 and class instruction, click here. And, of course, we want to continue to protect the health of our community by getting flu shots, which will be available on campus in the coming weeks. Let me also encourage you to take a break from the stresses of a new semester. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
As President DesRoches mentioned earlier this week, we have 1,210 new undergraduate Owls, 1,406 new graduate students and 41 new tenure track faculty joining Rice this year. Just as many of you have welcomed me, I encourage all of us to engage with them and show them what the Rice culture of care is all about.
Warm Regards,
Amy Dittmar, Howard Hughes Provost