Rice launches 10-year strategic plan
The university launched a new strategic plan that will develop investments in research and teaching over the next decade. The plan, titled “Momentous,” was announced at an Oct. 1 event.
President Reggie DesRoches opened the event with remarks about how the plan aids Rice’s growth ambitions.
“The most important thing that we will do in the next 10 years is to bring the most talented students, faculty and staff to us,” DesRoches said in his speech. “We have ambitions to grow the university more than we’ve ever grown before, and more than any of our peers.”
Provost Amy Dittmar then spoke about strengthening undergraduate and graduate programs over the next decade through Rice’s “personalized approach to education.”
“Through strengthening and integrating academic and co-curricular activities,” Dittmar said. “We will keep and evolve what makes our undergraduate program so special through unique learning experiences and environments that only Rice can offer.”
Dittmar also said that the plan was created with input from the Rice community.
“There were a lot of listening sessions, there was a committee that had students and faculty and staff on it,” Dittmar said in an interview with the Thresher. “I think it really is resonating.”
Other speakers at the event included Ramesh Ramamoorthy, the executive vice president for research. He spoke about Rice’s intended investments in “four key drivers … perhaps the biggest problems of our lifetime”: urban communities, sustainable futures, health innovation and responsible artificial intelligence.
“You don’t play a football game with just a quarterback, right?” Ramamoorthy said in an interview with the Thresher. “You need to have the entire team. That was a message today. Each one of [Rice’s schools] is important in different ways.”
Dittmar emphasized Rice’s potential for continued growth.
“I think that there’s just so much more that Rice can do,” Dittmar said. “It’s just got so many strengths.”
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