Dear Rice community,
Today, the university is unveiling the Gateway Project, a transformative initiative on university-owned land in Rice Village that will create a seamless, pedestrian-friendly corridor. This pathway on the west side of our 300-acre arboretum campus will link the university to the heart of the Village, anchored by the renovation of Rice Stadium.
Rooted in Rice’s 30-year Campus Land Use Plan, the $120 million project marks a bold step forward in aligning and expanding the university’s greenspace, infrastructure, student life, athletics and community engagement strategies. It positions the institution to meet the aspirations and needs of our students, faculty and staff and Houston’s future.
As Robert T. Ladd, chairman of the Rice Board of Trustees, noted at our launch event, “This is a generational investment in the growth and vitality of Rice University. By physically linking our university to one of Houston’s most dynamic neighborhoods and modernizing a cornerstone of our athletics district, we are honoring Rice’s legacy while paving the way for future growth, connectivity and impact.”
Rice’s ambitions and drive for achievement are as strong as ever. With a student body of more than 9,000 and growing, our strategic plan, Momentous, puts forth a vision to become the world’s premier university for teaching and research. Our membership in the American Conference propels Rice’s student-athletes to the highest levels of competition and visibility, so now is the time to reimagine and update our campus’s far west side. This drive is accelerated by our commitment to being a strategic partner to Houston as a key source of our success and growth — now the fourth largest and most diverse city in the country, the energy capital of the world, home to the Texas Medical Center, and the most Fortune 500 companies after New York and Chicago.
I am grateful for your support, partnership and excited for the future and the wonderful growth and opportunities the Gateway Project will bring.
We invite you to visit a model of the project, created by Rice School of Architecture lecturer Tung Nguyen, on display In the Patterson Sports Performance Center through the weekend and in Sewall Hall’s Welcome Center starting Monday.
For more information and updates, please visit rice.edu/gateway.
Go Owls!
Sincerely,
Reginald DesRoches, President