Communications

I will forever have a special connection to this class, the Class of 2024. While you were starting as freshmen at Rice, I was starting as your new provost and chief academic officer. You started pursuing your Rice degree during a pandemic that shook the way we and the world operated; you undoubtedly were robbed of precious moments to engage in person with others on campus. You also have been at Rice during an unbelievable time of transition and you were in college during what many consider the most complicated time in modern history. Yet, here you are today, more resilient and adaptive than ever and ready to face life with the firsthand knowledge that change and challenges are not meant to be feared but to be hurdled and overcome.