V2C2: The Next Chapter

BY RYAN KIRKSEY ’13

From creating an innovation district and online degree to enrolling immigrant, refugee and DACA students, Rice broadens its foundation of intellectual curiosity, community and access to high-quality education.

When President David Lee bron first came to Rice in 2004, it marked the beginning of a period of transformation at the university. Within a year the faculty, students, staff and alumni were engaged in conversations about the priorities for the future, and in 2006, the Board of Trustees adopted a 10-point strategic vision. It was called the Vision for the Second Century — V2C for short — and it ushered in a new era of growth for Rice’s facilities, enrollment, and the number of opportunities students can take advantage of.

Hello, V2C2

Released in early 2018, the Vision for the Second Century, Second Decade builds on the physical and reputational growth of V2C even more

substantially. V2C2 represents the university’s most ambitious attempt in its history to expand its footprint locally, nationally and internationally. This strategic plan focuses on seven key goals that will define the next decade of Rice’s evolution.

1. Provide Transformative Undergraduate Education 2. Build Renowned Graduate Programs 3. Invest in Faculty to Achieve Preeminence 4. Expand Access, Diversity, and Inclusiveness 5. Elevate Research Achievement and Reputation 6. Extend Rice’s Reach and Impact 7. Engage Houston and Empower its Success Several of these goals center around Rice’s core values: building strong foundations for students, faculty, staff and research achievement. But what makes V2C2 different is how and why Rice will go beyond the hedges.

Starting Now

For Rice’s leaders, it wasn’t enough to collaborate only occasionally with other Houston entities to drive the city’s success. The university recently worked with city officials — along with the Greater Houston Partnership, the Texas Medical Center, Station Houston and Houston Exponentia — to transform a nineacre section of Midtown into an innovation district designed to bring together the area’s entrepreneurial, corporate and academic communities. The goal is to create an innovation center that rivals those found on the East and West Coasts. Over the next two-plus years, Rice will attract talent and support all stages of the innovation life cycle through incubators and accelerators, classroom and event space, technology, networking opportunities and entrepreneurship support and training.

Rice is also committed to making its voice heard in the national conversation about immigration. Houston has the third largest population of foreign-born residents in the United States and has accepted more refugees than any other city. Texas has the second largest number of DACA-eligible individuals in the country. President Leebron wrote that “our primary mission is the education of people to help them realize their ambitions and potential, and to make the greatest contribution they can to our city, country and world. We seek to extend that mission to all highly talented students, regardless of national origin. These values will continue to guide us as we seek to support DACA and other resident immigrant students during these difficult times.” broader digital footprint that positions Rice to anyone, anywhere.

The university will continue to pursue this digital growth and employ technology to enhance opportunities for students on the Rice campus, to vastly increase its educational reach and global footprint, to engage and support its alumni, and to augment its resources. Rice Business is at the forefront of this initiative. Having just launched the first hybrid online degree, the business school accepted its first cohort of 26 into MBA@ Rice, offering its world-class MBA to professionals with the same standards of admission, the same tuition and the same rigorous content as the on-campus degree program.

Rice also believes that all talent deserves opportunity. The university has a long history of affordability and meeting all demonstrated need. With the support of alumni and friends, Rice will make an even bolder commitment to supporting undergraduates by reducing student and parent contributions so that more low-income and middle class families can chart their futures at Rice.

In its approach and delivery, V2C2 illustrates Rice’s driving ambition to contribute to the world and invest in its students. But the world is changing at an accelerated pace, and academic institutions need to be ready. V2C2 will guide Rice through the next decade, anticipating and evolving as it seeks to educate, improve and sustain its community inside and outside the hedges.

For more information about V2C2, see v2c2.rice.edu. u

Ryan Kirksey is senior assistant to the president at Rice University. He earned his MBA at Rice while working as director of operations and finance at the Baker Institute for Public Policy.

What’s Next

In the last five years, Rice has placed a larger emphasis on digital education. Rice’s partnerships with Coursera, OpenStax, 2U and others were merely first steps towards a