After spending more than 35 years at Rice University — almost half of my life — I have decided to retire. On March 31, 2026, I will leave this beautiful campus and venture into the next phase of my life, one that promises to be just as fulfilling as my time at Rice. I leave behind friends and colleagues who will continue their brilliant work in advancing the university so that the world can be a better place for everyone.
I also leave behind Rice At Large. This issue — the 53rd — will be the last for the newsletter. I started Rice At Large in 2006 to highlight the different ways that Rice was reaching out to the communities of Houston to help narrow the disparity gap.
What I found was a wealth of stories that needed to be told so that the city and Rice could see how the university was engaging with diverse communities, especially the underserved, to help them get ahead.
Each page was laced with stories about improving math instructions in public schools, showing young girls the importance of a STEM career, bringing Girl Scouts onto campus to become leaders, offering college readiness workshops, instructing students how to write, enlightening students about careers in engineering and architecture, and taking music from the Shepherd School of Music into inner-city schools.
Featured on the front cover was always a profile story about a person at Rice who devoted his or her talents and knowledge to helping others. Appearing on the front page were such stalwart community leaders as Ruth López Turley, Anne Papakonstantinou, Richard Tapia, Anne Chao, Carolyn Nichols, Roland Smith, and Ping Sung — to mention a few.
The stories in Rice At Large reflected a passion for caring. They showed people who wanted to make a difference in improving the lives of the less fortunate, those who wanted to achieve but lacked resources and guidance. Optimism filled the pages of Rice At Large. The stories exposed a problem but also offered a solution.
As with all successful endeavors, one doesn’t do it alone. I had plenty of help from my colleagues: former assistant director of Multicultural Community Relations Jan West, who wrote and copyedited; senior photographer Jeff Fitlow, who took many of the front-page photos; senior graphic designer Dean Mackey, who beautifully laid out the newsletter; and editorial director Tracey Rhoades, who magnificently edited the stories.
And I want to thank all the people who contributed stories to the newsletter and to all the people who believe that education is the key to a better world.
David D. Medina
Director, Multicultural Community Relations
Office of Public Affairs