Rice Unconventional Wisdom

Center for Civic Engagement

Message from the new director

David Nino

David Niño

Rice University
Center for Civic Engagement - MS200
P.O. Box 1892
Houston, Texas 77251-1892

Office: (713) 348 4785
Email: davidnino@rice.edu		 Welcome to Leadership Rice’s homepage, where you can learn about our organization and become involved.  In line with Rice’s mission, our job here is to help students become leaders that make a positive and distinct impact in our shared futures.  All of our main programs – our courses, mentorships, and grants – are oriented toward this end.

As an educator, I have come to appreciate that leadership can be learned, and each of our major programs enables a distinct way of learning.  

There is now a voluminous academic literature on the subject of leadership and our interdisciplinary courses introduce students to these perspectives.  Learning “by the book” is one way to gain an understanding of leadership, and for aspiring leaders, it’s a natural place to start.  In fact, many seasoned leaders – including U.S. presidents - continue to read about leadership before and during their tenures in office.
 

Leadership is also learned through experience.  Our Summer Mentorship Experience  enables students to spend their summers learning from accomplished leaders in the U.S. and around the world.  Many well-known leaders began their paths to leadership as protégés to competent mentors, and this is the kind of unique learning that our mentorships enable.  For some students, these become life changing experiences.
 
Finally, our Envision Grants  enable students to learn by being a leader.  Our office provides financial resources for students to assume leadership on projects of their own creation.  The main criterion is that the project makes a positive impact, locally or elsewhere.  As they say around Rice, there are “no upper limits” on what students can accomplish… so dream it, propose it, and we’ll help make your idea become a reality.  

It is our hope that these programs help students realize their personal aspirations and those of our institution.  Thank you for visiting our website.  Click around to find out more about our range of programs and come back occasionally as we announce new activities.  And feel free to stop by my office anytime.  It’s in the Center for Civic Engagement, on the second floor of the RMC, right above the Grand Hall.
 
David Niño
Director, Leadership Rice 

Student Profile

Halle Rasmussen(2)Halle Rasmussen
Halle had a vision to educate and inspire healthy lifestyles for campus EMTs who work in a work environment susceptible to illness and stress. Halle observed that many EMTs have poor eating habits, lack adequate sleep and exercise and use alcohol and tobacco to relieve stress. Leadership Rice provided her an opportunity to change this within the Rice organization and the Envision Grant helped her launch the 'Be a Healthy EMT' program. More »

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