Author Archives: Melissa Kean

A while back I noticed a large, mysterious scrapbook back by the vault on the bottom of the oversize shelves. Last week I had time to pull it out and take a good look. It was full of pages from … Continue reading →

I can’t let 2022 slip away without acknowledging something that an alert reader pointed out to me a while ago. This year is the 75th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of Fondren library, just before Christmas in 1947. … Continue reading →

For many years Thanksgiving Day was also Rice’s Homecoming and from the beginning in 1919 these events were absolutely jam packed with functions, making for a very long day.  Our traditional football opponent for all those years was Baylor. In … Continue reading →

I’d first like to account for my extended absence, for which apologies are hereby issued: I was chairing a presidential search at another university and that task took pretty much all of my attention for the last month or so. … Continue reading →

Football is having a pretty good year and tomorrow’s Homecoming game with Charlotte should be fun, but equally interesting is the nightly dancing in the terrace ballroom. I wish I could have seen that: The Woodson is chock full of … Continue reading →

It’s been really fun this last couple of weeks watching the campus prepare for this weekend’s inauguration of Reggie DesRoches as Rice’s eighth president. After several years of either no commencement or commencement in the football stadium things are all … Continue reading →

Baker College, from the materials Gerald Moorhead gave to the archives last Spring. I’ll let these pictures speak for themselves: The staff at Rice provides an astonishing amount of aid and comfort to both students and faculty, often with little … Continue reading →

Something interesting happened soon after the offices of the Rice Institute moved to the Esperson Building (seen recently here). We got our first dial telephone! I love the huffy tone of this letter but I do wonder why we needed … Continue reading →

I attended my first college volleyball match last Sunday afternoon and was deeply impressed by the speed, power, and general athleticism of these young women. It was a great match, back and forth, between two very high level teams and … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s groundbreaking ceremony was a lot of fun. It was a nice afternoon, warm but not scorching. The speakers, including Will Cannady himself, were gracious and brief and the crowd was happy. I saw a lot of people I hadn’t … Continue reading →