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Reader Response
THE RICE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
DEAR EDITOR
The article “Better Births” (Winter 2015) raises awareness about the pregnancy health challenges that are a result of racism. Our communities suffer from unusually high at-risk pregnancies and infant mortality rates. As an African-American professional, I also suffered from the pressures of psychosocial stress during my second pregnancy while living in Biloxi, Miss. I witnessed a high infant mortality rate for African-American women on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is excellent that [Tyan Parker Dominguez] is now in Austin working with the city’s Health and Human Services Department as well as with Eva Roberts in the African-American community. I hope the community awareness models crafted by Tyan and Eva will be utilized in the city of Houston soon. —Pretta L. VanDible Stallworth ’83 I do take mild exception to “Of Neckties, Cranes and Gentlemen” (Winter 2015) on Page 10. Not only is the term “Gentlemen’s College” totally inappropriate (in my view and memory), but also Hanszen was only one of the four colleges that required coats and ties on Sunday. Gentlemen’s College? It is to laugh. I’m afraid Mr. Brotzen ’80, whose father was a professor in the mechanical engineering department when I was a student, got a little carried away. —Galloway Hudson ’60 EDITOR’S NOTE: In the Winter 2015 issue, in response to readers’ requests, we launched a series on college traditions — Hanszen batted first. In this issue, our friend Franz Brotzen takes up some (of the many!) Baker College traditions. We look forward to hearing your mild (or otherwise) exceptions.
WINTER 2015 SURVEY FINDINGS MOST-READ DEPARTMENT Abstract RUNNER-UP Sallyport MOST-READ FEATURE “Economics’ New Course” SELECT COMMENTS “Six Degrees of Valhalla” A cartoon about academic lineage and Valhalla “Excellent ‘comic,’ both content and art.” “I don’t get it.” “Picture Knowledge” Profiles and portraits of current students “This should be a regular feature of the magazine. I’m fascinated by the students.”
WRITE TO US Read Rice Magazine and get a little carried away. Write to us at the address to the right, or simply email comments to ricemagazine@rice.edu.
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Robert B. Tudor III, chairman; Edward B. “Teddy” Adams Jr.; J.D. Bucky Allshouse; Keith T. Anderson; Doyle Arnold; Laura Arnold; Nancy Packer Carlson; Albert Chao; T. Jay Collins; Mark Dankberg; Lynn Laverty Elsenhans; Doug Foshee; Lawrence Guffey; John Jaggers; Charles Landgraf; R. Ralph Parks; Lee H. Rosenthal; Ruth Simmons; Jeffery Smisek; Amy Sutton; Robert M. Taylor Jr.; Guillermo “Memo” Treviño; James S. Turley; Randa Duncan Williams; Huda Zoghbi. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
David W. Leebron, president; George McLendon, provost; Kathy Collins, vice president for Finance; Klara Jelinkova, vice president for IT and Chief Information Officer; Kevin Kirby, vice president for Administration; Caroline Levander, vice president of Strategic Initiatives and Digital Education; Chris Muñoz, vice president for Enrollment; Allison Kendrick Thacker, vice president for Investments and treasurer; Linda Thrane, vice president for Public Affairs; Richard A. Zansitis, vice president and general counsel; Darrow Zeidenstein, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations. EDITORIAL OFFICES
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