Bobby Tudor’s Next Move Recruited to play basketball at Rice out of Pineville High School in tiny Pineville, La., Bobby Tudor ’82 went on to become one of Rice’s top student–athletes. A double major in English and legal studies, he lettered in basketball for four straight years, served as team captain and was recognized with the Bob Quin Award for outstanding accomplishments as a leader, athlete and student. When Tudor becomes chairman of the Rice Board of Trustees July 1, he will be only the fourth new chair of Rice’s highest governing authority in the last 30 years. He follows in the footsteps of Jim Crownover ’65, Bill Barnett ’55 and Charles Duncan ’47. Tudor attended Rice on an athletic scholarship. “I didn’t pay a penny in four years at Rice, and in reward I came away with a very, very fine elite education, one that’s really hard to replicate not just in our country but in the world,” Tudor said in a Feb. 10 profile story on Houston’s KRIV-TV. “And for that I feel a great sense of obligation and responsibility to make sure that that remains open to others and that we continue to make Rice a better and better place to be over time.” “Bobby is ‘intensely local,’ like Rice,” Crownover said. “He is very committed to Rice, to his community and to his family. But, also like Rice, he has had extensive global experience and accomplishments. That local commitment and global connection will serve Rice well.” Since beginning his first term as board chair in 2005, Crownover has provided leadership during the period in which Rice launched its Centennial Campaign, implemented the 10-point Vision for the Second Century that included a 37 percent increase in the undergraduate and graduate student population and $800 million in campus construction and renovation, and recently celebrated its centennial. The university honored Crownover’s many contributions to Rice this spring. “It’s been a real pleasure to serve on the board with an outstanding leader like Jim,” said Tudor, who was elected Crownover’s successor in December. “And Rice has never been better positioned to handle the challenges before us and to have an even greater impact on the lives of our students and on the vitality of our community.” “I’ve worked with Bobby in his capacity as co-chair of the capital campaign,” Rice President David Leebron said, “and I know he will bring that dedication and demonstrated leadership to his new role.”
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BI OGRA PH Y Education and Early Career Tudor earned a B.A. in English and legal studies and was a resident of Hanszen College. After graduation, Tudor spent two years as a professional basketball player with Turnerschaft Raiffeisen in Innsbruck, Austria, where he also had a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship. He next attended law school at Tulane, graduating in 1987. Career For nearly 20 years, Tudor was employed by Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner and worked in the New York, London and Houston offices. In 2007, he founded Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., an energy investment and merchant bank. Family Tudor and his wife, Phoebe, have three children: Caroline, Margaret and Harry. Rice’s basketball and volleyball arena, Tudor Fieldhouse, is named in honor of the couple for their major gift in 2007 to renovate Autry Court.
“Rice has never been better positioned to handle the challenges before us and to have an even greater impact on the lives of our students and on the vitality of our community.” Bobby Tudor ’82, Rice Board of Trustees chairman-elect
Serving Rice Tudor was originally elected to the board in 2006 and re-elected to a four-year term in 2010. He is co-chair of Rice’s $1 billion Centennial Campaign — the largest fundraising campaign in the university’s history — with alumna and trustee emeritus Susanne Morris Glasscock ’62.