After roughly ten years of service to Rice University, as dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, Peter Rodriguez is set to take on a new role, becoming 15th president of Wake Forest University as of July 1st.
The news of this change came with high praise for the near decade-long leader:
“Peter Rodriguez has been a transformative leader for Rice Business and our university,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “Under his ambitious, steady guidance, the school significantly expanded its size and national and global reputation, launched innovative new programs, strengthened entrepreneurship and experiential learning opportunities and created pathways for many more students to access a world-class business education.”
“We are proud of Peter and excited for his new opportunity to lead a top private university, though we will certainly miss his ambitious yet deeply thoughtful and inclusive leadership at Rice Business,” said Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Impact as Dean
During his tenure, Rodriguez oversaw extensive growth and transformation.
The school credits his leadership for:
- doubling MBA enrollment
- growing tenure-track faculty by more than 40 percent
- launching Rice’s first online graduate degree program
- introducing a hybrid MBA program
- overseeing the renovation of McNair Hall
- breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art business school facility (coming this fall) and more.
He was also responsible for engaging and forming a relationship with the Consortium, expanding entrepreneurship initiatives, and integrating global field experiences into the MBA curriculum.
“Rice Business has been an incredibly meaningful part of my life for 10 years,” Rodriguez said, “and I am deeply grateful for the talented faculty, staff, students, alumni, board of advisors members and partners I worked with every day. The school is larger, stronger and more visible than it was a decade ago, a reflection not only of the business school community but of Rice University’s extraordinary culture of excellence and collaboration. I am excited to carry those lessons with me to Wake Forest, a university I have long admired for its commitment to students, scholarship and meaningful engagement with the world.”
The international search for the next dean of Rice Business will be launched this summer. In the meantime, Jeff Fleming, the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Professor of Finance and director of the doctoral program, will serve as interim dean.
Read the full announcement here.
