Rice University – A Campus Born of Vision and Perseverance
Nestled in the heart of Houston, Rice University is recognized today as one of America’s premier research institutions. Its beginnings, however, are rooted in one of the most remarkable stories in higher education.
Chartered in 1891 as the William M. Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art, the university was funded through the generous estate of businessman William Marsh Rice. Before the institution could be established, Rice was murdered in New York City in 1900 by his butler and an attorney who conspired to steal his fortune. After a landmark investigation and court battle exposed the fraud, Rice’s estate was preserved, and an unprecedented $3 million endowment made possible the creation of the university that bears his name.
Under the leadership of its first president, Princeton mathematician Edgar Odell Lovett, Rice welcomed its first 77 students on October 10, 1912. Lovett envisioned a university with “no upper limit to its educational endeavor,” laying the foundation for a culture of academic excellence, close faculty mentorship, and innovative thinking that continues more than a century later.
Growing into Global Influence
Renamed William Marsh Rice University in 1960, the institution steadily expanded its influence across engineering, architecture, the sciences, humanities, and business. The founding of the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business in 1974 further established Rice as a leader in entrepreneurship, finance, and executive education.
Despite its international reputation, Rice has remained intentionally personal. Small class sizes, collaborative learning, and meaningful faculty relationships continue to distinguish the university and prepare graduates to lead in an increasingly interconnected world.
Spotlight: Mary Bourne-Marth
Turning Adversity into Opportunity
Like many successful leaders, Mary Bourne-Marth’s path was shaped by an unexpected challenge.
Graduating cum laude from the University of Missouri in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she returned after a second trip to Thailand to a job at a local bank. After almost a year of filing checks and balancing CD’s, she was ready to broaden her expertise with the hope of eventually finding a career to better utilize her twin passions for teaching/mentoring and creative work. Pursuing an MBA with concentrations in Marketing and Finance became the next logical step, and Rice University quickly rose to the top of her list.
Its intimate learning environment offered the close faculty mentorship and collaborative classroom experience she valued, while the university’s nationally respected business program provided the rigorous academic foundation she sought. Earning her MBA from Rice in 1987, Mary found the ideal blend of analytical discipline, strategic thinking, and leadership development—qualities that would define her career.
Following graduate school, Mary built an impressive twenty-eight-year career with Showtime Networks Inc., retiring in 2019 as Vice President of Key Account Marketing. During her tenure, the team she led worked on a wide variety of marketing plans for distributors varying from multi-tactic, multiplatform subscription marketing and branding campaigns to program promotion initiatives for acclaimed SHOWTIME original series like HOMELAND® and DEXTER® – all the while blending creative storytelling with strategic business insight.
Retirement from the corporate world did not mark the end of her professional journey. Instead, it opened the door to another passion—teaching. Since 2010, Mary has served as a Lecturer in Management at the Rice University Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, where she teaches the MBA@Rice Capstone Course. Over the years, she has guided more than 110 student consulting teams in developing comprehensive strategic plans for over 74 nonprofit organizations and small businesses, helping students translate classroom knowledge into meaningful, real-world impact.
While her professional accomplishments are impressive, Mary’s global perspective extends well beyond the classroom. Time spent living, working and teaching in Thailand – first while still a teenager – cultivated life-long friendships, and immersed her in the country’s culture, traditions, and extraordinary cuisine. The experience sparked a lifelong appreciation for authentic Thai cooking and the stories that accompany every recipe.
Today, Mary and her husband, Jeff, enjoy life in Hunt, Texas, while remaining close to their son, Carl, who lives in San Antonio. From her Hill Country kitchen, she continues to share the flavors of Thailand with family and friends—proving that whether she’s mentoring future business leaders or rolling the perfect egg roll, success is found in bringing together the right ingredients with care and purpose.
That spirit is exactly what drew Texicureans to Mary’s kitchen. We traded the Rice Business classroom for her country kitchen, where she graciously shared one of her favorite family recipes and the techniques behind creating authentic Thai egg rolls that are crisp, flavorful, and deeply rooted in the memories of her time abroad
Thai Egg Rolls (Southern Thai Style)
Equipment
- 1 wok or similar pan to fry egg rolls
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/2 cup chopped, cooked shrimp (small shrimp works best)
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 6 eggs
- 1 med yellow onion or 3/4 cup chopped green onion
- 1/2 cup celery chopped as fine as possible
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 head garlic, chopped fine or to taste ( I use at least 6 good sized cloves
- 1/2 cup mushrooms fresh or black mushrooms - chopped fine
- 1/2 cup Thai Pamela (fish sauce) or soy sauce
- Juice from a whole lemon
- 2 bunches bean thread noodles available in grocery aisle under Oriental foods
- Spray Pam
- Oil for deep frying peanut oil is true Southern Thai but any oil will do
Garnishes
- Sliced Fresh Cucumbers
- Green Onions
- Fresh cilantro
Accompaniment
- Cooked Fragrant Rice
Instructions
- Remove the two bunches of bean thread bundles from their package and cover them completely in water in a medium-sized bowl. Let Sit. This will magically turn the bean threads into noodles.
- Add to your wok or large skillet in this order: garlic, onions, celery, and ground pork. Add salt and pepper and cook over medium to high heat until pork is brown and onion and garlic are transparent. Drain off excess fat.
- With a spatula, move cooked ingredients to the outside of the skillet/wok, leaving a well in the center. Spray well with PAM if desired to prepare for the next step.
- Crack eggs into a bowl and whip with a wire whisk until frothy. Set aside ⅓ of beaten egg to seal egg rolls. Pour ⅔ of beaten eggs into the well in the center of the skillet/wok and quickly stir-fry until thoroughly cooked. Mix into other cooked ingredients. Add Bean sprouts and mushrooms and continue to cook until tender.
- While these ingredients are cooking, drain off bean thread noodles and slice them into no more than 3” slices or bite-sized pieces. Add them to the skillet/wok and simultaneously add soy sauce, lemon juice, and cooked shrimp. Taste and add more soy sauce, lemon juice, or garlic as desired. Remove from heat when cooked.
Preparing the Eggrolls
- : (Quote from my Thai chef - “roll like you are rolling a cigarette”) Lay the egg roll skin flat on a plate in front of you as a diamond. Place a line of filling in a straight horizontal line midway between the bottom point and the midpoint of the diamond. Roll from the bottom point upward, folding the left and right points of the diamond over the top of the bottom point and tucking in as you go. Seal the top point and all edges with beaten egg. Place on a staging plate when finished.
- Add egg rolls 4-5 at a time, depending on the size of the wok, to hot oil and turn frequently with tongs until the skin is lightly browned on the outside. Remove from oil, drain on rack or paper towels, and serve immediately with Thai sweet and sour sauce, sliced fresh cucumbers, green onions, cilantro, and fragrant jasmine rice.
- Sanuk! (enjoy)
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