HOUSTON – Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker joined the Rice faculty on May 1 as a professor in practice.
Parker will teach for the School of Social Sciences.
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"During my 20-year career in the oil industry and 18 years in public service, my attachment to and affection for Rice were always evident,” Parker said. “I am honored and excited by the opportunity to return and work with students who will shape our world. Each of us faces challenges; all of us are called to lead in some way. I look forward to helping Rice students realize and develop their leadership potential."
Parker spent last semester as an Institute of Politics Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
“What an honor to have such a distinguished alumna return to Rice to share her expertise and experience with our students,” Rice Provost Marie Lynn Miranda said. “We’re delighted to welcome Mayor Parker back to campus. She has extraordinary insights derived from her deep commitment to public service. We are very excited about the wonderful contributions she is bound to make to our campus community.”
Parker graduated from Rice in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in anthropology, psychology and sociology. She served as the city's 61st mayor from 2010-2015 -- the maximum length allowed under the city's term limit.
Parker became the first openly gay mayor of one of the nation's largest cities.
She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2010.
“Annise Parker is the perfect person to bring realism to Rice students’ understanding of the leader experience -- successes, frustrations, the full spectrum of a leader’s journey,” Tom Kolditz, director of the Doerr Institute at Rice, said. “The Doerr Institute values Annise’s perspective on the nuances of elected leadership, and with hundreds of elected student leaders on our campus, she will be a uniquely valuable asset in developing Rice’s new leaders.”