2000
Professor Melissa Marschall receives the Policy Studies Organization's Aaron Wildavsky Award for her book with co-authors Mark Schneider and Paul Teske, "Choosing Schools: Consumer Choice and the Quality of American Schools."
Professor Rick K. Wilson opens the Behavioral Research Lab which facilitates faculty and student research on individual and group decision making. Find out more.
Professor Elizabeth Long receives the George R. Brown Award for Excellence in Teaching. Other university teaching awards she has received: George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching 1993, 1994, 1997, 2004.
2001
Professor Randi Martin is elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest federation of scientists, for outstanding contributions to the study of short-term memory and language processing and to the understanding of the brain organization supporting these cognitive functions.
Professor Michael Emerson receives the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion for his book "Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America."
The Department of Sociology initiates a postdoctoral fellowship program.
2002
The George and Cynthia Mitchell Endowed Chair in Sustainable Development is established. Professor Peter Hartley holds the first chair.
2003
Professor Mikki Hebl receives Rice's highest teaching award, the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching, which she receives again in 2010. Other Rice teaching awards she has received: George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching 2002, 2004, 2005; Nicolas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Award 200, 2008.
Professor Earl Black receives a V.O. Key Award from the Southern Political Science Association for his book with co-author Merle Black, "The Rise of Southern Republicans."
2004
The American Psychological Association ranks the Psychology Department's industrial/organizational program as 3rd in the nation in productivity and 11th in the nation overall, compared to other industrial/organizational programs.
Professor Elizabeth Long receives an award from the American Sociological Association, Culture Section for "Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life."
2005
Professor James Pomerantz is elected president of the Foundation for the Advancement of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
Professor Mikki Hebl presents the commencement address to Rice graduates at the 92nd commencement with a speech titled "Class Rings and Backpacks". Hebl welcomed this class when they matriculated four years earlier, in the 2001 Orientation Week faculty address.
Professor Randi Martin is named the first woman editor of "Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition."
Professor Chandler Davidson is chosen as one of eight members of the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act. The primary author of the report, Davidson also testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the subject in 2006.
2006
Professor Randi Martin is elected to the Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP), making her one of only two SEP members in Texas. She joins Professor James Pomerantz, who was elected in 2011. Founded in 1994, the society admits six members per year from among the leading experimentalists in North America. Its mission is "to advance psychology by arranging informal conferences on experimental psychology."
Professor Susan McIntosh establishes the Rice University Archaeology Field School in the small island town of Goree, located off the coast of Senegal.
Professor Michael Emerson receives the George R. Brown Award for Excellence in Teaching. Other university teaching awards he has received: George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching 2003, 2007, 2008; Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize 2012.
Political scientist Lyn Ragsdale is appointed the first woman dean of social sciences and the Radoslav Tsanoff Professor of Public Affairs.
2007
The Harlan Program in State Elections, Campaigns and Politics is founded with a $1.3 million gift by Douglas Harlan '64. The program is directed by Professor Keith Hamm.
Gateway is established for undergraduate social science majors to embark on research opportunities, internships and international travel to gain real-world experience for their post-baccalaureate endeavors. Find out more.
Professor Michael Emerson receives the Oliver Cromwell Award from the American Sociological Association, Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section for his book "People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States."
The Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society is established. Thirty-seven charter members are initiated.
Professor Ashley Leeds receives the Charles W. Duncan Achievement Award for Outstanding Faculty as a standout in both the areas of teaching and scholarship.
2008
A $6.4 million gift from the Houston Endowment to Rice University is given to fund the establishment of the first Ph.D. program in sociology in Houston. The first class is admitted in fall of 2011.
Professor Michael Lindsay receives the Outstanding Book Award from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action for his book "Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite." In edition, the book receives the Christianity Today Book Award in the Christianity and Culture category and is named "Best Book of 2007" by Publishers Weekly.
Professor Mikki Hebl receives the Charles W. Duncan Achievement Award for Outstanding Faculty as a standout in teaching and scholarship.
Professor Ashley Leeds receives the Karl Deutsch Award. The award is presented annually by the International Studies Association to a scholar who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the study of international relations and peace studies. Professor Cliff Morgan received the award in 1994.
Professor Eugenia Georges receives the Norman and Roselea J. Goldberg Prize for Best Project in the Area of Medicine for her book "Bodies of Knowledge: The Medicalization of Reproduction in Greece."
The Department of Economics ranks 6th in the nation in public economics and 19th nationally in mathematical and quantitative economics, Ranks of Economic Departments by Fields, "The Journal of Economic Literature."
Professor Bridget Gorman receives the George R. Brown Award for Excellence in Teaching. Other university teaching awards she has received: George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching 2009, 2012, Nicolas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Award 2007.
Professor Stephen Klineberg is awarded the George R. Brown Certificate of Highest Merit. Other university teaching awards he received: George R. Brown Excellence in Teaching 1996, George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching 1981, 1982, 1984, 1991, 1997, 2005, 2008.
2009
Professor James Brown receives the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Other university teaching awards he has received: George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching 2006, 2007 and the first Sarah A. Burnett Teaching Prize in 2011.
The Psychology Department hosts the 2009 Southwest Cognition Conference, also known as ARMADILLO (Association for Research in Memory, Attention, Decision making, Intelligence, Language, Learning, and Organization).
Professor James Pomerantz delivers the 14th annual Irvin Rock Memorial Lecture at the University of California, Berkeley. Lecturers are chosen for the excellence of their research on visual perception topics related to perceptual organization and attention.
Professor Jeffrey Fleisher establishes the Rice University Archaeological Field School in Songo Mnara, located on a small island just off the southern Tanzanian coast.
Professor George Zodrow receives the National Tax Association's Stephen Gold Award. It is awarded annually to professionals who have made "significant contributions to state and local fiscal policy and whose work reflects Steve Gold's remarkable ability to span the interests of scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and advocates with integrity and evenhandedness", according to the NTA's website. Professor Peter Mieszkowski receives the National Tax Association's Daniel Holland Medal. It is awarded for outstanding contributions to the study of practice and public finance.