The A-Team (aka Core Team) comprises the College Magister, the Old Dorm and New Dorm resident associates (RAs), and the college coordinator. The magister represents the college to the administration and lives on campus adjacent to the college (in a very nice, very large house), while the RAs live embedded with the students, one in Old Dorm and one in New. The College Coordinator has an office conveniently located next to the College Commons. Together, we work with students, especially the student government, to promote the academic success and well-being of all Will Rice College community members. We help students negotiate their college experience on multiple levels, not just academics. This can include advice on what courses to take, when to take them, potential majors, career counseling, study abroad, etc., but we also help with health issues, rooming concerns, disability accommodations, access to support resources, and many other daily needs. Students should feel free to get to know the A-Team, either to talk and socialize or if a particular question or need arises. If we don't know the answers, there is a good chance we know someone who does.
Ken is a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia. He obtained his
B.S. in Chemistry from Roanoke College before doing his doctoral work at Northwestern
University. After finishing a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cambridge University
(UK), he joined the Rice faculty in the Department of Chemistry. His research has
involved inorganic, organometallic and materials chemistry. Later, he received an
Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship that allowed him to do research (as well
as learn some German and experience German cuisine) at the Universität of Göttingen
(Germany) and was in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell (not to mention the last two
times that Germany won the Soccer World Cup). He had a long collaboration with
researchers at the Université de Rennes (Brittany, France) and spent a summer
teaching at Korea University (Seoul, South Korea). Additionally, he is an Associate
Dean for Academic Affairs in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences. During his time at
Rice he has taught both semesters of General Chemistry and Honors General
Chemistry, the Chemistry of Art (in collaboration with the MFAH) Transition Metal
Chemistry, Introductory Inorganic Chemistry and Instrumental Methods in Inorganic
Chemistry, as well as special topics in organometallic chemistry and single-crystal X-ray
diffraction.
Ken is a first-generation collegian, having grown up in a family with a strong sense of
family and a do-it-yourself mentality. His mother was into genealogy, and he can trace
some of his ancestry to Germany (back to the early 1600s), England, and Scotland. His
childhood was spent learning gardening, woodworking, sewing, cooking, baking, and
canning. His mother set him up in business baking and decorating cakes for her
colleagues. He learned quilting from a friend's mother when she organized a friendship
quilt for her daughter, one of Ken's high school friends. He is still an avid quilter and
owns two computerized quilting machines. He enjoys cooking and baking, finding
inspiration in his international travels. In addition to quilting, he enjoys oil painting,
playing piano, baking, and attempting not to kill his growing collection of orchids. He has
three children, all of whom have attended Rice: Rachel (Jones, 2006), Anna (Hanszen,
2008), and Kenton-David (McMurtry, 2018). Fun fact: he has a grandson named
Phoenix. He lives with two adorable puppies, Lady and Stella. Stella is a border collie-
golden retriever mix who has assumed the position of the matriarch of the family in her
old age. She is mostly annoyed by her younger sister, Lady, an affectionate, exuberant,
and hyperactive Australian shepherd. Lady is technically now a senior dog, too but
shows no signs of slowing down. Both feed on attention and expect unconditional love
and adoration. Students interested in having play visits with the dogs, taking them for
walks, or doing some dog sitting should let Ken know of their interest.
Hey Will Rice!
I am Amanda Garza, your College Coordinator. My main job is to help you with anything
you may need regarding mail, keys, and finances for the college. I am in my office
Monday-Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM to help with anything you may need. I am located at
the entrance of the Commons, by Parlor and PVR. I am a Bryan, TX native, and got my
Bachelor's degree from Stephen F. Austin State University. I later went on to receive
my Master's in Higher Education from Texas Tech University. I love all things baseball,
Taylor Swift, dogs, and good food. I am always here if you need someone to talk to, help
find your mail, or just needing a candy pick-me-up with my candy jar.
You are in for the time of your life being a Will Ricer! I cannot wait to see all that
you'll do in these next 4 years!
Hi, Will Ricers!
I am delighted to be part of the A-team at Will Rice College.
I have been working at Rice University’s beautiful campus since 2015, and I love it here because
of the friendly and caring culture of the Rice community. Originally from Seoul, Korea, I have lived in
Germany, Japan, the U.S. west coast, and the Rocky Mountains. In my experience interacting with people from
different cultures and backgrounds, I have seen firsthand that people are more alike than different. We have
many things to offer each other, including cultural values & traditions, art, food, and music. This is one of
several reasons I am excited to reside amongst students. I want to get to know and learn from you all while
supporting your academic, personal, and social endeavors at this great university!
Some of my interests and hobbies include spending time in nature, traveling, reading memoirs,
practicing American & Korean Sign Language, watching the World Cup, listening to Korean music,
attending Moth events, and more. I earned my BS degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of
Houston-Downtown (UHD) and an AAS degree in Sign Language Interpreting at Houston Community College. I am the
Program Administrator of the Chao Center for Asian Studies and the Department of Transnational Asian Studies.
In this position, I provide administrative & financial support, organize outreach activities for Asian Studies
majors/minors, and handle event planning. The best part of my job is working with faculty, staff, students, and
visitors. My past work experience includes teaching English in South Korea, serving in the U.S. Army, and managing
office operations at UHD’s Academic Advising Center.
I am a big fan of quotes. Here are a couple I’d like to share:
“Never let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth
“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” – Brené Brown
Sandy is on the faculty in the
Department of Psychological Sciences and has been hanging around
Will Rice as an associate for about 12 years. Sandy loves being an RA
because she can spend even more time with the students over meals,
musical performances, athletic events, and whatever else they want to
do. Sandy has monthly study breaks called “StOp and GrOw” where
we all hang out and take some time to reflect on what we are doing
and why. Will is a pediatric oncologist at Texas Children’s Hospital and
Baylor where he is the Deputy Director of Cancer and Hematology.
Sandy and Will love poke bowls, bubble tea, chocolate chip cookies,
and their French Bulldog. They can almost always be found
walking the dog in the quad after dinner and will talk endlessly
about their dog if you are ever at a loss about how to start a
conversation with them.