Acknowledgements

I have accumulated information about Rice’s history piecemeal for three decades. Over the last decade or so I have been somewhat more organized in my reading and research. As with anyone involved in such a long-term, on-again, off-again project, I have incurred many debts. At the risk of inadvertently omitting some names, I wish to thank the following persons for their help either in research, answering questions, or reading the manuscript: William W. Akers, Susan Baker, Michael Berryhill, Patti Bellis Bixel, Nancy G. Boles, Nancy L. Boothe, Linda R. Bramlett, Brent Breedin, Patricia Dunn Burgess, Lynda L. Crist, Dean W. Currie, Mary S. Dix, Chris Dow, Susan D. Fernandez, Kerri Gantz, Malcolm Gillis, A. L. Jensen, Bridget R. Jensen, Melissa Kean, Thomas C. LaVergne, H. Malcolm Lovett, Carl M. MacDowell, Greg Marshall, Mary B. McIntire, Bernard E. McMaster, Nicolo Messana, Cathy S. Monholland, Evelyn Thomas Nolen, Karen H. Rogers, George E. Rupp, Frank B. Ryan, Ike Sanders, Jan Shapley, and Scott W. Wise. Alumnae of the Owen Wister Literary Society first urged me to publish this brief history, and thanks to the leadership of Carolyn Dessain, they made a contribution towards its publication.  Kathryn R. Costello supported the idea of an updated edition. Jeff Cox designed the book, chose most of the illustrations, and was a partner throughout the whole publication process. To all of the above I offer my thanks. Any errors or infelicities that might remain are solely my responsibility.