Britt’s benefits to Rice

“After 13 magnificent years of service to Rice, our assistant vice president for benefits and compensation, Elaine Britt, rides off to her next rodeo,” wrote Associate Vice President for Human Resources Mary Cronin in an email announcing Britt’s new job. On Dec. 1 Britt will become a senior consultant for the Houston human resources consulting firm Ascende.

Kevin Kirby (left) and Mary Cronin (second from left) were among the staff and faculty representatives who gave Elaine Britt high praise at a reception honoring her 13 years of service to Rice. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow)

Staff and faculty gathered at Brochstein Pavilion Nov. 19 to honor Britt for her many achievements at Rice. Among them:

— Overhauling and modernizing Rice’s medical plan two times.

— Shifting Rice to a fully self-funded insurance model.

— Enlivening the wellness program, including smoking-cessation programs.

— Providing a more streamlined, understandable and usable lineup of investment options.

— Doubling the percentage of employees saving through Rice’s voluntary 403(b) saving plan by shifting it to an op-out model.

— Strengthening the health insurance plan for both graduate and undergraduate students.

— Building the foundation for a universitywide job classification study.

Cronin noted that Britt “managed to advise and educate – and never strong-arm –” 10 chairs of the Benefits Committee. Building a great team has been part of Britt’s greatest legacy, Cronin said. “She has been there in a very personal and individual way for many of us, helping us through some very difficult times, making them a little bit easier and a little less bureaucratic, and that is high praise indeed.”

Benefits Committee Co-chairs Richard Grandy and David McDonald also gave Britt high praise.

“She’s such an amazing person,” said Grandy, the Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Philosophy. “I’ve seen her as an administrator sort through enormously complex problems involving retirement and medical issues. She manages at the highest level, but she has a very human touch at the personal level.”

“You have helped us immensely understand medical plans, dental plans and retirement plans,” McDonald told Britt. “The guidance that Elaine gave us to help us communicate to a large staff organization on the right way and the best way to move forward helped an enormous amount of people. It’s got to number in the thousands at least,” said McDonald, senior business director of Housing and Dining.

Paula Sanders, vice provost for academic affairs and professor of history, said Britt is a “true partner” and recalled asking Britt for advice about the student insurance plan back when Sanders was dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies. “Elaine volunteered to join the Student Insurance Committee, not simply to act in an advisory capacity, but to be a full member of the team,” Sanders said. “And then she took over the project so that we could provide really high-quality insurance to our graduate students and undergraduates. That’s the kind of team player she is.”

Vice President for Administration Kevin Kirby said he thinks of Britt in four Cs: “She oozes competence,” he said, citing Britt as being among the top 1 percent of performers at Rice. She’s noted for her customer service. “Everyone wants to go to Elaine for the answers,” Kirby said. And Britt’s courage was demonstrated when she insisted that her team was ready to roll out the first big change in Rice’s health benefits in recent years all at once, Kirby said. “Elaine said, ‘We’ve done our homework. We know what to do. We can educate everybody about their choices.’ Much to Mary’s and my delight, and a little bit of surprise, it worked out great,” Kirby said. The fourth C — Britt’s love of challenges — is a big part of her motivation for moving on. “Working on things that are challenging and interesting and hard — that’s what she’s doing next,” Kirby said.

Cronin proposed a toast to Britt — “May all your dreams come true” — and then welcomed the honoree to share “a word from our sponsor.”

“This is overwhelming,” Britt said. “I really love Rice. As Mary says, ‘I bleed blue and gray.’ I’m going to miss you all. A lot of times I’m the face of what we do, but there’s a great team that’s been doing all the work the whole time. They will continue to take care of you, so there should not be any worries. They’re gonna be great.”

Despite her pending departure, Britt will retain ties to Rice. Her husband, Darren Britt, is an endowment analyst in the Office of the Vice President for Investments/Treasurer. “So I’ll still be here at Rice,” she said.