Barnett Named Chair of Rice Board of Governors

Contact: Kathryn Costello
Vice President
University Advancement
(713) 527-4650

Michael Cinelli
Director, News Office
(713) 831-4794

BARNETT NAMED CHAIR OF RICE BOARD OF GOVERNORS

E. William “Bill” Barnett, managing
partner of the Baker & Botts law firm, has been chosen as chair of
the Rice University Board of Governors effective July 1, 1996.

Barnett, 63, will succeed Charles W. Duncan, Jr., who is
retiring after serving as board chair for the past 14 years at the
private university. During this time, Duncan successfully led the
effort to strengthen and enhance the university’s national and
international reputation.

“Bill Barnett will be a distinguished and able chairman,” Duncan
said. “He brings broad experience, a thoughtful approach, a great
deal of knowledge about Rice and, importantly, a deep commitment to
the university. He is a Rice graduate who has demonstrated excellent
leadership capabilities. I believe Rice will continue to prosper
under his chairmanship.”

Rice President Malcolm Gillis said, “The selection of Bill
Barnett ensures a high degree of continuity with the immensely
successful chairmanship of Charles Duncan. Charles’ years as board
chair have been extremely fruitful. His tenure was marked by notable
developments that will shape the future of Rice for decades to come.

Not least of these was Rice’s 1985 admission to the Association of
American Universities, the highly influential organization of top
echelon research universities. Rice University will be forever in
his debt.

“Bill Barnett brings to the chair a deep knowledge of and
affection for his alma mater, along with a well-developed
appreciation of the university’s very substantial potentialities in
teaching and research in the coming century,” Gillis added. “No
university has had a more distinguished succession of board chairs
than Rice. Bill Barnett is squarely in that elite company.”

Barnett received his B.A. from Rice in 1955 and his LL.B. in
1958 from the University of Texas at Austin. He has led a
distinguished career as an attorney and as a civic leader. He is
former chairman of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar
Association and is a fellow of the American College of Trial
Lawyers.

He is past chairman and current board member of the Greater
Houston Partnership, past chairman and current board member of
Central Houston, Inc., and serves on the board of directors of Texas
Commerce Bancshares. He is a trustee of Baylor College of Medicine
and is a life trustee of the University of Texas Law School
Foundation.

Barnett joined the Rice Board of Governors in 1991 as a term
member. He was elected a trustee in 1994. He is also a contributing
life member of the Rice Associates, a member of the Rice University
Fund Council, and a member of the Friends of Fondren.

“I am honored by this opportunity,” Barnett said. “If one looks
at the history of Rice, three chairmen stand out as truly great-
Capt. James A. Baker, George R. Brown and Charles Duncan. Charles is
an imposing act to follow, but he has positioned the university very
favorably. Within the last few years, particularly with the arrival
of Malcolm Gillis, Rice is moving more aggressively toward an
international presence, the faculty in several areas are on the
cutting edge, and the student body is as strong as any university in
the country. This is a very exciting time to be involved at Rice.”

During Duncan’s tenure as board chair the university’s endowment
has grown to $1.7 billion from $434 million.

Since 1983 nine buildings have been added to the campus
landscape or are currently under construction: George R. Brown Hall,
Alice Pratt Brown Hall, Herring Hall, the Mudd Building, the
Mechanical Engineering Building, the Computational Engineering
Building, the future home of the James A. Baker III Institute for
Public Policy, the building that will house the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, and the campus police building.

Barnett is married to Peggy Mauk Barnett, a 1955 Rice graduate.
They have two children, Margaret Ann Barnett Stern and Edward
William Barnett, Jr., both of Houston.

The Rice Board of Governors is comprised of seven trustees,
eight term governors and four alumni governors. There are also seven
trustee emerti and 47 governor advisors.

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