O’Connor Way dedicated at Rice

Rice recently honored late trustee emeritus Ralph O’Connor, a Houston entrepreneur, civic leader and philanthropist who died last year at 92, by renaming a road next to the George R. Brown Tennis Center Ralph O’Connor Way.

The March 19 ceremony was held before the women’s tennis team’s match against O’Connor’s alma mater, Johns Hopkins University. In addition, the annual Rice Invitational men’s tournament was renamed the Ralph S. O’Connor Rice Invitational.

A longtime supporter of Rice, O’Connor served as a term governor for the university from 1967 to 1976 and then as a trustee from 1976 to 1988. He returned as a trustee from 1994 until 1996. He and his wife, Becky, provided lead funding for the George R. Brown Tennis Center.

(Video by Brandon Martin)