This needs a new thread with today’s update from the University (and none of the last 20 posts of the June thread being anywhere near on-topic)

I just started reading through the sample responses to the last questionnaire to the Rice Community about what actions (if any) should be taken with respect to the Founders Memorial (aka Willy’s Statue).

I’m not anywhere close to finishing the read (and might not make it through all 300+ pages) but I wanted to say that so far I’ve been very pleasantly impressed with the depth of thought and perspective offered by members of the Rice Community.

They are requesting further comment due by 30 September.

Links to follow…

Dear Rice Community,

Earlier this summer, the university’s Task Force on Slavery, Segregation, and Racial Injustice released an update report on William Marsh Rice and a separate update specifically addressing the Founder’s Memorial. These reports provided important new perspectives and historical information on our university, William Marsh Rice, and the Founder’s Memorial in the Academic Quadrangle. We are grateful for the work done by the Task Force and will forthrightly acknowledge all aspects of our history. The Task Force will continue its work to both better inform our understanding of the history of the university and the changes that have occurred over time and encourage and facilitate discussions about how we can fully achieve our highest ambitions.

The conversation with respect to William Marsh Rice is complex, as it includes among other things both our founder’s entanglement with slavery and segregation and his generosity in making the university we know today possible. The Task Force has recently published a selection of the comments and responses it has received from our community over the course of its work. These samples demonstrate the evolving range of views that are present within the Rice community on this topic.

The issues raised in the Task Force’s report on the Founder’s Memorial are part of a larger set of issues regarding our campus, our community and our programs. That context encompasses many developments over the history of the university, including more recent efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion. Today, Rice benefits from a more diverse student body, staff, and faculty than ever before, both in representation and absolute numbers. It has established new programs of research, knowledge, and teaching and done so in a way that allows for a broader range of perspectives and voices. To reinforce its commitment to welcoming a diverse community, the university created the position of Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and established a multicultural center which will have a magnificent home in the new Student Center, on which construction will begin before the end of the academic year. The university’s strategic plan, the V2C2, sets out our aspirations for the future and is explicit in its goals for access, diversity, and inclusiveness. The Rice Investment, implemented three years ago, helps assure that all students can truly afford a Rice education. These are actions that must be continued and supplemented as we recognize our history, as well as our progress and aspirations, and as we plan for Rice’s future.

Thus, the Board of Trustees will be taking a broad perspective in order to determine the best course of action to be taken with regard to the Founder’s Memorial, the Academic Quadrangle, and how our aspirations of today are best reflected on our physical campus. As part of this effort, the Board of Trustees invites the thoughts and comments from the Rice community via a confidential Portal established for this purpose. It is the hope of the Trustees that our university community, now better informed by historical research and with the thoughtful discernment that characterizes the preeminent research and academic excellence of Rice, will take the opportunity to share opinions on how to best respond to the work of the Task Force. We invite you to take the opportunity in light of the Task Force’s reports to access the Portal and give the Board of Trustees your considered and confidential opinion before September 30, 2021. Your opinions are an important part of our deliberation process and will help inform our decisions. In advance, thank you for participating in the process.

Warm regards,

Rob Ladd
Chair, Rice University Board of Trustees

David Leebron
President, Rice University

I have one question about Willy's statue. It is my understanding that his remains are buried there. That would seem to make it a columbarium under Texas law. Once established as such, that property generally cannot be dedicated to another purpose.

Meaning: It may be illegal under Texas law to move it.

(09-01-2021 12:03 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I have one question about Willy's statue. It is my understanding that his remains are buried there. That would seem to make it a columbarium under Texas law. Once established as such, that property generally cannot be dedicated to another purpose.

Meaning: It may be illegal under Texas law to move it.

I don’t know about the legalities but his remains are interred within the memorial.

(09-01-2021 12:05 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  

(09-01-2021 12:03 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I have one question about Willy's statue. It is my understanding that his remains are buried there. That would seem to make it a columbarium under Texas law. Once established as such, that property generally cannot be dedicated to another purpose.
Meaning: It may be illegal under Texas law to move it.

I don’t know about the legalities but his remains are interred within the memorial.

Although I am an attorney, I don't have much knowledge about this specific area. The one thing that sticks in my memory is that I was once a member of a church that was experiencing financial difficulty, and we installed a columbarium as a way to ensure that the property could not be repurposed.