Beyond the Hedges: Historias de Latinidad at Rice University

About

Rice University is home to a campus bounded by historic hedges but deeply interconnected with the dynamic metropolis of Houston, one of the most diverse and culturally expansive global cities in the world. While the university was originally chartered exclusively for Houston's white inhabitants, trailblazing Latines defied those boundaries from the beginning. They walked through the Sallyport, refusing to be kept out. Pieced together from photos, letters, and diaries discovered in the archives of the Woodson Research Center and the Houston Public Library Special Collections, and from oral histories of the students, staff, and faculty who shaped both Rice and the city, this exhibit proves that from the moment ground broke in 1910, Latine individuals have helped shape Rice's legacy. Today, nearly 13.5% of Rice University's undergraduate students and more than 44% of Houston's residents are of Latin American descent. Beyond the Hedges: Historias de Latinidad at Rice University honors this community, which has, for over a century, dedicated their brilliance, service, resilience, and creativity to the campus and the city.