Editing Rice University (section)

===Late twentieth and early twenty-first century===
[[File:Vladimir Putin in the United States 13-16 November 2001-25.jpg|thumb|right|[[George H. W. Bush]] meeting [[Vladimir Putin]] at Rice in 2001]]
The [[G8|Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations]] was held at Rice in 1990. Three years later, in 1993, the [[James Baker Institute|James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy]] was created. In 1997, the Edythe Bates Old Grand Organ and Recital Hall and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, renamed in 2005 for the late Nobel Prize winner and Rice professor [[Richard E. Smalley]], were dedicated at Rice. In 1999, the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology was created. The [[Rice Owls baseball]] team was ranked #1 in the nation for the first time in that year (1999), holding the top spot for eight weeks.

In 2003, the Owls won their first national championship in baseball, which was the first for the university in any team sport, beating Southwest Missouri State in the opening game and then the University of Texas and Stanford University twice each en route to the title. In 2008, President [[David Leebron]] issued a ten-point plan titled "Vision for the Second Century" outlining plans to increase research funding, strengthen existing programs, and increase collaboration.<ref name="Vision for the Second Century - Ten Points"/> The plan has brought about another wave of campus constructions, including the newly renamed [[BioScience Research Collaborative]]<ref name="rice3"/> building (intended to foster collaboration with the adjacent [[Texas Medical Center]]), a new recreational center and the renovated [[Autry Court]] basketball stadium, and the addition of two new residential colleges, [[Duncan College]] and [[McMurtry College]].

Beginning in late 2008, the university considered a merger with [[Baylor College of Medicine]], though the merger was ultimately rejected in 2010.<ref name="ricethresher"/> Select Rice undergraduates are currently guaranteed admission to Baylor College of Medicine upon graduation as part of the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars program. 

In 2018, the university added an online MBA program, MBA@Rice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://campustechnology.com/articles/2018/05/21/rice-to-work-with-2u-on-launch-of-online-business-short-courses.aspx|title=Rice to Work with 2U on Launch of Online Business 'Short Courses' – Campus Technology|website=Campus Technology|language=en|access-date=2018-06-20|archive-date=June 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620180719/https://campustechnology.com/articles/2018/05/21/rice-to-work-with-2u-on-launch-of-online-business-short-courses.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://business.rice.edu/online-mba-rice-business|title=MBA@Rice: Hybrid Online Degree|date=2017-12-07|work=Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University|access-date=2018-06-20|language=en|archive-date=June 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615163320/https://business.rice.edu/online-mba-rice-business|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2019, the university's president announced plans for a task force on Rice's "past in relation to slave history and racial injustice", stating that "Rice has some historical connections to that terrible part of American history and the segregation and racial disparities that resulted directly from it".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Britto|first=Brittany|date=2019-06-14|title=Rice's reckoning: University to launch task force to address its segregationist history|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/Rice-s-reckoning-University-to-launch-task-14061581.php|access-date=2020-06-22|website=HoustonChronicle.com|language=en-US|archive-date=June 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626003557/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/Rice-s-reckoning-University-to-launch-task-14061581.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2021, President Leebron decided to pursue a development agreement with the City of Houston in response to requests from community members and Rice students regarding the [[Rice Innovation District]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Britto |first=Brittany |date=2020-01-29 |title=In victory for students, community groups, Mayor pledges city will strike deal ensuring innovation district provides far-reaching benefits |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/City-to-negotiate-community-benefits-agreement-15018292.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908235505/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/City-to-negotiate-community-benefits-agreement-15018292.php |archive-date=September 8, 2021 |access-date=2021-09-08 |website=Houston Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> This decision was made instead of implementing a [[community benefits agreement]], which had been suggested by the community. Typically, community benefits agreements involve a community coalition as a signatory, but the proposed agreement with the City of Houston will not include such a coalition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=It's time for Rice Management Company to get serious about a Community Benefits Agreement |url=https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2020/03/time-for-rice-management-company-to-get-serious-about-a-community-benefits |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909000402/https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2020/03/time-for-rice-management-company-to-get-serious-about-a-community-benefits |archive-date=September 9, 2021 |access-date=2021-09-09 |website=The Rice Thresher}}</ref>