Hoot! Hoot!

Rice rises to top of new ranking of Texas colleges and universities

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The Owls have soared to the top again.

Photo courtesy of Rice University

If Texas had one Ivy League school, it would have to be Rice University.

Time after time, the Houston school ranks as the best college or university in Texas and one of the best in the country. Personal finance website WalletHub just added to Rice’s accolades with a No. 1 ranking in Texas and a No. 6 ranking nationally among colleges and universities.

In Texas, Rice appears at No. 1 for admission rate, graduation rate, gender and racial diversity, and post-school median salary. Not every ranking is that stellar, though. Rice ranks 50th for on-campus crime among 55 Texas schools and 52nd for net cost.

More students soon will be able to take advantage of Rice’s top-tier education. In March, the school said it would enlarge its undergraduate enrollment by 20 percent — to 4,800 — by the fall of 2025, up from more than 4,200 in the fall of 2020.

In a news release, Robert Ladd, chairman of the Rice Board of Trustees, called expansion of the student body “a strategic imperative.”

“Expanding the student body now will also expand Rice’s future alumni base across the nation and around the world,” he added. “Welcoming more students to the Rice campus today will have an impact on the university for generations to come.”

Elsewhere on the WalletHub list, the University of Houston lands at No. 10 within Texas and No. 238 in the country.

To determine the top-performing schools, WalletHub compared more than 1,000 institutions in the U.S. across 30 key measures, including student-to-faculty ratio, graduation rate, and post-school median salary.

Here are the top 15 colleges and universities in Texas, according to WalletHub, along with their national rankings:

Rice University, No. 6 nationally.
University of Texas at Austin, No. 45 nationally.
Trinity University in San Antonio, No. 61 nationally.
Texas A&M University in College Station, No. 127 nationally.
Southwestern University in Georgetown, No. 144 nationally.
University of Dallas, No. 152 nationally.
Southern Methodist University in University Park, No. 178 nationally.
Austin College in Sherman, No. 192 nationally.
LeTourneau University in Longview, No. 231 nationally.
University of Houston, No. 238 nationally.
University of Texas at Dallas, No. 252 nationally.
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, No. 253 nationally.
Baylor University in Waco, No. 357 nationally.
Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, No. 375 nationally.
Southwest Adventist University in Keene, No. 407 nationally.

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oaks for everyone

Houston nonprofit plants its 1,000,000th tree in downtown park

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Trees for Houston has been planting trees across the city since 1983.

Local nonprofit Trees for Houston (TFH) celebrated an incredible milestone on Thursday, February 5, by planting its one millionth tree — a live oak — during a ceremony at Sam Houston Park with Mayor John Whitmire and other community leaders in attendance.

"Founded in 1983 as the Live Oak Society, TFH has helped plant, source, distribute, and care for trees across Houston’s streetscapes, parks, trails, and schools — strengthening neighborhoods and long-term resilience," said Whitmire. “I congratulate Trees For Houston on this important milestone. Trees bring beauty and shade to our neighborhoods and improve the air we breathe. Each tree is a symbol of our resilience and reflects who we are as a city today — and the legacy we are building for the future.”

Other attendees included Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Mister McKinney of the Heritage Society, Abner Lyons, Ashley De Leon from Harris County Precinct 4, and Commissioner Lesley Briones. Representatives from Chevron applauded the contribution of Chevron Tree Nursery in Trees for Houston's work.

Houston is an incredibly green city, with an estimated 49,624 trees per square mile making it one of the most forested metropolises in America. The oak tree in particular is a symbol of Houston history, with several trees like the Three Sisters of Montrose being major landmarks. Keeping a robust canopy over Houston has always been a point of pride.

However, the past four decades have been very hard on Houston's trees. Climate change, drought, insects, and rocketing temperatures have severely weakened the trees in Harris County. The Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University estimates that for every two trees planted or regenerated in the city, one is lost. This makes the work of Trees for Houston even more necessary.

"Reaching one million trees is a milestone built over four decades by volunteers, supporters, and partners who believed Houston’s neighborhoods deserve a healthier, greener future," said Barry Ward, executive director of Trees For Houston."This milestone is a moment to reflect and to take the next step: planting and distributing more trees, strengthening the care that helps them thrive, and growing partnerships that can extend this impact beyond Houston over time."

The one millionth tree was planted next to the Kellum-Noble House, Houston's oldest standing structure. Built in 1847, the house became the residence for the keepers of Houston's first municipal park, making it the perfect place to celebrate such a landscaping feat.

Trees For Houston One millionth tree planting in Houston

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Trees for Houston has been planting trees across the city since 1983.

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