Overview
Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University have joined forces to advance health-related research through multidisciplinary partnerships and the development of new and prepared leaders through joint educational opportunities.
History
Scientific researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) share a long history of individual collaboration. In 2009, Rice and Baylor engaged in discussions about a potential merger, but ultimately decided to strengthen their existing academic and research relationship without a formal merger.
In 2015, fifty years after Rice researchers joined Dr. Michael DeBakey and his Baylor team to produce the first artificial heart, the institutions signed an interinstitutional agreement to facilitate research and educational collaborations between the two private schools. This interinstitutional agreement is intended to make it easier for faculty, staff and students from both schools to work together.
Rice and Baylor established an Oversight Council to implement the agreement and also make strategic decisions about the partnership. Three members from each institution will serve on the council for one-year terms; a member from Baylor will serve as chair and a member from Rice will serve as vice chair, and those positions will alternate annually, with the Rice member serving as chair the second year and the Baylor member serving as vice chair.
Rice appointed its Educational and Research Initiatives for Collaborative Health (ENRICH) Office to serve the Oversight Council to facilitate synergies, build structural interfaces and remove barriers to collaboration, leveraging the complimentary strengths of the two institutions.