Dr. C. Fred Higgs, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs; Director, Rice Center for Engineering Leadership; John and Ann Doerr Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Rice University

As vice provost for academic affairs, Higgs manages part of the provost’s central academic operations team whose most important role is to serve Rice faculty in all dimensions of their work. Responsibilities of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs include working with departments and deans to foster an inclusive culture that sustains a productive and diverse faculty and that exemplifies the principles of shared governance; collaborating with the Faculty Senate in the development of faculty policies and academic programs; overseeing faculty career development programs; working with department chairs; and developing and overseeing processes for academic program review. The Vice Provost for Academic Affairs also is the administration’s liaison with the Faculty Senate and the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees and works closely with the other vice provosts, deans, department chairs, and the Faculty Senate leadership to implement projects of importance to the faculty and the academic mission of the university.

Dr. Higgs received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (1995) and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (1997) and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (2001) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. From 2001-2003, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Higgs was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University from 2003-2016. He joined the faculty at Rice in 2016. Dr. Higgs is also the Faculty Director of the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership.

Dr. Higgs has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Young Investigator Award in 2007 and in 2013 he received the Benjamin Teare Award, the Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering top teaching award. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and became a Fellow in 2016. In 2010 he was presented with the Burt L. Newkirk Award for his notable contributions to the field of tribology. He is also a member of the Society of Tribology and Lubrication Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers, the Materials Research Society, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

• $30 for general admission
• $15 for Rice Faculty (registration required in advance)
• Free for Rice Students (registration required in advance)
• $30 webinar – online only (new fee as of 4.11.22)

Registration will close at Noon on Thursday, May 12, 2022. A boxed lunch will be served to those guests attending in person.

Health & Safety Protocols:

At this time, we are following Rice University’s COVID policies as guidelines for our attendees at the Roundtable meeting. The full policy can be viewed at https://coronavirus.rice.edu/policies.

Location & Parking:

Grand Hall in the Rice Ley Student Center

Detailed campus maps are available on the web at http://www.rice.edu/maps/. The Ley Student Center is located in the central part of Rice campus. The Central Campus Garage, which is the closest parking facility, is located to the across the street from the Student Center.

In the possibility the underground parking is full, the second closest parking is the West Lot. Continue down the Laboratory Loop Road to the stop sign. The campus also offers a bus shuttle that runs about every 15 minutes as it loops the campus.

Note: In order to protect the privacy of the luncheon attendees, the list of attendees is not published or distributed.

This Roundtable qualifies for one (1) Professional Development Hour (PDH). Your email confirmation at completion of registration serves as your PDH and payment receipts. Paper receipts may be picked up at the registration desk at time of check-in.