motivates their behavior. In fact, many social scientists say that Houston today is America tomorrow. Issues such as immigration, ethnic and religious diversity, land use, and zoning regulations that Houston faces now will be issues facing other U.S. cities in the coming decades.

Rice is uniquely positioned to help Houston deal with these issues. Our School of Social Sciences houses some of the nation's foremost experts in public policy and urban life who take an applied, objective, quantitative approach to finding solutions. We already have a network of collaboration established with other Rice departments and with the Texas Medical Center, the City of Houston, and other organizations and institutions. We are known for encouraging our undergraduate students to engage in hands-on, real-world research projects, such as the Houston Area Survey, that benefit Houstonians. Our students are some of the finest in the nation and come from all over the world; 38 percent of Rice graduates choose to stay in Houston to work and raise their families. Many have become city leaders, lawyers, doctors, bankers, and experts in other professions vital to Houston.

We believe we can do even more for Houston, and we have the ambitious vision of being the first place where city and business leaders go for their urban research needs. We want to enhance research to address the tough issues Houston faces today. We want to expand our collaboration with the Texas Medical Center to prevent and to find cures for stroke, schizophrenia, and other mind and brain conditions that affect Houstonians and people across the nation. We want to take advantage of Houston's educational landscape by increasing local research opportunities for our students, so that they will be better equipped to lead Houston into greater prosperity in this changing world.