David Ruth

713-348-6327

david@rice.edu

Amy Hodges

713-348-6777

amy.hodges@rice.edu

HOUSTON – (March 12, 2012) – March 14 is known as to math enthusiasts worldwide as “Pi Day,” a celebration of the numerical value pi — 3.14 — but at Rice University, there’s one more reason to celebrate. March 14 is also the day the university’s founder, William Marsh Rice, was born in 1816. As part of Rice’s celebration of its centennial year (2012), the university will treat students to 2,012 pies on Pi Day.

What: Pi Day.

When: 11:59 a.m, March 14.

Where: Willy’s Statue, Acadmic Quad, Rice University, 6100 Main St.

To honor this important day for mathematics and the university, Rice students will gather around Willy’s Statue in the Academic Quad at 11:59 a.m. to sing “Happy Birthday” and devour 2,012 assorted miniature pies.

Pi (Greek letter π) is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter equaling 3.14.

The event is hosted by the Centennial Student Involvement Committee and the Office of Public Affairs. For more information or to schedule media coverage, contact Amy Hodges at 713-348-6777 or amy.hodges@rice.edu.

For a map of Rice University’s campus, visit www.rice.edu/maps/maps.html.

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Related materials:

William Marsh Rice bio: http://library.rice.edu/collections/WRC/digital-archive-information/online-exhilbits/william-marsh-rice-founder-of-rice-university-exhibit

Pi Day website: www.piday.org

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is known for its “unconventional wisdom.” With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 4 for “best value” among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to www.rice.edu/nationalmedia/Rice.pdf.