The Best Gay-Friendly Schools

If Newsweek had a list for colleges with the most intriguing provenance, Rice University in Houston, Texas, would most certainly be on it. In 1900, William Marsh Rice, a wealthy investor, was murdered for his money by his lawyer and valet. Luckily, they were found out before they could abscond with the dough, and the funds eventually helped establish the institution that now bears the murdered man’s name. Rice University opened September 23, 1912, on the anniversary of Rice’s death, with just 77 students and about a dozen faculty.

While there isn’t an “intriguing provenance” list, there are several other lists upon which Rice University appears. It made Newsweek’s roundup of most desirable colleges overall (No. 25), most desirable urban schools (No. 10), best for brainiacs (No. 20), and best gay-friendly (No. 18).

Rice University prides itself on its 5 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio and its tuition—$31,430 in 2009—which it says is “substantially less” than what’s charged at “comparable private institutions.” In 2009, the school had 3,279 undergraduates, about half of who were from Texas. The male-to-female ratio was nearly even, and these students were predominantly white, followed by Asian-American, Hispanic, multi-racial, African-American and Native American.