Thanks to a generous donation from alumnus Dr. Bobby Stinebaugh ’54 and the Stinebaugh family, Rice University is launching the Stinebaugh Family Financial Literacy Program, focusing on personal finance planning and investing, beginning this fall.
The $3 million gift will establish a comprehensive financial literacy initiative aimed at equipping Rice students with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed financial decisions. Administered by the Center for Career Development, the program will educate students on key financial concepts, foster financial responsibility and empower them to navigate personal finance and investment decisions effectively.
“The Stinebaugh Family Financial Literacy Program is a remarkable addition to Rice’s commitment to holistic education,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “Financial literacy is a lifelong skill — one that empowers our students to make sound decisions, navigate their futures with confidence and thrive long after they leave our campus. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Stinebaugh and his family for their visionary support, which will benefit generations of Owls to come.”
“We are thrilled about this incredible opportunity for Rice students,” said Nicole Van Den Heuvel, executive director of the Center for Career Development. “By imparting financial knowledge and skills to our students, we can equip them with the tools needed to make smart financial choices, achieve economic success and avoid common financial pitfalls.”
Stinebaugh, a former professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, emphasized the importance of early financial education to avoid costly mistakes.
“When I got out of medical school, I knew nothing about personal financial planning and made every mistake known to man during my career,” Stinebaugh said.
After he retired in 2000, Stinebaugh said he began researching the topic with renewed interest.
“I found out that it’s very simple if you know what you’re doing, but there are so many people out there with other ideas who want to make money off of you,” Stinebaugh said. “I wanted to see if I could do something to rectify that problem, and I thought a course at Rice could help.”
Stinebaugh’s gift includes initial funding to start the program this fall in addition to endowment funds and a generous bequest intention to support its long-term success.
“By investing in the future through an endowed gift and amplifying that support through a bequest intention, Dr. Stinebaugh and his family will have an impact on generations of students at Rice,” said Stephen Bayer, vice president of development and alumni relations. “We are incredibly grateful for their forward-thinking generosity and steadfast commitment to our students’ success.”
The donation reflects Stinebaugh’s long-standing support for Rice, inspired by his positive experiences and family history with the university, which includes his son, Ron Stinebaugh, earning a Bachelor of Arts from the university in 1987.
“Rice emphasizes excellence,” Stinebaugh said. “It inspires you to work hard to achieve what you’re trying to accomplish. When I went from Rice to medical school, I was much better prepared to study because we had to study hard all the way through Rice.”
The program’s first course, titled The Essentials of Investing and Personal Finance Planning, will be taught in person by Mackenzie Kemp, a financial adviser and 2007 Rice graduate with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
“Mackenzie is very passionate about teaching this class, and we’re really excited that she will be the instructor,” Van Den Heuvel said. “Our mission is to help every student find and make their place in the world. It’s not just about getting a great job, a great internship or getting into grad school — it’s also about being able to successfully manage your own career, and that involves finances.”
The financial literacy program will be open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Components of the program will include:
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Workshops and training: Interactive workshops and training sessions focusing on real-life applications of financial concepts.
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Educational resources: Engaging educational materials, including handouts, infographics and online tools to reinforce learning.
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Partnerships: Collaborations with financial institutions, community organizations and finance experts to enhance the program’s impact.
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Mentorship and counseling: Opportunities for one-on-one financial counseling and mentorship from experts in the field.
The course’s comprehensive curriculum will cover budgeting, saving, investing, debt management, credit, retirement planning and basic economics — diving into key concepts like:
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How to start saving early and set yourself up for success later in life.
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Investing in index mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
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Disaster preparedness and insurance usage.
For more information about bequests and other planned gifts that provide enduring support to Rice, contact Stephanie Dugan, interim executive director of gift planning, at sdugan@rice.edu, or visit http://giftplan.rice.edu.