IBB Summer Academy

The IBB provides the Summer Academy for High School Students with participants from the Science Academy of South Texas (SAST). Over the past twenty-five years, IBB summer high school programs have been extremely influential for more than 800 students who have attended them. Since 1992, the IBB Summer Academy has hosted high performing students who have gone on to very successful careers in academia, industry, business, medicine and law. Of the 260 SAST students who have attended the IBB Summer Academy in the past twelve years, 48 have gone on to attend Rice as undergraduates and five have continued as graudate students.

The Summer Academy for High School Students is a joint effort between Rice University's IBB and the South Texas Independent School District to provide enhancement opportunities for the SAST, a magnet science and technology school in Mercedes, Texas, serving grades 9-12. This school district covers the three counties of the Rio Grande Valley and provides exceptional programs for their students. The purpose of the program is to expose the participating students to the college experience and to give them an idea of what the various science and engineering fields encompass.

For details on this, please see the Rice News & Media Relations article. The Hamill Foundation is the lead underwriter for this IBB's summer high school outreach effort.

The South Texas Independent School District (STISD) recognized Rice's IBB with an award for IBB's Outstanding Summer Academy. In August 2008, IBB received the "Rice STISD Collaborating to Create a Culture of Excellence for South Texas Independent School District Students" Award from the STISD Board of Directors. Shown here is Dr. Stacey Kalovidouris (Past Executive Director of the IBB) and Dr. Marla Guerra (Superintendent of STISD).

Dr. Yousif Shamoo (Past Director of the IBB) is shown here exchanging plaques with the Superintendent of STISD (Dr. Marla Guerra), the STISD Partnership Coordinator (Cindy Keller) and the Principal of SAST (Michael Aranda) to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the IBB Summer Program, in 2011.

The program is not open to outside applicants.