Best of CASE District IV Award
 

Institution: Rice University

Title of entry: Brick by Brick: Celebrating Ralph S. O'Connor

About this entry: The late Ralph S. O'Connor never attended Rice University as a student, but he is among the most beloved supporters and volunteers Rice has ever had, and his influence continues to shape the campus, literally and figuratively. In May 2023, Rice University held a private event with Ralph's family and friends in the soon-to-be-dedicated O'Connor Building for Engineering and Science, funded through a lead gift from Ralph's estate. To mark the occasion, the Development and Alumni Relations Communications team created a video celebrating Ralph's lifetime of impact at the university. The video served as a surprise to family and friends and as a defining moment of the event program.

Partnering closely with our Rice historian, a longtime friend of Ralph's, we did extensive pre-production work internally, mining Rice's Fondren Library archives and personal collections for photos. We also selected and secured interviews with several lifelong friends who provided context and texture to Ralph's life. Participants included Rice President Reginald DesRoches, Rice historian Melissa Kean ’96, Karen Ostrum George ’77, former Rice President George Rupp and tennis coach Elizabeth Schmidt for sharing their memories. Johns Hopkins University also provided photos of Ralph for the video (Ralph was an alumnus of Johns Hopkins). We hired our local video partner, MWM, to film, edit and produce the video under the direction of the executive director of communications.