Pitt-Bradford Names Residence Hall the Barbara and Lester Rice House

The University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees passed a resolution Feb. 28 naming a new residence hall at the Bradford campus the Lester and Barbara Rice House. 

Lester Rice has been a member of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Advisory Board since 1986. He is chairman emeritus and former chairman of KOA Speer Electronics and the Mukaiyama-Rice Foundation. Lester, his wife Barbara, and their associated enterprises have been providing substantial gifts to the Bradford campus for more than 25 years. 

“Les Rice, and his wife, Barbara, are tireless advocates for our campus and, by example, have helped to establish a legacy of giving not only to our campus but to this community in general,” said Pitt-Bradford President Livingston Alexander, who recommended to Pitt’s Board of Trustees that the couple be recognized through the naming of the new building. “We’re honored and thrilled to have their names grace our newest residence hall.”

Gifts from the Rices and their associated enterprises have supported the renovation and expansion of Pitt-Bradford’s Frame-Westerberg Commons Building and the Sport and Fitness Center. In addition, the KOA Speer Electronics Scholarship has been supporting an average of 10 students each year since 1998. 

The Lester and Barbara Rice House, which is scheduled to open for the Fall 2014 semester, will be a three-story, 40,120-square-foot building with a brick exterior. It will have a capacity of 109 beds, primarily arranged in two- and three-bedroom suites with living rooms, kitchenettes, storage closets, and two full bathrooms. To accommodate the increasing student population, an existing parking lot will be expanded with an additional 85 parking spaces.