Norman Rice Named Distinguished Visiting Practitioner

The Evans School recently received a special philanthropic gift from The Boeing Company to support a series of public seminars on Civic Engagement for the 21st Century. In conjunction with the gift, Norman Rice has been tapped to create and lead the series. Rice is the School's newest Distinguished Visiting Practitioner-in-Residence, a three-year appointment that brings the popular, former Seattle Mayor (1990-1997) back to his alma mater.

Dean Sandra Archibald said, "Norman Rice's accomplishments as a forward-thinking public leader are nationally acclaimed. He is uniquely qualified to work with our faculty, students and civic leaders to teach the tools he used so successfully to engage communities in innovative, collaborative solutions to complex public problems. We are very pleased to have him as a member of the Evans School community, and deeply grateful to Boeing for helping us to make this vision a reality." Principles of strong community engagement characterized many of Rice's mayoral initiatives, including the Education Summit, the Welfare to Work Program, and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The latter ultimately led to the urban village concept of planning and helped make the public-private partnership approach to the redevelopment of downtown Seattle a showcase for other U.S. cities.

"A common thread running throughout Norman's entire career is his desire to improve the lives of others and develop strong, economically vibrant communities," said Robert A. Watt, Vice President of Government and Community Relations for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and a member of the Evans School's Visiting Committee, an advisory group composed of community leaders. "He possesses a truly unique talent for bringing together diverse people to forge solutions that are in the best long-term interests of those very communities." Watt's efforts made possible the gift that will help support the civic engagement seminars and Rice's appointment.

Rice received his Master of Public Administration from the Evans School in 1974 (then known as the Graduate School of Public Affairs) and went on to build an illustrious career that included three terms as a member of the Seattle City Council and two very successful terms as Mayor of Seattle. From 1998 to 2004, he served as President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, and is currently Vice Chairman of Capital Access, LLC, an investment banking firm that specializes in strengthening communities and creating a sustainable environment.

"Dean Archibald brings truly visionary leadership to the Evans School, so I'm very honored to join this vibrant community," said Rice. From his new office in the Evans School's historic Parrington Hall, Rice will work closely with professors, students and civic leaders to focus seminars on how to apply the principles of civic engagement in addressing issues urban communities face today, such as homelessness, the socioeconomic integration of immigrants, racial inequities and religious expression. The seminars will build on case studies of model civic initiatives in Seattle and elsewhere, drawing on Rice's own expertise as well as that of other local and national leaders who have been successful at sustaining citizen involvement in resolving tough policy questions.

"The principles of community engagement in public policy are simple: listening to and building on the community's needs, expectations and values," Rice explained. "The greater challenge is designing efficient processes to sustain that involvement in meaningful ways. That is how you build trust. Although ongoing input can lengthen the planning and execution of programs, it is critical to shared ownership and success. And that is what we're after."

The seminars will be designed to facilitate participation nationally and locally. Rice also plans to devote part of his residency at the School to synthesizing best practices in civic engagement by holding special workshops with students, doing further research and composing a memoir for publication.

In his annual address to the UW, President Mark Emmert recently described the University as a linchpin of our state's economy and our region's health, and challenged all UW schools and colleges to develop more ways of exchanging ideas and promoting active dialogues with the greater community. Rice's leadership of the seminars on Civic Engagement for the 21st Century will add to the Evans School's many contributions to this vision of the engaged university.

Return to March 2006 MPA Alumni News