Legacy thumb|left|upright=.7|Statue of William Marsh Rice at Rice University, sculpted by John Angel. Rice left the bulk of his estate to the founding of a free institute of higher education in Houston, Texas. Opening in 1912 as William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters, Science, and Art, it is known today as Rice University. In his will, Rice mandated that the university to bear his name would be for "the white men and women of Houston." This request was eventually overruled, and Raymond L. Johnson Rice University's first black student was admitted in 1964.
legacy thumb|left|upright=7|statue of william marsh rice at rice university sculpted by john angel rice left the bulk of his estate to the founding of a free institute of higher education in houston texas opening in 1912 as william marsh rice institute for the advancement of letters science and art it is known today as rice university in his will rice mandated that the university to bear his name would be for "the white men and women of houston" this request was eventually overruled and raymond l johnson rice university's first black student was admitted in 1964