Donald Blessing Rice (born June 4, 1939) is a California businessman and senior government official. He has been president and chief executive officer of several large companies including

RAND The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...

Corporation, and has sat on numerous boards of directors, including

Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

. Rice also served as the 17th

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

, from 1989 to 1993.

Early life

Rice was born in 1939 in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, the son of Donald B. Rice, Sr., and Mary C. Rice. His father operated a service station, and later started a tire business, eventually becoming mayor of Frederick, while his mother kept the books for the family business. Both parents stressed the need for a good education. Business, public service and education were all important influences on Rice as he grew up. Rice earned a BS degree in chemical engineering from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in 1961, a MS in industrial management from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

in 1962, and a Ph.D. in economics also from

in 1965. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army Ordnance Corps upon graduation from Notre Dame in June 1961. On August 25, 1962, Rice married Susan Fitzgerald. The couple are the parents of three sons, Donald B. Rice III, Joseph J. Rice, and Matthew F. Rice.

Public service

After 4 years of graduate school while in the U. S. Army Reserves, from 1965 to 1967, he served on active duty as a lieutenant and then captain of ordnance. During that time, he was assistant professor of management and acting deputy director for academics at the Navy Management Systems Center in the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California.United States Air Force military biography
"Dr. Donald B. Rice"
, U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Office, Washington, DC, February 8, 2008. In 1967, Rice became director of cost analysis in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C. Two years later, he was appointed as deputy assistant secretary of defense for resource analysis where he was responsible for cost analysis, manpower and logistics requirements, and budget planning for defense programs. From 1970 to 1972, he served as assistant director in the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

. In this position, he managed Federal Government budget activities for agriculture, atomic energy, commerce, energy, environment, natural resources, public works, science and technology, space, and transportation. In 1972, Rice became president and chief executive officer of RAND Corporation, an independent, nonprofit, public service

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

. RAND conducts research and strategic analysis on national security and other public policy issues and offers a doctoral degree program in public policy analysis. During this time, Rice also was appointed by President Ford to serve as chairman of the National Commission on Supplies and Shortages and by Presidents Nixon and Carter to two terms on the

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The NSB also serves as an ind ...

. At the request of President

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

, he directed a comprehensive study of the resources management process within the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

. He remained at RAND until May 1989 when President George H. W. Bush appointed him Secretary of the Air Force. As the Air Force Secretary, Rice reorganized the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

and reduced its budget. The first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

, also known as "Desert Storm", was fought while he was secretary. Rice served for four years, from May 22, 1989, until he left the Department of the Air Force on January 20, 1993. Rice has been president of the Institute of Management Sciences, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Economic Association, and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He was appointed by President Clinton to the United States Commission on National Strategy in the 21st Century. He has contributed to McCain 2000,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

for President, Bush-Cheney '04,

John McCain 2008 The 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain, the longtime senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007, during a live taping of the ''Late Show with David Letterman'', and formally launch ...

, the

National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Republican caucuses of the House and ...

, and the

National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lowe ...

Businessman

After he left the Air Force, Rice became president and chief operating officer of

Teledyne Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an American industrial conglomerate. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky. From August 1996 to November 1999, Teledyne existed as part of the conglomerate All ...

in March 1993, serving until August 1996. After helping lead a restructuring of the company and a negotiated merger with Allegheny Ludlum, he left Teledyne to become founding president and chief executive officer of Agensys Corporation (founded in 1997 and formerly called Urogenesys), a Santa Monica-based

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

company. In 2002, he became chairman of the Agensys board of directors."Chairman, President, CEO Agensys, Inc."
, Board of Directors, Wells Fargo & Company, San Francisco, California, 2008. In 2007, he negotiated the sale of Agensys to Astellas, Inc., continuing as its CEO until his retirement in 2010. Rice has served on numerous corporate boards. These include Chevron Corporation, Pacific Enterprises, Scios, Teledyne,

Unocal Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

Amgen Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was established in T ...

, and

Vulcan Materials Company Vulcan Materials Company () is an American company based in Birmingham, Alabama. It is principally engaged in the production, distribution and sale of construction materials. Vulcan is the largest producer of construction materials, primarily gra ...

. He was chairman of the board of directors of Scios from 1998 until its sale to Johnson & Johnson in 2003. Rice is a member of RAND board of trustees, and chaired the board of governors for the Pardee RAND Graduate School for 10 years. He is also a member of the equipment advisory committee for the PGA Tour.

Awards

Rice has received five honorary doctorates degrees. His first honorary degree was a doctorate in Engineering from Notre Dame in 1975; his second, in Management, was from Purdue in 1985; he received a third, in Laws, from

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...

in 1989; the fourth, was in Humane Letters, from West Coast University in 1993; and the most recent, in Public Policy, from the RAND graduate school in 1995. In 1999, Rice received the ''Wanner Award'' from the

Military Operations Research Society The Military Operations Research Society (MORS) is a society for professionals active within defense applications of operations research (OR) in the United States. Memberships include analysts, researchers, consultants and officers in the United ...

. Other awards include the ''Citation Award'' from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the

Air Force Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is ...

’s ''Symington Award'', and the Jaycees’ Ten Outstanding Young Men recognition. He is a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

doctoral fellow. Rice was also awarded Distinguished Civilian Service Medal and the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

from the Secretary of the Defense. He was elected to the 2002 class of

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s of the

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research (O.R.), management science, and analytics. It was established in 1995 with the merger o ...

References

External links

U.S. Air ForceRAND CorporationBiography of Donald Rice
from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Donald B. 1939 births Living people United States Secretaries of the Air Force RAND Corporation people United States Army officers Wells Fargo University of Notre Dame alumni Krannert School of Management alumni People from Santa Monica, California People from Frederick, Maryland Directors of Chevron Corporation Fellows of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences