Longtime Rice University professor and political scientist Bob Stein died Friday following a brief battle with cancer.
Stein, 75, reitred from Rice last month after serving as a faculty member for 46 years. He was an active researcher, public servant and political analyst. His “sharp, data-driven analysis” was regularly featured in the Houston media as well the New York Times, the Washington Post and NPR, making him one of the most trusted political voices in the region, Rice officials said in a press release.
In an April interview with the Houston Press, Stein talked about how federal immigration policies could harm university recruitment.
“It sends the wrong signal that foreign people aren’t welcome,” he said at the time, noting that universities rely on revenue from international student tuition and research funding. “It compounds the problem because the federal government is indiscriminately and discriminately cutting back the funding for higher education.”
He shared his memories of growing up on Long Island and said he sensed that President Trump wanted an “America of the 1950s where Black and brown people don’t intermingle with white people.”
“I think the world changed and the President is finding it hard to adjust to that,” he said. “You can’t build a global economy like that. At some point, we’re going to have to open our eyes. It will have consequences.”
Stein also caught the attention of the Houston City Council earlier this year when he said he’d learned of Mayor John Whitmire’s abrupt Austin Street bike lane closures while cycling with his grandchild. At the time, he said, he’d commuted to work by bicycle for 47 years.
“I’ve heard nothing about this and I don’t think any council members voted on this. This was a unilateral action by the mayor,” Stein said. “I respect that, and I respect the mayor’s position on it. However, I live in the Heights. The 11th Street bike path was built two years ago. It was a controversial decision, carefully studied. It is not about bikers. It’s about old people and small children. There are three schools … talk to the principals at each of those schools. Children, including two of my grandchildren, ride their bikes to school every day.”
Stein asked the mayor and council to carefully study the matter rather than making a “midnight decision.” The bike paths force traffic to go slower and make areas safer for pedestrians, he explained. “It’s not about convenience for cyclists; it’s about safety,” he said. “That is something the mayor was elected on.”
According to the Rice University press release, Stein’s comments at the City Council meeting in April went viral and helped stall additional bike lane removals. Former Houston Mayor Bill White referred to Stein as a trailblazer in popularizing bicycling in the Greater Houston area, noting that “he was hard to keep up with, even after his diagnosis.”
Stein was a “towering figure whose passion for research, teaching and public service left an indelible mark on Rice and our city,” university president Reginald DesRoches said in a public statement.
“His work exemplified how universities can drive meaningful change in the world around them,” DesRoches said. “We will deeply miss his wisdom, generosity and steadfast commitment to empowering our students to become thoughtful, engaged citizens.”
Earlier this year, Stein received Rice’s Y. Ping Sun Award for Outstanding Community Engagement. He played a central role in founding the university’s Center for Civic Engagement — now the Center for Civic Leadership — embedding experiential learning into the undergraduate curriculum and encouraging students to tackle real-world challenges, according to university officials.
One of Stein’s final appointments was co-director of Rice’s new Center for Voting, a multidisciplinary initiative focused on improving election administration and expanding access to the democratic process.
Born in New York City in 1950, Stein earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He joined the Rice faculty in 1979.
Stein is survived by his wife, Marty; their daughters, Nora and Annie; and five grandchildren. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 22, at Temple Emanu El. A campus event to celebrate Stein’s legacy is planned for the fall.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
