A proud history and a desire to serve

The Rice family has an extensive history with Morehead State University dating back to the 1930s when they first joined the Morehead community. Those ties to the community still hold firm. Lucien Rice (Class of 1956) pledged $50,000 to establish the W.H. Rice Family Scholarship Endowment with the MSU Foundation.

Getting a four-year college degree without any financial help is a hard thing to do, so we thought if we can help students get their education, then that’s what we should do.

-Lucien Rice

The scholarships provided by this endowment will be awarded to students with a history of dedication to community service, something the Rice family knows well. Lucian’s mother, Virginia Rice, was a home economics teacher at the Breckinridge Training School and an associate professor at MSU, formerly known as Morehead State College. His father, W.H. “Honie” Rice, served as the superintendent for buildings and grounds for nearly 40 years, serving under six University presidents. He was honored posthumously with the 2015 Founders Award for University Service. The Rice Service Building on MSU’s campus bears his name.

Lucien graduated from Breckinridge in 1952 and continued his education at MSU, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English. He had a 37year career as a professional scout with the Boy Scouts of America. His wife, Monta Carol Rice (Class of 1961), also attended MSU, majored in music, and taught piano and voice for more than 30 years while working as a public school librarian and computer lab teacher. The two were married for 61 years until Carol’s passing in 2018.