Thanks to the generosity of Alfred University alumnus and Board of Trustee member Bill Rice ’78 and his wife, Debbie, students from Bill’s high school alma mater, Canisteo-Greenwood Central School, will have assistance paying for housing should they choose to attend Alfred this fall.
A group from Alfred University visited Canisteo-Greenwood Central High School in April to announce a one-time housing grant available to all Canisteo-Greenwood graduates who attend Alfred as first-year students this fall. The grants are funded by Alfred University alumnus Bill Rice ’78 and his wife, Debbie.
Bill, a member of the Alfred University Board of Trustees, is a 1974 graduate of Canisteo High School. Pictured above are, from left: Kyla Whannell, Alfred University director of Admissions; Meghan Franclemont, school counselor at Canisteo-Greenwood and an adjunct instructor in school counseling at Alfred University; Mark Zupan, university president; Canisteo-Greenwood students Chase Reinbold, Lucas Kepner, and Kassidy Gardner; Paul Keeley, Canisteo-Greenwood school counselor and a 2008 Alfred University alumnus who also earned a master’s degree from Alfred in 2013; Canisteo-Greenwood students Brayden Flanagan and Owen Williamson; Roque Santiago, a Canisteo-Greenwood High School alumnus who graduated from Alfred on Saturday, May 17, and Dominic Wilcox ’24, Alfred University admissions counselor. Bill Rice and his wife, Debbie, joined the announcement via Zoom; in the photo above, Bill appears in the screen for the Zoom meeting.
Thanks to the generosity of Alfred University alumnus and Board of Trustee member Bill Rice ’78 and his wife, Debbie, students from Bill’s high school alma mater, Canisteo-Greenwood Central School, will have assistance paying for housing should they choose to attend Alfred this fall.
Mark Zupan, Alfred University president, Kyla Whannell, director of Admissions, Dominic Wilcox ’24, admissions counselor, and Roque Santiago ’25, a graduate of Alfred University and a Canisteo-Greenwood High School alumnus, visited the high school on April 30. They were joined by Bill and Debbie Rice via Zoom to announce the Rices’ funding of one-time $5,000 housing grants to Canisteo-Greenwood graduates who enroll at Alfred as first-year students for the Fall 2025 semester.
Bill, who graduated from Canisteo High School in 1974—the Canisteo and Greenwood school districts merged in 2004—wanted to give back to students so they could have the same Alfred University experience as he did and said the housing grant would help make their first year at Alfred more affordable. In the Zoom meeting, Bill shared with the Canisteo-Greenwood students his experience at Alfred University and talked with them about what they may be interested in doing at Alfred.
Bill Rice earned a bachelor’s degree in ceramic engineering from Alfred University and is CEO and president of First Bauxite Corporation, a natural resource company engaged in the exploration and development of bauxite deposits in Guyana, South America. He previously served more than years in several executive positions with ALCOA Inc., concluding his career there in 2012 as Vice President, Mining, Alcoa World Alumina.