Staff of the Community Involvement Center

R. Mac Griswold is Director of the Community Involvement Center.  Mac is responsible for directing and managing the Community Involvement Center, including supervising the Assistant Directors and AmeriCorps*VISTA.  He serves as the primary advisor to the Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP).  Mac also coordinates O-Week Outreach Day, the Hilda and Hershel Rich Family Endowment for Student Community Service, the Loewenstern Fellowships, and other volunteer programs and services.  Finally, he serves as a resource to students and student organizations sponsoring Alternative Spring Break trips.  He works with campus organizations to assist them in organizing service projects.  He's a great person to talk to if you need to set-up a service project or have questions about volunteering.  Mac is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (1996) and a Master of Arts in Higher Education: Student Affairs (2001).

Christa Leimbach is an Assistant Director of the Community Involvement Center.  Christa advises the youth- and literacy-based service organizations including One-on-One Mentoring, Wharton And Rice Mentorship (WARM), and English as a Second Language (ESL) Tutoring.  She also co-coordinates the Loewenstern Fellowships and the Urban Immersion Program that takes place in the summer for incoming freshman.  In addition, Christa administers the Good Works Volunteer Fair and serves as a resource to students and student organizations sponsoring Alternative Spring Break trips.  Leimbach graduated from Indiana University (2005) with a B.A. in History.  After graduation she spent a year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at a community college in Pennsylvania working in the areas of community service and service learning.

Sarah Hodgkinson is an Assistant Director of the Community Involvement Center (CIC).  She co-coordinates many of the CIC’s activities including Urban Immersion, a week-long intensive service-oriented program that introduces incoming Rice students to Houston’s cultural diversity and pressing social needs.  Additionally, Sarah oversees the execution of the CIC’s International Service Project.  Some of her other responsibilities include supervising the administration of the West University Rotary Scholarship for Community Service, the Morty Rich Scholarship, the Alan Grob Prize and the Rice Developing World Student’s Scholarship; supporting the service initiatives of student organizations and the residential colleges; and, coordinating the fundraising policies for Alternative Spring Break student groups.  Sarah’s pastimes include camping, traveling to festival and various outdoor activities.  She is a graduate of Southwestern College with a Bachelors of Arts in Non-Profit Management.