Donald Rice

Rice was born in 1939 in Frederick, Maryland, 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 in 1961, a MS in industrial management from Purdue University in 1962, and a Ph.D. in economics also from Purdue University 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.

After he left the Air Force, Rice became president and chief operating officer of Teledyne 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 company. In 2002, he became chairman of the Agensys board of directors. 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, Wells Fargo & Company, Unocal, Amgen, and Vulcan Materials Company. He was chairman of the board of directors of Scios from 1998 until its sale to Johnson & Johnson in 2003. Rice is an emeritus 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.