McTeam

Jeff Fleisher and Libby Vann

We are Jeff Fleisher and Libby Vann, the Magisters of McMurtry College. We are new as Magisters this year, but have been at Rice for 18 years.

Jeff is a Professor and Chair of Anthropology. He is an archaeologist who works in eastern and southern Africa, exploring the complex histories of African peoples that live in Tanzania and Zambia today. He teaches courses in archaeology, and takes students most years to learn how to be archaeologists in Africa. When he’s not at Rice, you can find him out riding his bike across the city and through gravel roads in the hill country.

Libby is Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science and the Director of Community Partnerships for the School of Social Sciences. She teaches courses in Social Policy Analysis as well as experiential courses in Political Science. Through her community partnerships role, she helps develop engaged learning programs and opportunities for students in the Social Sciences. She is an amateur vegetable gardener who likes to cook and loves to hike.

Our family includes our son, Max, a rising junior at the University of Virginia, as well as three cats – Yahtzee, Clyde, and Rudi – who you’ll likely see when you visit us. We are a family of cribbage players, and we love to travel – internationally, as well as to state and national parks in our little camper trailer that you might spot parked behind the Murt Magister house.

As Murt Magisters, we’re here to support McMurtry and each Murt during their time at Rice. We advise the Murt student government and help to foster strong student leadership in the college. We help Murts navigate their academic careers, guiding you to the amazing advising networks on campus. We promote student well-being, including helping students experiencing physical or mental health challenges or family-related issues to find the help and support they need. We also work with the college government and Housing and Dining to oversee the physical spaces at Murt; this is your and our home for the next four years, and we want it to be the best possible environment for social and intellectual life at McMurtry.

We’re excited to meet you and we look forward to seeing you in the commons, at Murt events around the college, and at our house in the coming months and years. Welcome to McMurtry!