San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
DR. H. ALBERT NAPIER, JR., PH.D.
April 22, 2022
Dr. H. Albert Napier, Jr., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at Rice University, passed away on the 22nd of April, 2022.
Dr. Napier retired in 2017 as a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor Emeritus of Management.
Professor Napier was born in Dallas to Homer Albert Napier and Martha Lanham Napier.
He attended public schools before beginning his scholarly work first in junior college and then at The University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Napier loved the University of Texas and earned from there a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics, an MBA in Statistics and Finance and a doctorate in Operations Research, Management and Computer Science.
While being an academic, Al continued to keep business activities a part of his life. He spent 8 years with Conoco before starting a computer consulting and education business that he ran along with Phil Judd, his longtime business partner for 21 years.
Over his 30+ years of teaching beginning at the University of Houston prior to joining Rice University, he taught many subjects including management information systems, psychology and entrepreneurship. He received numerous grants, wrote 16 books and published over 50 scholarly articles and presentations.
At Rice, Al and Professor Ed Williams built the Rice Business Entrepreneurship program into the #1 ranked program in the USA. Al and Ed were lifelong friends, and they first started their academic career together in 1968 at the University of Texas. They built Rice’s Entrepreneurship program to the point that it was recognized in 2019 as the #1 Entrepreneurial MBA program in the world, and it has held this position for 3 consecutive years. Al was a great teacher and received numerous teaching awards. In 2016, ED and Al received the National Teaching Award from the US Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship as National Educators of the Year. In May 2022, Al will be recognized with the Rice Laureate Meritorious Award from the Association of Rice Alumni.
The most important part of Al’s life was his family. His wonderful wife Liz (a teacher whom he met at Texas) was the key to his accomplishments. During their 57 years of marriage, they supported each other and together raised two loving, witty, good looking boys, Lanham and JB. Lanham and JB are everything he could have wished for and followed in his entrepreneurial footsteps by building successful companies and helping others less fortunate. Along with their amazing spouses, they have produced five loving and talented grandchildren whose accomplishments serve served as key sources of joy.
Some of Al’s favorite family and friend activities involved the great outdoors. He was an active runner who completed multiple marathons. He loved to fish, hunt and barbeque in his beloved Texas. As much as he loved wildlife, his favorite outdoor activity was watching his grandchildren. He would travel across the state and country to watch one of his grandchildren play baseball or compete in a swim meet. He simply loved his family. Al was a fourth generation Texan and did all he could to help Texas be a great place to live for all Texans.
Al is survived by his wife Elizabeth Lehman Napier, sons Lanham and JB Napier, and their spouses Dacia Hammerick Napier and Laura Crystal Napier, and grandchildren Cade, Avery, Jack, Ben and Margaret. Al’s sister Missy Napier Eckenrod and her family reside in Florida.
Al is survived by nephews, nieces, cousins, friends and the thousands of lives he touched in and out of the classroom.
Friends are cordially invited to join the family in celebration and tribute at two different receptions.
Fredericksburg and San Antonio based friends are invited to join the family on May 5th at 2 pm at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, TX for a funeral service.
Following the funeral service on May 5th, a celebration party will be held in San Antonio from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Argyle Club.
Houston based friends are invited to join the family on May 6th from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Cohen House Rice University Faculty Club.
Al got around Texas a bunch, so we’re going to have a couple of parties to celebrate his life.
In 2019 the H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge was started to continue Al’s legacy of entrepreneurship by sponsoring a business plan competition. In 2022 the H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge grew to 84 teams competing for different prize levels.