Condoleezza Rice is almost a year younger than me but she got her doctor's degree three years before I got mine. She went straight from completing her Ph.D. at the University of Denver to becoming a professor at Stanford in 1981. She and I were at Stanford at the same time for about three years (I probably saw her in the cafeteria). As a professor of political science, Dr. Rice won two of the highest teaching honors -- the 1984 Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 1993 School of Humanities and Sciences Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching. By June 1999, she had risen from an entry level professor to Provost of Stanford University.

Here's part that tickles me: Apparently she's a gifted musician. She was performing piano recitals by the time she was four, but decided to give up a music career when she felt she would never reach the upper echelon of the field. She couldn't be the best pianist on the planet so she opted instead to be Secretary of State and (who knows) maybe President of the United States.

If she runs for President, I'll vote for her.

Gary