Katharine Shilcutt joined the Office of Research as Director of Communications following two years as Rice's Director of Student Media and a four-and-a-half-year stint doing news and media relations for the university.

Prior to Rice, Katharine was the managing editor of Houstonia Magazine and the James Beard-nominated food critic for the Houston Press. She also co-hosted The Full Menu on KUHF 88.7 for three years and regularly represented Houston’s dining scene on local and national television. Katharine’s work has been republished in Best American Food Writing anthologies and honored with multiple Association of Food Journalist Awards.

Katharine is a native Houstonian and seventh-generation Texan who did not graduate from Rice but loves it more than her alma mater anyway. When she’s not cooking or eating out with friends, you can find her doing laps or yoga at the Rec Center or binge-watching “Community” for the 67th time. A former travel writer and mediocre polyglot, Katharine still loves to leave the city/state/country as frequently as possible. She lives in a little old house with her husband and two dogs, who feature heavily on her Instagram account.