Adult Team

Zach and Trisha Ball
Magisters

We are Zach and Trisha Ball, and we are honored and thrilled to serve as Magisters at Jones College, a diverse, vibrant community with a storied Beer Bike tradition. We are here to support Jones students throughout their journey at Rice and advise and assist them in running the college.

Zach is a professor in the Department of Chemistry. At Rice since 2006, his research group focuses on biological applications of organic and organometallic chemistry, including developing new synthetic methods for the preparation of therapeutics, biosensors, and new molecular tools to study biological pathways. He teaches organic and organometallic chemistry, and serves as director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering. Trisha has worked in writing, editing, and development capacities for academic and other non-profit organizations, including Development and Alumni Relations at Rice.

Prior to settling in Houston, we lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Zach completed graduate and postdoctoral training. We met in Boston as undergraduates at Harvard before jumping coasts to California. Trisha hails from Upstate New York and still aches for crisp fall and winter weather, though curiously didn’t learn to knit until moving to Houston. Zach is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and enjoys cooking, film, and cycling.   

We live with our two-legged and four-legged family in the Jones House adjacent to the residential halls. Our daughter Emilia is an artist, voracious reader, and friend to all animals. She’s devoted to our cats Hazel, Willow, and Inky, and is currently lobbying for a new pet. Emilia is in middle school at the Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, knows all there is to know about turkey vultures, and dreams of visiting New Zealand one day. As a family, we love camping, herb gardening, board games, and cinema. Stop by the house for a cup of coffee or tea and a chat about whatever is on your mind. We are excited to get to know everyone in the Jones community. 

Michelle Bennack 
College Coordinator

mrb4@rice.edu

Hello and welcome to Jones College!

My name is Michelle Bennack, and I am the Jones College Coordinator. I hold the keys to the kingdom of Jones so to speak. My office is located in “central” on the first floor by the Commons.

As the coordinator, I am here to help you through your college years and provide you with a variety of things: your mail, packages from home, stamps, envelopes, faxes, photocopies, answers to your queries, and so much more!

The office is a great place to hang out (there are great sofas in here) and take a breather in your day. You can jump on the office computer to print your plane tickets, homework and such. If you're lacking in energy, answer the daily quiz for candy correctly and you will be rewarded with a delicious treat. Also chilling in the office everyday is my golden retriever, Beau. He gives great hugs and plays a mean game of tug-o-war. Stop in anytime!

Kerri Barber 
Jones South RA

klb8@rice.edu

Kerri is a BoSox lovin’, Yankee hating, country music parrot-head that uses “wicked” and “y’all” in the same sentence. Kerri earned her B.S. in Sport Management from Ithaca College and was a member of the 2002 NCAA DIII National Championship softball team. Kerri is such a competitive player she thought it would be a great idea to play in the championship series with a busted ankle and broken nose (hey a fancy ring was worth it right?!?)

After spending four years bundled up in blankets and snow suits, Kerri realized she wanted to spend her days in flip flops and shorts. Since owning an island was way too expensive, she decided moving to hot-humid Houston was the answer. Kerri taught Physical Education and was the founding Athletic Director at the Southwest Campus of YES Prep Public Schools. Kerri was a Maverick for eight years until she made the wicked smart decision to become an Owl as the administrator for the Department of Sport Management. When she isn’t keeping her rowdy faculty in line, Kerri enjoys supporting the Houston sports scene, hosting TV watch parties (Game of Thrones & Bachelor), reliving her softball glory days, or indulging herself in the Houston brewery and food scenes. Kerri and her furbaby Bruin (or BruBru pup) are always together and have the same amount of energy, and you’ll never see them apart. They are both eager to meet anyone and everyone headed towards Jones!