Rice Graduate Among Those Affected By Haitian Hotel Collapse

​The tragedy in Haiti is hitting home pretty hard for some Rice people.

Alumna Diane (Berry) Caves, class of 2000, was in Port-Au-Prince, at the Hotel Montana, which was heavily damaged. She has not been heard from since.

Caves was in Haiti on an assignment for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her husband and friends hope to spread word of the situation with the thought it might spur rescue efforts at the hotel, where they say "sounds have been heard" in the debris.

There's a Facebook page dedicated to the effort on behalf of Caves and other victims at the hotel.

"On behalf of every member of the Rice community, let me extend our prayers and hopes for Diane's safety, our sympathy to Jeff and the rest of her family and friends during this heartrending time and our pledge to do whatever we can to help," said Vice President for Public Affairs Linda Thrane.  "We are saddened by all the suffering in Haiti and encourage all to join in fundraising and other relief efforts to help people there."