Franci J. Blassberg ’75, JD ’77, whose volunteer service to Cornell University spans more than three decades, credits her time on the Hill for broadening her worldview at a young age— connecting her to new possibilities even to this day.

“My loyalty to Cornell runs deep, mostly because I am very grateful for the opportunities that a Cornell education provided to me,” she said. “I came from a small town in western Massachusetts; my worldview was pretty narrow. When I got to Cornell, it expanded dramatically.”

Franci was accepted early decision, and became a college scholar as a first-year student, which allowed her to design her own interdisciplinary course of study in the College of Arts and Sciences—integrating a history major with early American studies. On weekends, she hosted a magazine-format news interview show for WVBR called “This Sunday.”

A friend inspired Franci to apply to law school at Cornell during her junior year: fellow 2024 FHTR recipient, Wayne P. Merkelson ’73, JD ’75. Both Wayne and Franci attended Cornell Law School through the accelerated 3+3 Program, which allows students to complete both their undergraduate and JD degrees in six years by spending their senior year taking law classes.

Upon graduation, Franci became an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where she worked her entire career until she retired as a partner in 2012.

As her career progressed, she began giving back to Cornell, donating initially to reciprocate for the scholarships she had received as a student. Soon, Franci began volunteering her time and talent with the President’s Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) and the Law School Advisory Council.

Franci credits Harold Tanner ’52, then chair of Cornell’s Board of Trustees, for encouraging her involvement in Cornell University Council (CUC) and later on the Board of Trustees. Franci is now an emeritus member of PCCW, past chair and member of both the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Council and the Law School Advisory Council, a trustee emeritus of the Cornell University Board of Trustees and a presidential councillor.

“I think I may have learned more being a Cornell trustee and adjunct professor, and being a Cornell volunteer, than I did during my years as a student at Cornell!” Franci said. “It’s been a very fulfilling opportunity to learn a lot about higher education, to learn in depth about the institution itself, and to learn about the role of higher education in our society.”

Maintaining her volunteer commitments over the years, Franci said, has been doubly gratifying because of the incredible people with whom she has connected and reconnected. Franci has also taught various courses online and in-person for Cornell Law School, which led to a happy accident: being on campus the same time that her daughter, Lee Rice ’16, was a student.

“It permitted her to ignore us from close by as opposed to from a distance, except when she had a lot of laundry!” Franci laughed. “I actually took a course every semester that I was teaching on campus and that gave me a whole new perspective on what it’s like to be a college student in the twenty-first century.”

Franci and her husband, Joseph L. Rice III, have provided professorships and scholarships to Cornell—including ones in memory of her parents and a professorship at the Law School. Franci and Joe have also created tangible legacies on Cornell campus, with the Blassberg-Rice Rotunda in Klarman Hall, and most recently, with the Blassberg-Rice Center for Entrepreneurship Law at the Law School and at Cornell Tech.

“This center is designed to engage more students and fund additional professors who will teach ‘practical lawyering,’” Franci said, speaking of the clinical service and teaching method. Cornell Law students that participate in the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic help represent entrepreneurs and startups that cannot afford paid legal counsel for their businesses.

Set to open on the Cornell Tech Campus this year, the center will expand the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic so that students can spend time learning and working directly with entrepreneurial businesses in New York City as well as in Ithaca.

“As an alumna who has a capacity to be helpful to current and future students, it has been my great joy to do so,” Franci said. “I recognize the significant role that higher education plays in changing people’s lives, and I am grateful to be able to help make that happen for others— just as it did for me.”