RICE, JAMES P.

RICE, JAMES P. (1913–1997), U.S. organization executive. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Rice graduated from Case Western University and received a master's degree in social administration from Adelbert College. From 1936 to 1945 he served as a caseworker and later as an administrator in Cleveland, Chicago, and New York. At the end of World War II he was appointed by the american jewish joint distribution committee to supervise its program for the resettlement of Jewish refugees in Italy, France, Switzerland, and Austria, where he oversaw programs that helped more than 500,000 Holocaust survivors. From 1955 to 1966 he served as executive director of United HIAS Service, in which capacity he worked to strengthen the organization's ties with other international Jewish bodies. During this period he also served as representative to the United Nations on behalf of the International Council on Jewish Social and Welfare Services, working with government officials to codify a new immigration law that would ease entry restrictions for refugees. Rice then served as executive vice president of the Jewish Federation/Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago (1966–79). He helped the federation form a merger and structured a reorganization plan that expanded its services to people in need. After his retirement, Rice served as a consultant to several organizations, such as the United Jewish Appeal and Chicago's Council for Jewish Elderly. (Hillel Halkin / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)