Universities of the Rhetor system

Rhetor is home to several of the most prestigious Universities of the UEE, and represents a system dedicated primarily to higher education. It was discovered in 2287, making it the second extrasolar system to be visited after Croshaw, and the first system known two jumps away from the Sol system. The Croshaw - Rhetor Jump Point was discovered by students from Martian Institute of Space and Technology. The school's then-president Adrianne Zemlock, a critic of the way that Croshaw had been colonised by corporate interests, ransomed the Jump Point location to the government in return for a quarter of the habitable or terraformed land being set aside for educational purposes.

Rhetor is also home to Rhetor University Press, a publishing company that in 2935 published Dr. Flower Raith's Humanity Verses the Universe. It is not clear if the press is associated with a specific institution.

Universities on Persei (Rhetor II)
Persei is home to much of the mineral wealth of the system, and an Elite Naval Guard garrison. Institutions on Persei are often engaged in classified governmental research, resulting in access being more restricted than most planets.

University of Persei
The University of Persei is a collegiate research university made up of several semi-independent colleges and institutes, including the famed Analytical Research and Quantification centre (UPARQ). It is the oldest University in the Rhetor system.

University of Persei Analytical Research and Quantification
The University of Persei Analytical Research and Quantification (UPARQ), based on Persei, is one of the most influential think tanks in the UEE. Much of the new technological advancement for the UEE is thought to originate here. Some of this government work is classified but energy-efficient quantum drives and improved thermal-resistant spacesuit fabric are believed to have originated there.

UPARQ Alumni and Faculty

 * Clara Douglas, co-founder of Rayari Inc., worked as an agricultural biotechnologist in the Agriculture Department in 2778.
 * Marcus Fayel, terraforming expert, founder of the Outsiders cult
 * Burl Hitchens, founder of MaxOx - Expelled
 * Magda Hurston, former CEO of Hurston Dynamics (2833-2921), responsible for the purchase of Stanton I by the corporation. Worked at UPARQ as an Intern.
 * Edward Kesamyn, co-founder of Rayari Inc., worked as a biochemist in the Agriculture Department in 2778.
 * Asif Reader, co-founder of Rayari Inc., worked as a geneticist in the Agriculture Department in 2778.
 * Thea Royce, Professor Emeritus.
 * Simone Visconti, founder of Basilisk - Dropped out after one year

Other Institutions on Persei
Founders of Caldera, Layth Brentano and Tetsuuya Lang, were provided with a research lab on Persei after graduation from the University of Rhetor. This lab was close to a Department of the Interior laboratory, where they met Akili Harris who is credited with inspiring the development of the Novikov "Expo" Armor and Pembroke Armor. Attempts to weaponise terraforming technology were conducted in a laboratory on Persei, under the codename Project Vespa. It is unclear whether these laboratories and institutions were associated with UPARQ or the University of Persei.

Universities on Reisse (Rhetor III)
Reisse has a reputation as a hotbed of progressive activism, and as the higher education destination of choice for people who wish to have a more sociable and party-filled University experience.

Carey University
Brian Ramsey, a chemist and researcher at Carey University, was credited as in expert in Maze rehabilitation and treating the 'disconnection' found in its users. He alleged that his former research partner Eva Anwar stole Maze for use in unregulated human experimentation. This was later confirmed by the Advocacy.

Other sources place Carey University in the town of Reis, on Lago in the Nexus system, where a Messer Scholar assisted Apocalypse Arms founder Dalton Colabello in tracking prototype weapons that would lead to his founding of the company.

Carey University Alumni and Faculty

 * Eva Anwar - Maze researcher, fugitive.
 * Brian Ramsey - chemist, expert in Maze rehabilitation.
 * Audra Zupan - Professor.

University of Rhetor
The University of Rhetor, founded in 2389 by a group of scholars who left the University of Persei due to a dispute over low salaries for adjunct professors, now offers a diverse range of subjects. In Humanities, the University houses archives documenting the history of the North American Alliance, and each year, eight students at the University of Rhetor receive the Ingstrom Fellowship for their work in the field of xenoarchaeology. In the field of Life Sciences, genetic researchers at the University of Rhetor created the Opera Mushroom, Pleurotus cornusymphonia, and the first Xiphopods discovered on Leir I were brought to the University for study. The University also trains engineers, has a paleontology department, as well as having a division of Geology: Rhetor researchers used krypton-81 dating to find the age of the glaciers of Helios IV.

University of Rhetor Alumni and Faculty

 * Wahid Allimon - Professor of Geology in 2945.
 * Layth Brentano and Tetsuuya Lang - founders of Caldera, studied engineering.
 * Pippa Broussard - Greycat Industrial CEO in 2380, daughter of founder Odis Broussard.
 * Galbeeti Desai - educator cited as an inspiration by Silas Koerner.
 * Members of the Ingstrom family, including Jovi Ingstrom and Theo Ingstrom - founders of Esperia, studied aerospace engineering.
 * Sydney Kamarck - Historian of Human and Political Systems from 2798 until her death in 2864. Author of The Path to Prime Citizen, in which she alleged that the Atrocity at Jata and other bombings that propelled Ivar Messer to power were conducted by his former squadmates, and not Xi'an spies as alleged at the time.
 * Vira Kamposi - stole the first known example of the Kamposi Magnus on Kampos (Ellis IV) from its discoverer, Gary Yahontov, while studying gravitational effects on local planet life.
 * Wallace Klim - Former chemical engineering instructor. Employment terminated for unknown causes.
 * Ruben Pardeu - Greycat Industrial engineer
 * T.yi - Xi'an expatriate, and acclaimed consultant, advisor, and translator of Xi'an-Human business dealings. Unsuccessfully nominated for the position of Ambassador to the Xi'an Empire in 2941.

Universities on Mentor (Rhetor IV)
Universities on the cold, boreal planet of Mentor are highly rated, and students are considered overall more studious than those on Reisse.

University of Mentor
The University of Mentor (UM) is a public research university on Mentor (Rhetor IV). Established shortly after the planet was terraformed, it is the oldest and largest institute of higher learning on Mentor. Its physical sciences and history programs are highly competitive, with 5 to 10% admissions rates for new students. UM’s reputation for rigorous, demanding study coupled with Mentor’s frigid environment may factor into the school’s relatively high dropout rate. The University of Mentor is responsible for maintenance and research efforts connected with the UEE's universal seed vaults.

In the late 27th century, a study conducted by the University of Mentor showed that on average, Ergo's residents lived longer than residents of other worlds.

University of Mentor Alumni and Faculty

 * Laylani Addison - Imperator. Formerly Professor of Integrated Science and Xenotechnology 2922-2931, and Dean of Applied Sciences from 2931 until stepping down to run for election in 2947.
 * Ramon Coen - first UEE Ambassador to the Xi'an Empire, former head of Xi'an Studies Department.
 * Terrell Dorazio - discovered the Rhetor - Idris Jump Point while studying at Mentor University in 2493.

Scaliger School of Medicine
The Scaliger School of Medicine was attended by BiotiCorp founders, Ted Santos and Diyo Nikolas, who met as doctoral students. Their collaboration began in a lab named 'Decon' for its overly sensitive decontamination system. The School later invested in their private venture. While the School is located on Mentor, BiotiCorp is now headquartered on Reisse.

Alumni and Faculty of Unknown Schools
The following individuals are known to have attended or worked for Universities in Rhetor, but their specific alma maters are not known:


 * Max Usu, legal professor specialising in inter-empire law with a focus on the Xi’An culture, who commented on the Jenk Gallen case.
 * Russel Valem, triple doctorate by age 24, inventor of the CHARIOT-engine prototype. Killed by his own invention in 2884, after the engine failed and exploded at the starting pad.