Rice graduated MA in 1970 and was subsequently the first person to be awarded a history PhD by the University of Canterbury in 1974.

[5] Rice is best known for his detailed studies of the 1918 influenza pandemic and its effect on New Zealand[6][7] and Japan.

His book Black November (1988; second edition 2005) was the first country-level study of the 1918 influenza pandemic based on individual death records.

[18] In November 2019 Rice unveiled the 1918 Influenza Pandemic Memorial Plaque at Pukeahu Park alongside the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.

[19] In the 2021 New Year Honours, Rice was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to historical research and tertiary education.