Our Next President

In November, the Rice Board of Trustees selected Reginald DesRoches, an internationally recognized structural engineer and earthquake resilience expert, to succeed President David Leebron, who previously announced his plan to step down after the end of the current academic year.

“When President Leebron told us he was stepping down, we knew we wanted to build upon what he has accomplished these last 18 years,” said Robert Ladd ’78, chairman of the board of trustees. “We embarked on a search for a proven leader who will be transformational, who will lead Rice to even greater stature and national recognition. We have found a leader who is inspirational and universally respected, a leader who is visionary, strategic and kind.”

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, DesRoches was raised in the New York City borough of Queens. A boyhood love of science and math encouraged him to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. While studying at the University of California, Berkeley, DesRoches witnessed the damage wrought by the historic 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. That experience led him to focus on earthquake resiliency as he pursued his master’s and doctoral degrees in structural engineering at Berkeley.

“I am excited to continue working with the university’s outstanding faculty, students, staff, alumni and community partners to grow the visibility and impact of our research and dedication to the greater good,” DesRoches said. “I look forward to maintaining our commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education as well as our core values of diversity, equity and inclusion. I firmly believe Rice is poised and well positioned to reach even greater heights of impact and excellence.”

As provost, DesRoches has led the university’s academic, research, scholarly and creative activities through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the sudden suspension of classroom instruction and Rice’s successful conversion to remote learning. He has dramatically increased the university’s research awards, launched several new centers and institutes, and forged new partnerships and programs with institutions and organizations. DesRoches came to Rice in 2017, when he accepted the post as the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering at the George R. Brown School of Engineering.

“I have had the privilege of working closely with Reggie over the last 4 1/2 years, first in his capacity of dean of engineering and then as provost, and observed firsthand his extraordinary leadership, values, thoughtfulness and ambition for Rice,” Leebron said.

DesRoches’ wife, Paula, is the director of employee health and occupational medicine at Houston Methodist. They have three children: Andrew, Jacob and Shelby. Shelby is a Rice student in the Class of 2023.

— Doug Miller

Read more about Reginald DesRoches at provost.rice.edu/about.