The Journey Has Begun

Not a cloud was in the sky Oct. 22, 2022, as Rice celebrated the latest chapter in its storied 110-year history with the investiture of Reginald DesRoches as the school’s eighth president.  

It was a thrilling day for both the university as a whole and for DesRoches himself, the Haiti-born and Queens, New York-raised civil engineer who previously served as chair of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology before being named Rice’s William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering and, later, university provost.

Though DesRoches assumed his post in July, his inauguration marked his official recognition as the university’s chief executive. DesRoches, Rice’s first Black president, is also the first immigrant and the first engineer to lead the institution since its founding in 1912.

Rice Board of Trustees chairman Robert T. Ladd ’78 welcomed the representatives of over 150 colleges, universities and learned societies who bore witness to the day’s historic events.

DesRoches was lauded by speakers representing all corners of the university: undergraduate Student Association president Gabrielle Franklin, Graduate Student Association president Joshua Moore, Association of Rice Alumni President Toya Cirica Bell, Staff Council Chair Korin Brody and Faculty Council Speaker Alexandra Kieffer.

“We trust that you will guide us to remain true to what we are: a university that fosters an environment of respect, understanding and growth for all students,” Franklin said.

Presidents, like engineers, do not do their work alone. I will need the help of all of you — your ideas, your support, your hard work and your dedication — as we build a better university that helps build a better world.

Keynote speaker Ruth Simmons — the trailblazing former president of Prairie View A&M University and Rice trustee emerita who previously led Brown University as the Ivy League’s first Black president — was touched to be part of the day’s proceedings given her mentorship of DesRoches over the years.'

Simmons expounded on the significance of DesRoches’s ascendance to Rice’s presidency. She framed his appointment in light of both university founder William Marsh Rice’s generosity in bequeathing his fortune to establish an ambitious university in Houston as well as his desire that the university bearing his name would admit only white students, a provision of Rice’s will that was overturned decades later.

“Given this historic context, what does it mean to have a president of Reginald’s race and background assume responsibility to carry on the legacy of William Marsh Rice’s vision?” Simmons asked.

“I think it means everything,” she said. “His appointment proves once again that whatever the limitations of our vision in our time, future generations can never be permanently bound by them.”

“The nation is calling for leadership, and this university has answered,” said Simmons, one of DesRoches’ closest mentors. After receiving his presidential robe and medal, DesRoches addressed the crowd in the Academic Quadrangle. 

“As an engineer, I am someone who solves problems. But Rice is not by any means a problem to be solved,” DesRoches said. “Engineers build things, small and large, and engineers make things better, stronger and more efficient. As president, I’ve been given the opportunity to build a stronger university starting with the firm foundation that Rice has today.

“Presidents, like engineers, do not do their work alone,” he continued. “I will need the help of all of you — your ideas, your support, your hard work and your dedication — as we build a better university that helps build a better world.”   — Schaefer Edwards 

Read the full text of President DesRoches' address here. Or watch a video of the ceremony at the link below.

Read a copy of Rice trustee emerita Ruth Simmons' speech on the Rice History Corner blog, posted here.