Reginald Desroches to replace David LeBron as President of Rice University

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HOUSTON—Rice University’s Board of Trustees has chosen Reginald Desroches, now the school’s dean, to be the university’s next president.

De Roches, born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is the first immigrant, first black man, and first engineer to lead a private research university. Desroches, the internationally recognized structural engineer and earthquake expert, will succeed President David LeBron, who previously announced his plan to step down next summer after the school year ends.

“I am deeply honored to be appointed as the next president of Rice University,” DeRoch said in a written statement. “The past four and a half years at Rice have been among the most rewarding of my career, and I look forward to building on the tradition of excellence established by President LeBron and those who have served before him.”

Desroches will take over as the university’s eighth president on July 1.

“When President LeBron told us he was stepping down, we knew we wanted to build on what he had accomplished over the past 18 years,” Robert Ladd, chair of the Board of Trustees, said in a written statement. “We set out to search for a proven leader who would be transformational, and who would lead Rice to greater stature and national recognition. We have found an inspiring and globally respected leader, a leader with vision, strategy, and kindness. We are proud to welcome Reginald Desroches as the next president of our university.”

Rice was founded in Houston after William “Willy” Rice set aside money before his death which helped start the school in 1912 on the condition that it only served white Texans.

Throughout the pandemic, Rice’s students have demanded the removal of a monument on the campus of Lolly Rice, a slave owner. The students’ batch was part of widespread protests across the state and nation condemning the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and calling for students to end racial injustice.

At Rice, 7% of students are black or African American.

DeRoch has already begun to address Rice’s race issues. As Chief Academic Officer, he established the Office of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. DesRoches has also led the university’s academic, research, scientific and creative activities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

De Roche arrived at Rice in 2017 as Dean of Engineering at the George R. Brown School of Engineering. During de Roches’ tenure as Dean, the department underwent significant growth in its research programs, including new efforts in the fields of neuroengineering and synthetic biology. He also led the establishment of the first-of-its-kind Collaborative Research Center in India with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

Prior to joining Rice, Desroches was chair of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech. His work there stemmed from his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. As an undergraduate, DesRoches witnessed the damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. This experience led him to focus on earthquake resistance while pursuing his master’s and doctoral degrees at Berkeley.

Since then, Desroches has become a nationally recognized expert in earthquake resistance and has testified before United States House and Senate committees. He heads the National Building Safety Team, an agency within the US Department of Commerce overseeing an investigation into the collapse of the Champlain Towers South complex in Surfside, Florida. Previously he served on the advisory committee for the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation.

“Reggie Desroches is a great choice as President for the next Rice,” LeBron said in a statement. “I have had the privilege of working closely with Reggie for the past four and a half years, first as Dean of Engineering and then as Dean, and have observed firsthand his extraordinary leadership, values, thinking and ambition for Rice. I am confident that he will fully fulfill the aspirations of our Be Bold campaign, and take Rice to new heights of achievement and impact.”

Disclosure: Rice University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial backers play no role in the Tribune press. Find a full list of them here.

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