DesRoches at Rice investiture ceremony: 'I’ve been given the opportunity to build a stronger university'

Rice University formally inaugurated Dr. Reginald DesRoches as its eighth president on Saturday, per a press release.

The private research university in Houston held an investiture ceremony for DesRoches, who ascended to the presidency in July upon the retirement of Dr. David Leebron, which was attended by not just faculty, staff and students, but representatives from over 150 institutions and entities, the release said. 

Rice Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Ladd presided over the ceremony.

According to Rice, the Haiti-born and New York City-raised DesRoches referred to his engineering background when it comes to leading the 110-year-old school.

“As an engineer, I am someone who solves problems,” he said, per the release. “But Rice is not by any means a problem to be solved. 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.”

Before he was named president, DesRoches served as Rice’s provost, and prior to that, the chair of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech, the release said.

He hold a few distinction’s as Rice’s leader: the university’s first black president, its first immigrant president and its first president who’s an engineer by profession.

“Presidents, like engineers, do not do their work alone,” DesRoches said, according to the release. “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.”

Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported that DesRoches is a married father of three, with one of his offspring attending Rice.

“We run into each other periodically on campus and she’ll give me a halfway hug,” he lightheartedly told KPRC. “No, but they are really proud.”

The station reported that aside from a lengthy, multi-decorated career in civil engineering, DesRoches was also a researcher, educator and leader.