Rice University announces new leadership and plans to again expand enrollment

Great change is happening at Rice University, from a new president, to the launch of a capital campaign, to expanding enrollment.

Welcoming a New President

Reginald DesRoches, who is now serving as the university’s provost, has been named as the next president of Rice University. He will begin his new post in July. Rice’s Board of Trustees selected DesRoches, an internationally recognized structural engineer and earthquake resilience expert, after a nationwide search for an academic leader to take command at one of the nation’s premier institutions of higher learning.

DesRoches has been provost since David Leebron, Rice’s current president, appointed him the university’s chief academic officer in 2020. As provost, he 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.

Under DesRoches’ leadership, Rice has launched several new majors and professional master’s programs, including a new undergraduate business major. He has established the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which has been instrumental in dramatically increasing the diversity of Rice’s faculty and graduate student population. He also is leading the first major expansion of the undergraduate student body in over a decade.

DesRoches has been at Rice since 2017, when he accepted the post as the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering at the George R. Brown School of Engineering. During his time as dean, the school increased in size, visibility and program rankings. It also underwent significant growth in research programs. Several key interdisciplinary initiatives were launched during DesRoches’ term as dean, including new efforts in the areas of neuroengineering and synthetic biology. He also led the establishment of the collaborative research center, the first of its kind, in India with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

“Reggie DesRoches is an outstanding choice as Rice’s next president,” Leebron said. “I have had the privilege of working closely with Reggie over the last four and a half years, first in his capacity as dean of engineering and then as provost, and observed firsthand his extraordinary leadership, values, thoughtfulness and ambition for Rice”

David Leebron

DesRoches, who will assume the role in July 2022, earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, a Master of Science in civil engineering degrees and a doctorate in structural engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He has become a nationally recognized expert on earthquake resilience and has testified before U.S. House and Senate committees. He currently chairs the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology National Construction Safety Team, which is overseeing the investigation of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, Florida. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has authored over 300 technical publications and mentored more than 30 doctoral students, many of whom hold faculty positions at top universities around the world. DesRoches is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in Civil Engineering at Berkeley and was recently named an honorary alumnus of Georgia Tech.

“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.”

Reginald DesRoches

Expansion at Rice

As student interest in obtaining a Rice education continues to grow, the university recently announced that it will again expand graduate and undergraduate enrollment. Having successfully completed an approximately 35% increase in undergraduate enrollment between fall 2005 and 2013, plans were recently announced to further expand enrollment. The university believes it has put together a thoughtful proposal to ensure the best aspects of Rice’s culture and student experience are maintained along with the highest academic standards.

The undergraduate student body currently stands at 4,000 and will expand by 800 students by fall 2025. Graduate enrollment will also expand by a similar count. This expansion comes at a time when interest in a Rice education is at an all-time high. Over the last few years, applications submitted have grown by approximately 75% with Rice receiving 30,000 applications for fall 2021. This equates to about 28 applicants for every student opening.

What makes this growth available is the Rice Investment, an increasingly generous financial aid package that Rice introduced in 2019. Through this remarkable plan, the university hopes to increase the diversity of its student body and expand support for low- and middle-income families

In addition to growing student enrollment, on-campus housing will be expanded to accommodate this larger student body, and faculty will grow by approximately 50 full-time instructional faculty (to maintain the student-instructor ratio of 6:1).

Adding to the possibilities a new presidency and expanded enrollment brings, the following are a few of the many significant, positive developments on campus that make this a remarkable time for Rice University:

In spring 2021, a $2 billion Be Bold capital campaign was launched at Rice. It’s the largest fundraising effort in university history.

A $100 million gift from the Moody Foundation will fund the construction of a new student center and support other student programs.

The Welch Foundation provided a $100 million grant to launch the Welch Institute for Advanced Materials.

Construction on the new engineering and sciences building began in summer 2021.

Work is about to begin on a new visual and dramatic arts building.

Expanded research capabilities are planned in the areas of clean energy, materials research and new technologies for national security.

The university was invited to join the American Athletic Conference, which coincides with a renewed commitment to athletics at Rice.

Visit unconventional.rice.edu to see some of the incredible things already happening at Rice and learn more about how we are defining Unconventional Wisdom.