Speeches

I will forever have a special connection to this class, the Class of 2024. While you were starting as freshmen at Rice, I was starting as your new provost and chief academic officer. You started pursuing your Rice degree during a pandemic that shook the way we and the world operated; you undoubtedly were robbed of precious moments to engage in person with others on campus. You also have been at Rice during an unbelievable time of transition and you were in college during what many consider the most complicated time in modern history. Yet, here you are today, more resilient and adaptive than ever and ready to face life with the firsthand knowledge that change and challenges are not meant to be feared but to be hurdled and overcome.

President Reginald DesRoches outlined his 2024 goals to faculty in his annual State of the University address. The address has been formalized in the Faculty Senate constitution and happens annually. Its purpose is to give faculty an idea of where Rice is as a university and where it is headed in the years to come. 

Members of the Class of 2027 — On behalf of the deans, magisters, faculty, administrative leadership, staff, alumni and all members of the university community, WELCOME TO RICE! And, to our new students who are transfer students, we extend an especially warm welcome. I’m Reginald DesRoches, president of Rice University. I’m grateful to be here with you this evening and to welcome you to Rice.

Welcome to Rice University’s 110th Commencement. I am Reginald DesRoches, President of Rice University. Many of you in cap and gown know me as Reggie. When we made the decision to combine the commencement and graduation ceremonies into one this year, a consequence was shortening the president’s remarks, which, I know, makes you very disappointed. So, let me get started.

President Reginald DesRoches outlined his 2023 goals to faculty in his first State of the University address. The address has been formalized in the Faculty Senate constitution and happens annually. Its purpose is to give faculty an idea of where Rice is as a university and where it is headed in the years to come. 

Distinguished and welcome guests, a heartfelt thank you for being here. I am truly honored. And I am humbled. For as I look around, what I see is excellence. I see excellence in what surrounds us — the magnificence of these grounds, the elevated architecture, and our many donors who have given so generously to Rice over the years to make this possible. 

Let us remember that throughout almost all of human history, people looked into the night sky and beheld the moon as a distant wonder, something eternally out of reach. Flying to the moon was a metaphor for the impossible.

Members of the Class of 2026 — On behalf of the deans, magisters, faculty, administrative leadership, staff and all members of the university community, welcome to Rice! And to our new students who are transfer students, we extend an especially warm welcome.