大侠行天下日记 我见我闻我思 11/13

海地移民成為莱斯大学校长

世界闻名的休斯敦莱斯大学校董会正式宣布，任命该校建筑学院院长狄罗琪教授接长校务， 成為该校建校百年来的非裔校长

狄罗琪博士也是首位移民之子，出掌全球驰名的私立大学， 他出生在海地首都太子港， 也是一位全国知名的地震专家， 他在接受任命时表示， 他将继续现任校长李布朗所奠定之优良学术传统。

莱斯大学是由威廉莱斯先生捐助，於一九一二年成立 ，当年只对白人学生开放， 在疫情期间， 学生们曾要求把他的铜像移走， 因為他当年是黑奴的主人。

為了应对学生之抗争，该校已经设立族群和谐办公室， 希望平息学生之不满情绪。

我们在此也要特别感谢即将御任的李布郎校长及夫人， 过去十八年来 ，他们对休斯敦及德州做出之卓越贡献， 莱斯大学培养之优秀学生已经成為社会之中坚。

美南新闻集团属下的国际贸易中心曾经得到该校第一夫人孙月萍之协助下， 先后多次在该校商学院及贝克中心召开德非经贸高峯会， 促进国际文化及贸易交流。

我们也非常欣幸在休斯敦之莱斯大学今后在狄罗琪校长之领导下，继续走向多元国际化之道路，也要恭祝这位苦学成功的移民之子 出人头地 ，為大家争光， 这难道不是只有在美国才会发生的事吗？！

First Black Immigrant Becomes Rice’s President

Rice University’s Board of Trustees has named Dr. Reginald DesRoches to be the university’s next president. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and is the first black immigrant and first engineer to lead the private research university.

As an internationally recognized engineer and earthquake expert, DesRoches will succeed President Davis Leebron who announced he is stepping down this summer. 

DesRoches said in his statement that he is deeply honored to be named the next president of Rice and looks forward to building on the tradition of excellence established by President Leebron and those who served before him.

Rice University was established after William Rice set aside money before he died to help start the university in 1912 with the stipulation that it only served white Texans. Throughout the pandemic, the students demanded removal of a monument on the Rice campus and said Rice was a slaveholder. 

We really appreciate over the last eighteen years President Leebron and First Lady Ping Sun’s contribution to our local and global community, especially because we have had the opportunity to sponsor many international events with Rice through the president’s office. Their help and support has included the Texas African Summit event at the Baker Institute. 

We are so happy that we will have such an outstanding son of immigrants who has become a top leader at one of the world’s most famous universities. This could only happen in America.