作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2021年8月20日

1967年，李•里奇在博彩平台（萨克拉门托 State）获得工程学学位，并在硅谷开始了自己的职业生涯，他得到了一份称心如意的工作：为美国宇航局（NASA）的阿波罗登月任务制作电路板。

“It’s still transmitting signals today,” said Ritchey, founder and president of Speeding Edge, an international training and consulting company based in the Bay Area.

• 囊状态 celebrates six individuals by bestowing on them the University’s highest honors

Ritchey took the skills he acquired at 囊状态 and wired them into a career as one of the world’s top authorities on high-speed circuit and system design. 多年来，他也慷慨地为大学付出了时间和金钱。

由于他的贡献，他将于2021年获得荣誉科学博士学位，该学位是在8月11日的仪式上授予的。

在他的职业生涯中，里奇一直渴望帮助他人成功。 随着他在科技行业的发展，他发现许多年轻工程师在采购、营销和人力资源等领域缺乏关键的领导技能。

“There were no mentors, no senior engineers to pass along these fundamental skills because people were creating things, making millions of dollars, and getting out of the business,” he said. “I thought, ‘This needs to be fixed.’ ”

Ritchey’s company, founded in 1994, offers consulting and training courses that represent “real world” challenges that engineers can apply to their current or future design projects. 他经常在Sac州立大学担任客座讲师，并向工程与计算机科学学院（ECS）、校友会和Sac州立基金捐款。 He also is a member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle.

Three years ago, Ritchey helped launch the college’s Hornet Leadership Program. 该项目现在为数百名学生提供服务，提供奖学金，赞助会议，并与行业权威机构建立联系。

Lorenzo Smith, a former ECS dean, wrote in a letter nominating Ritchey for an honorary doctorate that Ritchey “gives his time, treasures and talent to 萨克拉门托 State students as if it were part of his job. In doing so, he sows seeds of inspiration to others.”

里奇说，Sac州立大学为他在技术领域取得成功奠定了基础。 He cautioned, however, that “the field changes very fast,” and engineers need to continually educate and reinvent themselves.

“You’ve got to make sure you keep learning,” he said, “because tomorrow you’re going to be doing something you’ve never done before.”

里奇在美国空军担任电子专家后就读于Sac州立大学。 他的最后一次任务是在北高地的前麦克莱伦空军基地。

“I decided I needed to get an Engineering degree, and right across town was this place called 囊状态,” he said.

由于注册时的一个行政错误，里奇最初被拒绝进入大学。 However, with determination and a little help from the dean’s office, he got in and went on to be a top electrical engineering student who was active in the campus community, serving as student body vice president  during his senior year.

他说，几十年后，里奇仍然以帮助年轻工程师取得成功为乐。

“I want to make sure kids can get the benefit of my experience,” Ritchey said. “Over the years, I’ve taught more than 11,000 students. When the light bulb goes on in their heads, it’s wonderful. It only takes one, and it just makes your day.”