President

Search for the President

The University of Rhode Island, the essential land, sea, and urban, public research university for the State of Rhode Island, and an institution on a remarkable trajectory to the next tier of excellence, seeks its next president.

URI enrolls over 17,000 students organized across nine colleges and schools. It has undergone significant transformation in the past decade, with remarkable increases in retention and graduation alongside reductions in the achievement gap. Drawn by an increasingly rich academic and social experience and competitive pricing, students increasingly seek a URI education, with applications up 40 percent since 2009. Fifty-two percent of URI students come from Rhode Island and 48 percent from out of state and 75 countries. URI has nearly 1,200 faculty members, two-thirds full-time, with more than half of the full-time faculty hired in the past decade. This increasingly vibrant and scholarly faculty have propelled steady improvement in sponsored research, growing from $65 million in 2010 to over $104 million in external awards in 2020.

URI has also been an astute steward of its finances, leveraging public support to make over $900 million in capital investments in the past 10 years. In Fall 2020, URI publicly launched its most ambitious capital campaign to date, a $250-million effort that has already raised over $180 million. In an act of abiding public trust, the state reorganized the University's governance, creating an independent seventeen-member board composed of both self-perpetuating trustees and public appointees.

As it turns to the next decade, URI desires an innovative leader who can sustain and accelerate the University's impressive trajectory-someone with experience managing complex budgets and multiple constituencies in a higher education setting. URI aims to provide the finest holistic student experience available and to do so at a competitive cost. The president should be a scholarly and interdisciplinary leader capable of promoting and elevating faculty-driven research and who can persuasively communicate campus accomplishments to new and existing supporters. Moreover, the University's success must be premised on equity and justice. The president must be a champion for all faculty, staff, and students, especially the most historically marginalized members of our society. Unimpeachable ethics and commitment to transparency and shared governance are essential. The URI community seeks a president who can harness their pride and enthusiasm and lead them toward another transformational decade.

The University of Rhode Island has retained the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to assist in this important search. Please direct all inquiries, nominations, referrals, and applications in strict confidence to:

John Isaacson, Chair

Monroe “Bud” Moseley, Partner

David Chy, Associate

Isaacson, Miller

www.imsearch.com/7654

It is the policy of the University of Rhode Island not to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, color, creed, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship status, genetic information, marital status, AIDS/HIV and domestic abuse victim, homelessness or discriminate against disabled and Vietnam era veterans in the recruitment, admission or treatment of students, the recruitment, hiring or treatment of faculty and staff, and in the operation of its activities and programs, as specified by State and Federal Laws, including the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments to the Higher Education Act, Executive Order 11246, as amended, New Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended, Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and all other laws which pertain to access and equity.

The University of Rhode Island is committed to the principles of Affirmative Action and the attainment of Equal Employment and Equal Educational opportunities for all qualified individuals. The Director of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity and Diversity has been designated by the President as the person who shall have overall responsibility for the implementation and maintenance of such programs. For further information, please contact the Affirmative Action Office at (401) 874-2442.