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President

Employer
University of Rhode Island
Location
Rhode Island

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Executive Administration Jobs
Presidents & Chancellors
Institution Type
Four-Year Institution

Job Details

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.

 

 

Organization

The University of Rhode IslandURI Picture 1

Founded in 1892, this land and sea grant university is the flagship public research institution in Rhode Island, enrolling more than 14,500 undergraduate students and 2,000 graduate students.

Thinking big
URI is home to some of today’s leading innovators, discoverers, and creative problem solvers and is known regionally and worldwide for its big ideas and pioneering research in such areas as environmental studies, neuroscience, biotechnology and life sciences, engineering, marine sciences, forensic sciences, pharmaceuticals, behavioral sciences, and public health promotion. A strong core of traditional academic disciplines provides the foundation for all specialized, professional, and applied areas of study. The University receives about $60 million annually in federal funding for research across 87 undergraduate and 70 graduate degree programs.

Motivated students, engaged faculty

Nearly 23,000 students applied for fewer than 3,300 openings in the 2017 freshman class, which boasts an average grade point average of 3.54. The 17 to 1 student/faculty ratio allows for personal attention and rewarding teaching experiences. Approximately 87 percent of faculty hold terminal degrees. In 2018 URI produced two Fulbright Scholars, five Boren Scholars, a Truman Scholar, and was named a one of the country’s top Gilman scholar-producing schools. URI’s commitment to diversity is demonstrated through its student body, with 43 states and 65 nations represented and 20 percent of students identifying as persons of color, a 65 percent increase since 2008.

Four campuses, one community

URI’s main campus is located on 1,248 acres in rural Kingston, where the campus core — including a quadrangle surrounded by handsome granite buildings — is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Six miles from Rhode Island’s beaches, this campus is conveniently situated along the Boston to New York corridor. The University’s renowned Graduate School of Oceanography is located at the 165-acre Narragansett Bay Campus. The Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies brings higher education to downtown Providence. Nearby, the 133,000-square-foot Rhode Island Nursing Education Center URI Picture 2includes unparalleled simulation labs. The W. Alton Jones Campus — 2,300 acres of forests, lakes, and farmland in West Greenwich — provides a secluded setting for academic research, environmental education, business meetings and special events.

 

Investing in the future
Since 2007, the University has invested $607 million in campus capital projects, including: a $150 million engineering complex, due to open in 2019; Brookside, another new apartment-style residence hall, 2019; a Welcome Center, 2018; the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center, 2017; Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences, 2016; and Avedisian Hall, home to the College of Pharmacy, 2012.

 

Expertise on demand

The University is home to several centers of expertise that tackle some of society’s most vexing challenges. The George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience brings multi-disciplinary research to bear on devastating brain diseases, such as ALS and Alzheimer’s. The Digital Forensics and Cyber Security Center supports state, national, and international public welfare through education, research, training, and service. The Business Engagement Center is the “front door” through which industry taps into research and training opportunities and assistance with intellectual property or technology issues. The R.I. Food Center brings URI’s agricultural roots to the 21st century as a resource for farmers, consumers, retailers, and others across the food industry

Company info
Telephone
401-874-1000
Location
80 Lower College Road
North Kingston
Rhode Island
02881
US

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