Ronald K. Machtley

The ideal of a university aloft in an ivory tower, unruffled by the noise and dirt of commerce, if it every truly existed, is dead and unmourned in Rhode Island, most particularly at Bryant University.

Ronald K. Machtley, Bryant’s president since 1996, has led the institution headlong into developing innovative learning methods and global partnerships.

Like its higher education counterparts in Rhode Island, Bryant considers itself responsible to function partly as an economic engine for the state. That function always carries the banner of innovation.

Many of Byrant’s innovations under Machtley’s tenure have happened on campus. Examples are the First-Year Gateway curriculum initiated in 2012, the establishment of the School of Health Sciences in 2014, and the creation of the Academic Innovation Center to open in 2016.

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Externally, Machtley drove Bryant to reach around the globe. In the early 2000s Machtley believed Bryant would need to cultivate international education if it wanted to stay relevant. In 2005-2006 Bryant founded the U.S.-China Institute and the Confucius Institute. Last year, the university opened a new undergraduate program in Zhuhai, China. And, if all goes as planned, a replica of a piece of Beijing’s Forbidden City will become a fixture of Bryant’s Smithfield campus.

The school’s reach is beyond its academic mission in many ways as well, the most obvious being its annual Women’s Summit. Machtley’s wife, Kati, is behind that event, which brings in national speakers to help women gain career insight. It sells out in hours every year, bringing more than 1,000 women to the campus. •

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