PROVIDENCE – Stephen R. Hourahan has been hired as senior vice president of marketing and communications at Bank Rhode Island (Nasdaq: BARI), replacing William DeWitt, who left the bank earlier this month.

Hourahan had been the director of public affairs at marketing/public relations/advertising firm Duffy & Shanley for two years. The bank had retained Duffy & Shanley about 1½ years ago, with Hourahan overseeing the account.

BankRI has not officially announced DeWitt’s departure, or Hourahan’s hiring. But the bank disclosed the “termination” of DeWitt’s contract on Jan. 7 in a SEC filing last week.

Hourahan indicated that DeWitt, who according to the bank’s profile on Yahoo!Finance was earning a salary of $211,000, had left of his own accord.

“He has decided to move on,” Hourahan said.

DeWitt could not be reached for comment.

Hourahan, who had been communications director for then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee before joining Duffy & Shanley, said he will oversee a staff of six in the bank’s marketing department.

Bancorp Rhode Island Inc. (Nasdaq: BARI), based in Providence, is the parent of Bank Rhode Island, a state-chartered, FDIC-insured institution with 16 branches in Providence, Kent and Washington counties. Additional information about BankRI and its parent company is available at BankRI.com.