SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Sean E. Rogers, University of Rhode Island’s current vice president for community, equity and diversity, has been named the new dean for the university’s College of Business and the Alfred J. Verrechia-Hasbro Inc. Leadership chairman URI announced Monday.
Rogers will assume his new role in leading the business college on June 4. He replaces former dean Maling Ebrahimpour, who last June stepped back from the dean’s role and is now a supply chain professor for URI College of Business. Shaw Chen has been acting as dean in an interim capacity since then and will continue that role until June 4, URI spokesperson Dawn Bergantino said Monday.
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URI says Rogers as vice president manages the university’s diversity and community division and its four diversity-enhancing centers – the Multicultural Student Services Center, Gender and Sexuality Center, Women’s Center, and Military and Veteran Education Center. As the College of Business’s inaugural executive director of inclusive excellence, Rogers, the university said, helped develop and implement the school’s DEI strategy, and provided expertise and guidance across various college operations. This work helped increase doctorate program diversity among historically underrepresented populations, URI said.
Also, URI said Rogers as director of the university’s health care management graduate programs helped drive growing enrollment of more than 400% in about 18 months. Rogers and his team removed barriers to admission, optimized course structure to improve serving working-professional students and enhanced the student experience, URI said.
In a statement Monday, Rogers said the College of Business is positioned to become one of the best flagship business schools in the Northeast, as well as being a “major player” in business education both in the U.S. and around the world.
“In many ways, I believe we already have many of the qualities that place us in these categories. We are at a critically important juncture in our college’s history, and I look forward with excitement to the opportunity to help shape our long-term future,” Rogers said. “I am eager to serve as we proudly march into our second century of impact on Rhode Island, the nation, and the world.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
