SMITHFIELD – Bryant University has extended President Ronald K. Machtley’s tenure through June 30, 2022, the university announced Friday.
Machtley has served as the university’s president for 22 years, which the university said was one of the longest-running collegiate presidencies in the country.
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“The continuity of Ron’s extraordinary leadership will position us for continued success as Bryant embarks on a series of bold new strategic initiatives,” said William Conaty, chairman of the Bryant board of trustees, in a statement.
In its announcement, the university also said it was launching new strategic initiatives and expanding the scope of its current capital campaign, “Expanding the World of Opportunity. The Campaign for Bryant’s Bold Future.”
The university’s newly announced initiatives include:
- “Ever-greater academic excellence,” specifically in graduate programs and in the College of Business as well as a “build-out” of the School of Health Science with both certificate and management graduate programs.
- Integrating the study and application of data science, analytics and other technology-related subjects to meet the demands of a future workplace.
- Expanding Bryant’s reach beyond China to other countries – especially in Latin and South America.
- Increased investment – currently planned to total more than $30 million over three years – to modernize residential housing and the campus dining experience for students.
- The university plans to extend its capital campaign from its $75 million goal to $100 million.
Of the initatives introduced Friday, Machtley said, “We’ve come so far in the past 22 years in enhancing what we do and how we do it. As we’ve evolved, we see that this is the next stage; it’s like dropping a pebble into a pond, you see the next ripple. These are what I would call natural continuations.”
He also said higher education is a critical element of society.
“We must find solutions for the cost and the educational aspects of what we’re doing and how we’re going to deal with what I believe is the fourth industrial revolution in artificial intelligence and big data,” he said. “At the same time, we have to convince society that education is important for creating leaders for society and that higher education – I think we’re at a critical crossroads – higher education should be a preferred place and should be tax exempt and should be a place that should be contributing to society for democracy. And so, we have these big challenges that we in higher education have to be a voice of thoughtful reason for our students and our society.”
When asked what had changed and what had remained the same during his 22 years at Bryant, Machtley told PBN, “What has changed is our physical structure – we’re now a university, we have 500,000 square feet of different space, which has our faculty teaching differently, innovatively, different subjects and we have, frankly, an ever better qualified student body in terms of their test scores and the students that are now coming to Bryant every year.
“That has changed,” he said.
“What hasn’t changed is the history of who we are. We have had a vision that we are one of the best in creating an environment that helps our students to discover their passion and to find successful professional and personal lives after they’ve had an education. So, we see the connection between the core academic excellence and educating the whole person for success.”
Machtley had his contact extended through 2020 in 2016.
In a report from the Chronicle of Higher Education on Executive Compensation at Private and Public Colleges released in 2017, Machtley was ranked No. 88 in the nation for private college and university president pay and No. 2 in the Providence metro with a total compensation of $767,183 in 2015. Machtley had a base compensation of $607,704.
Machtley also didn’t rule out another extension. At age 69 and having a 22-year tenure, he said, “Well, each extension puts me further into the millennial next generation, so I always keep an open mind. I want to dance as long as I can dance, but I want to know when to step off the dance floor. As long as I can continue to be productive and a source of new thoughts and leadership, then I’ll do it.”
Chris Bergenheim is a PBN web editor.
