SOUTH KINGSTOWN – University of Rhode Island President David M. Dooley on Monday announced that he will retire in June 2021, after 12 years as leader of the state’s only land-grant school.
Dooley, the 11th president in URI’s history, said the decision to leave the university is “difficult” but said he’s convinced that the time is “right” for URI to find a new leader.
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URI has seen significant growth under Dooley’s leadership. According to URI’s President’s Transformational Goals for the 21st Century report, since 2010 the university has had a 17% increase in full-time instructional staff; invested $902 million in capital projects and improvements across all its campuses – including the university’s new Fascitelli Center for Advanced Learning and the Harrington School of Communication and Media.
URI also had 495 international students enroll in the fall of 2019, a 30% increase from 10 years ago. And the student body’s diversity has increased by close to 70% since 2008; among other accomplishments outlined in the report.
“[It] is very difficult for me to express how much I have enjoyed and appreciated serving as your president for the past [11] years,” Dooley said in a statement. “No institution means, or has ever meant, more to me than the University of Rhode Island and its people. Inspirational, creative, caring, welcoming, thoughtful, wise – these are just a few of the words that come to mind when I contemplate the diverse and supportive community here.”
Dooley plans to works with the university’s new board of trustees, the URI Foundation and Alumni Engagement to help facilitate a “smooth transition” for URI’s next president, in addition to helping URI through the current COVID-19 pandemic – which closed the campus to students for much of the spring semester.
Dooley said he is confident that URI will emerge from the pandemic “stronger, more resilient, more innovative, and prepared to lead in a new era for higher education.”
URI board of trustees chair Margo Cook said in a statement that Dooley’s commitment to educational excellence, research growth, business engagement and community outreach have all been “hallmarks” of his time as URI’s president.
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.
