Updated at 2:20 p.m. Monday
PROVIDENCE – Providence College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, soon to be the longest serving president in PC history, announced Friday that he will step down after his term ends in June 2020.
But his departure isn’t his choice, a college spokesman confirmed Friday night.
The school’s board of trustees had recommended that he serve another five-year term starting in 2020, according to PC spokesman Steven Maurano, but Shanley has been told by the provincial of the Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph, which oversees the school, that “he would not be made available to serve another term.”
Shanley was told “15 years is long enough,” Maurano said, “that someone else could build on his successes.”
“He’s obligated to obey his religious superior,” Maurano added.
The Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph is based in New York City, and the provincial is the Rev. Kenneth Letoile.
PC students, faculty and alumni were notified by email on Friday that Shanley’s tenure would end in June 2020.
Shanley was appointed president in 2005 and is in the midst of his third five-year term. Maurano said Shanley had been willing to stay on for another term.
Maurano said Shanley will become the longest-serving president in Providence College history in July when he reaches the 14-year mark.
PC said it will now start a search for Shanley’s successor. According to the college’s bylaws, the president must be a Dominican Friar.
On Monday, the PC Board of Trustees issued a statement of support for Shanley.
“The board is deeply disappointed in this decision,” the statement said in part. “Fr. Shanley enjoys the unequivocal, unwavering, and nearly unanimous support of the board. We believe in his leadership, which has been nothing short of transformational for the college since he took office in 2005. The strength and quality of Fr. Shanley’s stewardship, and his commitment to the mission of Providence College, has been demonstrated time and time again.”
After lists numerous of PC’s academic and fundraising accomplishments under Shanley’s tenure, the statement continued:
“In short, Providence College has not simply thrived under Fr. Shanley’s leadership, but has advanced extraordinarily within the landscape of higher education… While the provincial’s decision not to make Fr. Shanley available for a fourth term is a great disappointment, we understand that when an institution is affiliated with a religious order, changes like this are often inevitable.
“PC has never been in a better position, and the Board of Trustees remains extremely optimistic about the future of the college. Fr. Shanley’s visionary leadership has built an extensive and long-standing community of stakeholders whose ongoing dedication to PC have positioned the college for continued and long-term success. The board is committed to working with the provincial to implement a succession plan over the next 14 months which will ensure that the college remains on the tremendous trajectory established under Fr. Shanley’s leadership.”
William Hamilton is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Hamilton@PBN.com.
