URI Selects Rhode Island Native As New President

KINGSTON, RI — The University of Rhode Island will soon officially have a new president, a far-flung Rhode Island native who will return to the Ocean State.

The university's Board of Trustees announced Marc Parlange as the chosen successor for President David Dooley, who announced his retirement last May. Parlange is set to take the helm as URI's 12th president in August.

"I am honored and delighted for this opportunity to lead the University of Rhode Island," Parlange said. "My life and career have taken me around the world, and to be coming full circle here, back to Rhode Island where I was born, is especially meaningful for me. I have great appreciation for the transformational work President David Dooley has achieved, and a real sense of excitement and ambition for the future."

The incoming president is a Rhode Island native, born in Providence to French and Irish immigrant parents. Parlange currently serves as the provost and senior vice president of Monash University in Australia. Before his current position, he worked for the University of British Columbia in Canada, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Davis. He holds a master’s degree and Ph.D from Cornell University, as well as a bachelor's degree from Australia's Griffin University.

"Parlange is recognized internationally for his expertise in environmental fluid mechanics," the university said in a statement. "His wide-ranging research in hydrology and climate change addresses a number of important issues, such as heat transfer in cities, energy dynamics in hurricanes, and water resource challenges in remote communities, particularly in West Africa."

Parlange was selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants, the university said. He was unanimously voted the top candidate for the position by the search committee on April 1.

Thomas Ryan, who chaired the committee, said Parlange "exemplifies" the principles that guided the candidate search.

"He is an accomplished, visionary leader who has focused on student success and experience," Ryan said. "Dr. Parlange’s leadership will accelerate the University’s already impressive trajectory. We found a champion for all faculty, staff, and students, a president who can lead the University toward another transformational decade."

Outgoing President Dooley has led the university since 2009.

"The University can seize the opportunity to step up and provide leadership in these challenging times," Parlange continued. "We can stand out as an inclusive institution that creates new ways of learning and teaching, that pioneers innovative interdisciplinary research, and that, through its industry and public partnerships, is a major driver of the Rhode Island economy."