This month the College of Arts and Sciences welcomes a new associate dean, Dr. Brian Krueger. He brings over eighteen years of institutional experience to the role, including six years spent as chair of the department of political science at URI. “It is a great time to be involved in a College of Arts and Sciences,” he says, “especially one with a liberal arts core. The liberal arts have always been central to learning, expression, innovation, and discovery, and we are now seeing a broader societal reawakening to the importance of our strengths.”

Krueger arrived at URI in 2001, and since then his accomplishments have attested to his administrative expertise. During his time as department chair he helped develop new programs, including the international relations masters program and the international studies and diplomacy undergraduate program. Both new programs foster university-wide interdisciplinary and global connections, which have proven to attract students nationally. “A bright line can be drawn from the many dedicated people I’ve collaborated with to the success of these programs,” he says, highlighting his commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.

The chance to reach across disciplinary boundaries is something Krueger has always appreciated. “Here at URI,” he says, “over the last couple decades, there has been a greater appreciation of the importance of original discovery and of the need to integrate seemingly miscellaneous disciplinary perspectives.” In achieving this collaborative foundation, one of Krueger’s primary aims is to nurture faculty by bolstering social, administrative, and brick-and-mortar infrastructure so that faculty and students have the support they need to best perform, create, and research as a community. “Our strength in A&S,” he says, “is really in the diversity of what we do.” He says he is also eager to ensure that students across the university can be successful in the college’s various programs and classes. He hopes to make the college’s assets known and accessible to all students, especially those who may not have considered what Arts and Sciences can offer them.

With these goals in mind, Krueger looks forward to advocating across the university on behalf of the college. He defines the college as “simultaneously the creative spirit of the university and its flame-keeper” – a place to ask fundamental, challenging questions, “some we have been asking for thousands of years,” he says, “and some that could not have been imagined even a decade ago.” URI is, for Krueger, a place that supports experimentation. “At URI,” he explains, “we are privileged to have this wonderful sandbox to play in, and it is one of the best parts of URI—taking chances on program improvement, creative expression, and new approaches to research. I want to keep instilling that attitude. People need to see that we are serious about rewarding risk-taking, and even failure, to encourage further innovation.”

~ Written by Aria Mia Loberti, Philosophy, Political Science, and Communication Studies major