Dr. Raymond M. Wright is the dean emeritus of the University of Rhode Island College of Engineering, a position which he held from 2007 until 2021. A respected environmental engineer, Dr. Wright oversaw a college comprising more than 1,600 students and 65 faculty who together strive to solve some of society’s most vexing challenges.

Dr. Wright joined the University faculty in 1981 as a civil engineering assistant professor. He later chaired the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and has served as interim director of the URI Transportation Center and acting director of the Rhode Island Water Resources Center. From 2006 to 2007, Dean Wright was associate dean of engineering.

In his role as dean, Dr. Wright spearheaded the creation of focused research areas, overseen the first Master Plan in more than 50 years and grown enrollment. In 2014, he led the charge for a successful $125 million bond to pay for a new world-class engineering facility, which opened fall of 2019. The bond, approved by 64 percent of voters, marked the largest bond in the state’s history for higher education and replaced buildings that opened in the early 1960s.

As a researcher, Dr. Wright was committed to providing clean water to every person. He has extensive experience in water quality monitoring and modeling of surface water systems as well as the investigation of pollution sources. He received awards from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Rhode Island, among others.

Dr. Wright received his bachelor’s of science in civil engineering from Tufts University in 1973, his master’s of engineering with a specialty in sanitary engineering from Penn State University in 1978 and his doctorate in environmental engineering from Penn State University in 1982.