Full Biography
Marc B. Parlange became the University of Rhode Island’s 12th president on Aug. 1, 2021. A distinguished researcher and global higher education leader, Parlange leads the state’s public flagship research institution, with four campuses, nearly 18,000 students, more than 135,000 alumni, and an annual budget of more than $800 million.
Before his appointment as URI’s president, Parlange served as provost and senior vice president at Monash University, Australia’s largest research university, serving more than 80,000 students, and a member of Australia’s Group of Eight leading research-intensive universities. During his tenure at Monash, Parlange was credited with championing academic quality, developing institutional alliances worldwide, and strengthening world-leading multidisciplinary research opportunities. including those in the areas of policy and governance, health sciences, sustainable development, and artificial intelligence and data science.
Parlange’s leadership at Monash contributed to a major increase in nationally competitive research grants and a rise in international rankings, with the university improving its position in the four major global ranking systems including breaking into the top 50 in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities rankings.
Parlange was also instrumental in conceptualizing and initiating the Melbourne Experiment, a landmark interdisciplinary research collaboration examining the impact of COVID-19 on the functions of the city before, during, and after the shutdown, serving as an international model for post-pandemic urban recovery and renewal. He also fostered a partnership between Monash and the University of Melbourne to develop a world-leading interdisciplinary science research and education field station focusing on coastal environments and climate change, areas of research in which Parlange has built a global reputation for academic excellence and distinction.
Before joining Monash, and over his 30-year professional higher education career, Parlange has held academic leadership, research, and faculty positions at the University of British Columbia; the prestigious Swiss public research institute École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; and stateside, at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Davis.
Parlange is internationally recognized for his expertise in environmental fluid mechanics, conducting wide-ranging research in hydrology and climate change that addresses critical issues such as heat transfer in cities, energy dynamics in hurricanes, and water resource challenges in remote communities, particularly in West Africa.
He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors accorded an engineer, and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Geophysical Union. He is a recipient of the John Dalton Medal of the European Geosciences Union and the Hydrologic Sciences Award of the American Geophysical Union.
Parlange was awarded an early career James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union, and last year, he received the 2020 American Meteorological Society’s Hydrologic Sciences Medal, the society’s highest award for outstanding contributions to scientific knowledge in hydrology.
Parlange received his Bachelor of Science from Griffith University in Australia, and his Master of Science and doctorate from Cornell University. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, advised more than 70 graduate students and postdoctoral associates, and served as editor-in-chief for Water Resources Research.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Parlange and his wife, Mary, have two adult children.
Abbreviated Biography
Marc B. Parlange became the University of Rhode Island’s 12th president in August 2021. Over the course of his professional higher education career spanning more than 30 years, he has held academic leadership, research, and faculty positions at Monash University, Australia’s largest university; the University of British Columbia; the prestigious Swiss public research institute École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; and stateside, at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Davis.
A recognized expert and researcher in environmental fluid mechanics, Parlange has published more than 200 peer reviewed journal articles. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Geophysical Union.
He received a number of prestigious academic awards including an early career James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union and the John Dalton Medal of the European Geosciences Union. He was awarded the 2020 American Meteorological Society’s Hydrologic Sciences Medal.
Parlange received his Master of Science and his doctorate from Cornell University and his Bachelor of Science degree from Griffith University in Australia.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Parlange and his wife, Mary, have two adult children.