Welcome New Faculty!

A Welcome Message from the Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

Welcome to The University of Rhode Island (URI)!  You have just become part of a university with tremendous positive momentum and a future filled with unlimited possibilities for all.  Under the leadership of President Marc Parlange, our recently appointed 12^th President, URI will chart a new course forward and build upon the amazing successes of our faculty, staff, and students over the past decade.  As Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, learning about your academic credentials, accomplishments, and interests has been inspiring. I look forward to the opportunity to get to know each of you better over the next several months.  The team in the Office of the Provost and I stand ready to assist you in any way we can.

While these are challenging times for higher education all over the world, at URI our applications for admission, enrollment, student academic profile, student and faculty diversity, and student experiential learning and honors eligibility are at an all-time high.  Furthermore, measures of student success are on the upswing, our research and scholarly enterprises are expanding, and our impact on the economic development of the state and region is substantial.  Under the leadership of President Parlange, we will be advancing a new University Strategic Plan this year that will build on these strengths into the future.

Universities are defined by the quality and commitment of their faculty, and great universities are defined by having engaged teachers and scholars who bring new energy, ideas, perspectives, and partnerships to our students, to each other, and to the university. While you may be new to URI, please know this is now your university and your voice matters. I strongly urge you to become involved in your department, college, and/or University committees and with the Faculty Senate, where your ideas and experiences are needed and welcome.

We are invested in your success and look forward to your engagement in the academic learning and scholarly environment at URI.  We offer a great many support systems to assist you.  Please do not hesitate to ask for help and advice. Your success contributes directly to ensuring a vibrant, dynamic, and highly relevant University of Rhode Island for all of us.

Today, you are among the newest members of the URI community — a community joined together by a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and learning from and supporting one another. We are a community where bias and hatred are not tolerated.. Please join in and actively embrace the Anti-Black Racism: Academic Affairs Action Agenda for Change designed to ensure an equal opportunity for all in our community to learn, thrive, and succeed and ensure justice and equity for all on our campus and in society.

I wish you the best as you make a smooth transition to URI – thank you again for joining us and contributing to the vitality of the URI community.

Sincerely,

Laura L. Beauvais