URI’s 12th President Returns to his Rhody Roots

Noted academic and Providence native Marc B. Parlange has become a familiar face on campus as the newest URI president

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In the months since University of Rhode Island President Marc B. Parlange stepped into his new role, he’s become quite a familiar face on campus.

On any given day, you might find him jogging through the quadrangle during the early morning hours, tagging along on a student lab field trip, or cheering on the Rhody Rams. During his first semester at the helm, Parlange and his wife, Mary, have attended a number of student concerts and theater showings, and no shortage of sporting events. As the new president, he made every effort to meet students and faculty, both in the classroom and out-and-about on campus, to get “a true understanding and sense of the university,” he says.

While his days also include no shortage of meetings with university leadership and outside stakeholders, one of the most inspiring parts of his job is being able to meet the next generation of big thinkers.

“It’s the best job in the world,” according to Parlange – whose career has quite literally taken him all across the globe.

Parlange’s decades of experience in higher education have included 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 opportunities at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Davis.

Most recently, however, Parlange had been living half a world away, serving as provost and senior vice president at Monash University in Australia. During his time in these leadership roles, he contributed to a major increase in nationally competitive research grants, a rise in international rankings, and strengthened world-leading multidisciplinary research opportunities.

Yet despite all these accomplishments, the Providence native didn’t think his name would jump to the top of a search committee’s list for a new president at the University of Rhode Island.

“In the history of searching for presidents, I was probably one of the few that actually applied for the job,” Parlange said with a laugh. “Usually people wait to be called, but I thought, ‘Nobody will know me in Australia.’”

Since moving away at a very young age, Parlange has been able to return for visits with family and friends, and maintained a strong connection to the first place he ever called home.

“I’ve always felt pride in Rhode Island,” Parlange says, whether it was when he came across headlines about how the men’s basketball team was playing, or hearing about the scholarly achievements of the students and faculty. “There’s always been important people coming, and important research being done at the University of Rhode Island.”

Now, sitting at the helm of the university, Parlange not only looks forward to the growth and improvements that can be made in academics, but throughout Rhode Island. Where the university goes, he says, the state will follow.

“We’re really the engine of the state, of really creating opportunities, lifting up communities. An investment in the university is really an investment into the State of Rhode Island,” according to Parlange. “We know that for every dollar invested, there’s a $6.70 return.”

The internationally recognized environmental fluid mechanics expert has a deep appreciation for the number of world-leading programs being offered at the university, and eagerly looks forward to the break-throughs of tomorrow.

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