Office of the President
As Dr. David M. Dooley embarks on his first year as president of the University of Rhode Island, he aims to strengthen the sense of community and discovery. With a strong background in research Dooley believes every student at the University should gain experience in research and creative work, regardless of their field of study.
"We have to integrate the entire undergraduate experience into the academic goals and missions of the University," Dooley said. "We want students to feel everything they are doing at URI will help them achieve their goals."
A native of California, Dooley earned a bachelor of arts in chemistry from the University of California in San Diego and a doctorate in chemistry from California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He was selected in May from among three finalists for the University of Rhode Island position after a nationwide search that attracted 55 candidates.
Dooley has more than 30 years of experience working in higher education and places high value on giving students a well-rounded university experience.
"It's a simple fact that the kinds of skills that the students are going to need for the future are the kinds of skills and experiences that are going to be hard to come by in the formal classroom. We need to prepare students for things we don't yet know exist," Dooley said.
Dooley 56, comes to URI from Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont., where he served as provost and vice president of academic affairs. He had nearly 16 years experience as chief academic officer and department chair. He led the chemistry and biochemistry department for six years before being named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs in June 1999, a position he was appointed to permanently in June 2001.
Even after taking the post as provost and vice president of academic affairs, Dooley maintained an active laboratory at Montana State. The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation have funded his research
Dooley also chaired the university's planning, budget and analysis committee, which is responsible for strategic planning, assessment and for setting the university's operating budget. He also managed the university's international partnerships.
Like URI, Montana State University is also a land-grant institution. It has a little more than 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. (URI's enrollment was 15,904 as of fall '08.) Dooley has been a central figure in attracting research dollars to Montana State, helping to grow that budget from about $45 million to $100 million during his tenure. 
The university is now ranked among the top tier of research universities, as classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. URI, which is ranked in the second tier, aspires to that goal.
He began his career in higher education in 1978 as an assistant professor at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass. and later became a full professor and department chair there. When he left Amherst for Montana State in 1993, one of his primary responsibilities as chair of the university's department of chemistry and biochemistry was to strengthen that unit. That department is now considered to be one of the strongest at Montana State, according to university officials.
Dr. Dooley's wife, Lynn Baker-Dooley, is a Baptist minister. The couple has two adult children, Chris and Samantha, and a dog named Rhody.
Communications
Message from President Dooley, July 2, 2009
In the News
David M. Dooley appointed as URI's 11th president
"David Dooley is an outstanding choice to be the next president of the University of Rhode Island," said Judge Frank Caprio, RIBGHE chairman. "He has clearly demonstrated that he understands the University's aspirations..." (read more)
