The Board of Trustees of the University of Rhode Island is delighted to announce the selection of Professor Marc B. Parlange, provost and senior vice president of Monash University in Australia, as URI’s 12th president. His appointment is effective Aug. 1.

Parlange will succeed David M. Dooley, who joined URI in July 2009 and has overseen the transformation of URI into a leading research institution with a growing reputation for programs of distinction.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, to parents who emigrated from France and Ireland, Parlange will leave Monash, a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, with an enrollment of more than 85,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Prior to joining Monash, Parlange was dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Previously, Parlange served as dean of the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering from 2008 through 2013 and as director of the Institute of Environmental Engineering from 2004 through 2007 at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. He has also held research and teaching appointments at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Davis.

Recognized internationally for his expertise in environmental fluid mechanics, Parlange’s wide-ranging research in hydrology and climate change addresses a number of important issues, such as heat transfer in cities, energy dynamics in hurricanes, and water resource challenges in remote communities, particularly West Africa. He has a master of science degree and Ph.D. from Cornell University and a bachelor of science degree from Griffith University in Australia.

Coming full circle, looking to the future

“I am honored and delighted for this opportunity to lead the University of Rhode Island,” Parlange said. “My life and career have taken me around the world, and to be coming full circle here, back to Rhode Island where I was born, is especially meaningful for me. I have great appreciation for the transformational work President David Dooley has achieved, and a real sense of excitement and ambition for the future.

“The University can seize the opportunity to step up and provide leadership in these challenging times. We can stand out as an inclusive institution that creates new ways of learning and teaching, that pioneers innovative interdisciplinary research, and that, through its industry and public partnerships, is a major driver of the Rhode Island economy.

“I’m looking forward to joining the community—cheering for the Rams, attending musical and theater performances, seeing what you create in the maker space, and learning about your life and experiences today at URI and in Rhode Island.”