Jan. 30, 2023

Dear URI Community,

I am writing to share that Abigail Rider, vice president for administration and finance, will retire from the University at the end of the academic year.

Prior to joining URI in 2017, Abbi had an extensive career in higher education in areas of real estate development and management, finance, and project design and management. She served in leadership roles at the University of California, Merced; Brown University; and Yale University. Abbi earned her bachelor’s degree from Smith College. She was a Fulbright Scholar; received the 2016 Outstanding Woman Award at UC Merced; and has served on several community and civic boards.

Since joining URI, Abbi has been a tremendous leader, successfully overseeing several areas of the University, including facilities, risk management, human resources, budget and finance, public safety, and purchasing. She was instrumental in helping us navigate the pandemic and under her tenure oversaw accomplishments across all our campuses. 

In the area of facilities, we constructed and completed the Brookside Apartments and Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering, the renovation of Bliss and Ranger halls, the complete redesign of Fraternity Circle, installation of artificial turf and stadium lighting at Meade Stadium, construction of the solar-activated Plains Road South parking lot, and major improvements to fire safety and protection in the residence halls.

Abbi has helped the University establish an enterprise risk management function, a first for URI, and began the process of methodical risk assessment and compliance oversight across the institution. She initiated the implementation of a state of the art  procure-to-pay purchasing system and championed the replacement of our enterprise resource planning systems while overseeing the University’s budget and financial systems. Human Resource Administration has kicked off the process of modernizing the University’s position descriptions and performance evaluation process for non-classified employees. During her tenure, we successfully secured three general obligation bonds for construction and renovation of the Bay Campus and the Fine Arts Center.

I have enjoyed working closely with Abbi, relying on her counsel and expertise on the Stewardship and Executive councils. I have appreciated her insight, collaboration, good humor, and candidness on several committees, including the strategic planning steering committee. And the University’s success is due, in no small measure, to her thoughtful leadership. She has been a great friend of the University and has a long list of projects on deck for her retirement.

I hope you will join me in warmly thanking Abbi for her service to URI—for advancing our University in measurable ways—and wish her well in this next chapter.

Kind regards,

Marc Parlange