Feb. 3, 2023

Dear URI Community Members,

Happy New Year! After a busy trip to Indonesia this month to visit with our global partners, I am happy to be back on a bustling campus and full of ideas and inspiration for the coming year. I hope you have found the hum of activity on our campuses exciting and energizing. For me, the start of a new year always feels hopeful, with endless possibilities for collaboration, creation, deeper connection to interests, or an opportunity for discovery and new directions.

If this past year was any indication of the incredible work we are doing in labs, lecture halls, in the field, on the field, in our community, and across the globe, we have so much to look forward to and a solid foundation to build upon.

State of the University and Strategic Plan

It was great to see so many of you at the State of the University address this week, where I officially launched our 10-year strategic plan and discussed the exciting next phase of transformation and innovation at URI. If you missed the event, a recorded version and news story are available.  And please visit the strategic plan website for a deeper look at the ways we plan to move URI into this next decade of growth. We have a bold vision to drive positive social, economic, cultural, and environmental change in the coming years by deepening our commitment to our land- and sea-grant missions; fostering an engaged learning environment; cultivating a sense of place with endless opportunities for everyone to succeed; and powering the university of the future.

Rhody Today

Launched last week, Rhody Today is an exciting new daily digest of headlines, highlights, and important reminders sent directly to your inbox. Rhody Today aims to be a trusted source of news and analysis on our campuses and I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am. If you have an idea or noteworthy item for our writers, please let them know. We have so many stories to tell and Rhody Today can help us share them. I also plan to be a regular, monthly contributor, sharing my thoughts on everything from research and trends in higher education, to important issues in our community and the state.

I hope you have enjoyed reconnecting with each other and your work these past few weeks, and I look forward to seeing you around campus and in the community this semester. Best of luck and go Rhody!

Kind regards,

Marc