March 20, 2023

Dear Members of Our URI Community,

Last month, the University’s Board of Trustees held its first meeting of 2023, which took place virtually. Already, we have had a very busy spring semester on our campuses and in the community, and these meetings allow us to think critically and strategically about the vision and direction of the University. The meetings are always open to the public, and you can watch a recording of the meeting on the board website, but I wanted to share a summary of my presentation below.

Actions and Resolutions

The board voted on several actions and resolutions, a full list and more information can be found here.

Community News

As many of you know, we officially launched the University’s 10-year strategic plan during a State of the University address on February 1. The event was very well attended, and it was a terrific opportunity to discuss the exciting vision we have for the University in the coming years. I also shared news from my trip to Indonesia in January to meet with students, faculty, and government partners and to see, firsthand, the results of our partnership in areas of the Blue Economy. And finally, I discussed the upcoming events planned with Congressman Langevin, who is a visiting scholar on campus this year. We have a tremendous opportunity to leverage his years of service and expertise in many areas, including cybersecurity, in a series of lectures and symposia that we will host on campus in the coming months.

University Budget

I discussed, in detail, the elements of the University’s FY24 budget request to the state and how it compared to Governor McKee’s proposed budget, which was released in January. We depend on state appropriations to operate the University and after decades of disinvestment and declining state support, the University is facing some financial challenges. I will continue to advocate for increased support with our elected officials and state leaders, demonstrating the important role a flagship research university can play in driving economic growth in the state and the region. One important element of this will be URI Day at the State House on March 28, which will highlight important research, partnerships, and programs at URI that positively contribute to the social, economic, cultural, and environmental health of our state. I am also happy to report that the governor did budget for essential improvements to several of our athletic facilities, including support for building a running track and making important upgrades to Meade Stadium.

Rankings

We also looked at several national and international publications that offer undergraduate and graduate school rankings. Rankings are not our goal, but they can be one of many measures for us to consider when examining institutional health and the success of our mission-driven work. We continue to make progress in several areas, including breaking into the top 50 for best master’s in nursing programs in U.S. News & World Report. Being a top-tier university that attracts students and faculty from around the world is an important goal, and improved rankings can serve as a measure of success that can help us attract and retain top talent.

Strategic Plan Key Performance Indicators

Finally, together with members of our community, including faculty, staff, and members of the strategic planning steering committee, we have been developing key performance indicators (KPIs), which will help us track and measure our success in reaching goals set forth in the strategic plan. The KPIs will measure everything from research output to first-year retention rates, and diversity indices to revenue generation. A dashboard is forthcoming and will be available to the public on our website to track, in real time, our progress on reaching targets for each priority. These KPIs will be critical in helping us identify strengths and areas of opportunity as we implement the goals and action items in the strategic plan. I am confident that we have the right people and the resources to be successful and I look forward to working with everyone at URI to help us achieve our vision.

I want to offer my sincere thanks to the board for their support on the launch of our strategic plan and our continued efforts to advocate for URI with our elected officials. It has been a fantastic semester so far, and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting with so many of you in the community and on our campuses. Best of luck this semester and go Rhody!

With regards,

Marc Parlange