July 31, 2023

Dear URI Community,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Cooley to the position of assistant vice president for housing and residential life and student development.  Tom comes to URI from Carnegie Mellon University and brings with him more than 20 years of experience in higher education, including housing, residence life, auxiliary services, and construction at private, public, and research universities.

Tom’s appointment takes effect today, and he is excited to join the housing and residential life team in welcoming our new and returning students to the URI community and residential life at the start of the new academic year. URI is engaged in a master housing study, which will provide a 15-year strategic housing plan.  Tom will lead the plan’s implementation, including developing a short- and long-term capital improvement budgeting model consistent with the goal to provide students with high-quality and affordable campus housing that supports their educational and developmental needs. 

At Carnegie Mellon, Tom was the executive director of housing services and space planning, consisting of 4,000 beds in 35 residence halls. He provided strategic vision and leadership and successfully developed a housing master plan. Additionally, Tom led the design, construction, and opening of two new LEED Gold residence halls and undertook multiple renovation projects throughout the existing residence halls.

Before his work at Carnegie Mellon, Tom was the associate director of administration at the University of Illinois Chicago, where he was responsible for leadership of administrative functions, including business operations, information technology, and assessment. 

Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and his master’s degree in education from Cleveland State University.

Please join me in extending Tom a warm welcome to URI. 

Ellen M. Reynolds

Vice President for Student Affairs