A message from the Leadership Team on Federal Actions
March 20, 2025
Dear URI Faculty, Staff, and Students:
Welcome back from spring break. The Leadership Team on Federal Actions continues to meet regularly to monitor and report on federal actions and recommend strategies for our University and community. Below are recent updates.
University Town Hall
The University will host a town hall on Thursday, March 27, to bring our community together to discuss important issues and questions facing higher education and URI. The event, which will begin at 1 p.m. in Edwards Hall, will feature brief remarks by President Parlange and a moderated discussion with University leaders.
The leadership panel will include President Parlange; Barbara Wolfe, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs; Abby Benson, vice president for administration and finance; Bethany Jenkins, vice president for research and economic development; Markeisha Miner, vice president for community, equity, and diversity; and Ellen Reynolds, vice president for student affairs. The discussion will be moderated by faculty member Marc Hutchison, professor and chair, Department of Political Science.
Space is limited; please RSVP by March 25. Attendees may submit questions in advance using the RSVP form. This event is tailored to the URI community and is open only to URI faculty, staff, students, and affiliate employees.
Executive Order Regarding Department of Education
White House officials have indicated that President Trump plans to sign an executive order this afternoon calling for the shutdown of the U.S. Education Department. As we shared last week, we are closely monitoring all changes to the Department of Education and are working to understand the potential implications for URI and higher education.
Office of Global Initiatives
Recent news reports have indicated that the federal administration is considering new travel bans for citizens from dozens of countries, with restrictions ranging from full visa suspensions to partial suspensions that could impact tourist and student visas. URI’s Office of Global Initiatives continues to serve as a vital resource for our community of international students and scholars. If you have questions regarding personal or University-related travel, please contact the office at issoff@etal.uri.edu or 401-874-2395.
URI offers international support, including comprehensive health and safety resources for our international community and international travelers, including a 24/7 URI International Line at 401-874-4100.
Fulbright and Other Grant Pauses
The U.S. State Department has enacted a partial grant pause with some stipend delays impacting the Fulbright, Fulbright-Hayes, and Gilman scholar and scholarship programs. Some award recipients are experiencing delays or partial payments of awarded grants. URI is monitoring and maintaining communications with our current student and faculty awardees abroad and hosted Fulbright students and scholars on campus.
Department of Education Inquiry
Last week, URI was one of 45 universities to receive a letter of inquiry from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights regarding its association with The Ph.D. Project, an organization that works to “support the development of business PhDs.” The University will provide a response to the inquiry to the Department of Education. The department letter states that “OCR’s opening of this investigation is not itself evidence of a violation of federal civil rights laws and regulations.”
The University works diligently to comply with legal requirements, and we remain committed to our foundational values and our vital mission as a public land-grant institution.
Federal Actions Updates Webpage
We will continue to keep the campus community informed of any developments. Information will continue to be posted on our Federal Actions Updates webpage at uri.edu/federal-actions.