URI President David Dooley To Retire In 2021

KINGSTON, RI — After more than a decade on the job, University of Rhode Island President David Dooley announced Monday that he will step down at the end of the next academic year. Dooley said he will retire effective June 2021.

"It is very difficult for me to express how much I have enjoyed and appreciated serving as your president for the past eleven years," Dooley said in a statement. "No institution means, or has ever meant, more to me than the University of Rhode Island and its people."

In the next year, Dooley said he will primarily focus on "guid[ing] URI through the current challenges of a global pandemic," as well as working with the new board of trustees, coordinating with the URI Foundation and Alumni Association to keep the school's fundraising campaign moving and creating a smooth transition for the next president.

“URI cherishes the values of equity, inclusion, and community," Dooley continued. "Consequently, it will be difficult to leave this special place, but I am convinced that the time is right for me to step down and for the University to seek a new president."

While the university, like the rest of Rhode Island and the country, is facing a difficult time, Dooley said he believes the school will persevere and survive.

"No one knows how or when this crisis will end, but I believe that I know you – the URI community – reasonably well," he said. "Consequently, I am confident the University of Rhode Island will emerge stronger, more resilient, more innovative, and prepared to lead in a new era for higher education."

Dooley has served as URI's president for the past 11 years.

"The most rewarding time of my professional life has been that spent at the University of Rhode Island. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president," he concluded.