Rhode Island’s Council on Postsecondary Education has scheduled a special meeting Wednesday, listing “Appointment of the new president of Rhode Island College” as an action item. The notice comes in advance of a full state Board of Education meeting, scheduled for next week.
The council is seeking a replacement for outgoing President Nancy Carriuolo, who resigns this month.
Carriuolo agreed to step down following criticism over her management of RIC. Her critics claimed Carriuolo punished employees who spoke out against her and was responsible for declines in fundraising.
State higher education officials launched a review of RIC’s personnel procedures last December, not long before Carriuolo agreed to step down.
A search committee at RIC announced four finalists to succeed Carrioulo. They include William Latimer, the founding dean at the School of Health Sciences, Human Services and Nursing sciences at Lehman College, part of the City University of New York, and Frank Sanchez, the vice chancellor for student affairs at CUNY.
Another finalist, Divina Grossman, resigned under threat of termination as chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. According to The Boston Globe, enrollment dropped and private donations “plummeted” during Grossman’s three and a half year tenure there.
Rhode Island College serves about 9,000 students, including the largest teacher preparation program in the state and a significant number of first generation college students. Founded in 1854, RIC is the oldest public college in the state.
