In recognition of all these achievements, the Board of Trustees has decided to honor President Farish with the title of President Emeritus upon his retirement

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RWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June 2019, Concluding Transformational 8-Year Tenure

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Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger5-21-2018RWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June2019, Concluding Transformational 8-Year TenurePublic Affairs. Roger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationPublic Affairs. Roger Williams University, "RWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June 2019, Concluding Transformational8-Year Tenure" (2018). Featured News Story. 76.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/766/7/2018 RWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June 2019, Concluding Transformational 8-Year Tenure | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-president-donald-j-farish-retire-june-2019-concluding-transformational-8-year-tenure 1/3 News ArchiveRWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June2019, Concluding Transformational 8-Year TenureBoard of Trustees plans to spend coming year celebrating Farish’s accomplishments,searching for new presidentMay 21, 2018 Public A airsBRISTOL, R.I.  – Roger Williams University President Donald J. Farish is planning to retire when his current contractexpires in June 2019, concluding an extraordinary eight-year tenure as RWU’s president.The RWU Board of Trustees on Monday announced plans to spend the coming year celebrating Farish’stransformational work at RWU and conducting a national search for a new president.Since his arrival in 2011, President Farish has set RWU on a course to “build the university the world needs now,”resulting in groundbreaking progress in the crucial areas of community engagement, college a ordability andequity. While his retirement will conclude an impressive 51-year career in academia, he will continue to serve as athought leader in higher education, striving to provide the educated workforce needed to bolster the nation’seconomy.This summer, the Board of Trustees and the Cabinet will work together to hire a search  rm and lay the foundation forthe full RWU community to undertake a presidential search over the coming academic year. The Trustees will ensurethat the process includes input from faculty, sta , students and other RWU stakeholders.“As president, Don Farish has done nothing less than rede ne Roger Williams University, ushering in a new era ofrelevance, forging key partnerships with underserved populations and providing students with the real-worldexperience needed to make them not only good employees but valuable members of their communities,” RWUBoard of Trustees Chairman Richard L. Bready said. “At the same time, he has taken bold steps to provide qualityeducation to a new generation and charted a promising course for the University’s future. We look forward to a yearof celebrating his achievements and envisioning how we can build on his accomplishments.”“President Farish has not only been a visionary, he’s been an e ective visionary – someone who can both see thefuture and  nd a successful strategy to make the University’s vision a reality,” Board of Trustees Vice ChairwomanMarcia Morris said. “He has been brilliant at helping to de ne the University’s goals and a mission that will stand the6/7/2018 RWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June 2019, Concluding Transformational 8-Year Tenure | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-president-donald-j-farish-retire-june-2019-concluding-transformational-8-year-tenure 2/3test of time. Now, the board is planning to undertake a search for the next RWU president, and we look forward toinput from all who have a stake in Roger Williams University.”“I have deeply appreciated the opportunity to serve Roger Williams University as its president, and I am grateful to allwho work day in and day out embodying the University’s stated purpose – ‘To strengthen society through engagedteaching and learning,’ ” President Farish said. “Through the Community Partnerships Center and the A ordableExcellence program, the opening of our new Providence campus and the hiring of our  rst-ever Chief DiversityO cer, we have made enormous strides and built a strong team of Cabinet members, faculty and sta . In the yearahead, the University will embark on a master planning process, and this provides a good opportunity to transition toa new president who can lead RWU into a promising future.”Among the many accomplishments during President Farish’s tenure:In fall 2014, the RWU community launched The Vision Project, with more than 20 committees of faculty, sta ,students and trustees working together over six months to articulate a bold, new core purpose: “To strengthensociety through engaged teaching and learning.” They also established a set of core values and a visionary goal:“To build the university the world needs now.”  Working with RWU faculty and local organizations, the Community Partnerships Center has involved 2,811students in a total of 259 community-engaged projects over the last seven years. These programs provide lastingbene ts to our community partners and are aligned with academic programs to provide experiential learningopportunities for students.  Since 2012, each incoming undergraduate class has received a tuition guarantee for the duration of their 4-yearfull-time studies as part of the A ordable Excellence program, providing peace of mind for students and parentswho know exactly what their tuition will be and can plan accordingly. In 2014, RWU expanded the tuitionguarantee and lowered the tuition rate to the School of Law.  One year ago, RWU hired its  rst-ever Chief Diversity O cer, Dr. Ame O. Lambert, and we are expanding oure orts on one of our core values – to welcome and value all expressions of diversity and identity. In January 2018,more than 300 RWU students, faculty, sta  and community members gathered for “Thriving RWU 2030: A Summiton Diversity and Inclusion,” and we are beginning to act on the valuable insights and proposals the summitproduced.  In 2016, RWU doubled the size of its presence in downtown Providence, and the new campus at One Empire Plazaquickly became a hub of innovation and new initiatives. The RWU School of Continuing Studies is partnering withthe  rst Gateway to College National Network program in Rhode Island, o ering students who have le  highschool before graduation a chance to earn a high school diploma and college credit. And groups such as theLatino Policy Institute at RWU and HousingWorksRI are making a di erence on important policy matters.  President Farish has emerged as a national voice for reform in higher education, launching a blog called “HigherEd in Crisis: A President’s Take.” His essays have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Edand The Hechinger Report. And just this year, he wrote an eight-part blog series titled “Can Higher EducationSolve America’s Economic Crisis?”In recognition of all these achievements, the Board of Trustees has decided to honor President Farish with the title ofPresident Emeritus upon his retirement.ACADEMICS ALUMNI6/7/2018 RWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June 2019, Concluding Transformational 8-Year Tenure | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-president-donald-j-farish-retire-june-2019-concluding-transformational-8-year-tenure 3/3Share This: REQUEST INFO VISIT CAMPUS APPLY MAKE A GIFTMap & DirectionsContact UsDirectoryNewsEventsAthleticsrwu.eduUndergraduate SiteGraduate SiteSchool of LawSchool of Continuing Studies    © 2018 Roger Williams University. All rights reserved.GMAIL AT RWU BRIDGES MY RWU IT HELP SITE POLICIES WORK AT RWUOne Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 028091-800-458-7144

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RWU President Donald J. Farish to Retire in June 2019, Concluding Transformational 8-Year Tenure

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