New Division of Student Success to be led by Vice President of Student Success Jason Meriwether; new Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs to be Joshua Hamilton
Providence, R.I. – After rigorous national searches and extensive interviews, Rhode Island College is pleased to announce two exciting new additions to its executive leadership.
Joshua Hamilton has been named provost/vice president for academic affairs at Rhode Island College. In this role, Hamilton will be responsible for assuring the college’s academic excellence in its curricula, teaching, research and public outreach.
Formerly vice president for academic affairs, this position has been elevated to provost to demonstrate the depth and breadth of this key role at Rhode Island College.
“The provost/vice president of academic affairs will lead the college’s learning innovation efforts while establishing strong faculty, student and community partnerships,” said Rhode Island College President Frank D. Sánchez. “With his exceptional academic and administrative background, as well as his impressive knowledge of designing customized academic programming, Josh will help take RIC’s teaching and learning enterprise to the next level.”
Hamilton comes to RIC from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), where he served as dean of the Swenson College of Science and Engineering and as professor of biology.
He also has strong ties to New England. Prior to his tenure at UMD, Hamilton was chief academic and scientific officer (provost equivalent) at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts from 2008 to 2013. He was senior scientist and had a joint faculty appointment at Brown University. From 1990 to 2008, Hamilton was a faculty member at Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he was also the founding director of the Center for Environmental Health Sciences and associate director of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
“I am delighted to be joining Rhode Island College and President Sánchez’s leadership team,” Hamilton said. “RIC has a strong history of educational excellence that serves the needs of Rhode Island. I look forward to working with the RIC community to develop today’s workforce and tomorrow’s leaders while we continue to innovate and respond to the ever-changing needs of the state and region.”
Hamilton received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. He earned a master’s degree in genetics and a doctorate in toxicology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He was awarded a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship to support his research training at Dartmouth College and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
Jason Meriwether is the new vice president for student success at RIC. In this role, Meriwether will oversee the newly created Division of Student Success, which brings together student affairs and academic affairs units with departments focused on student life, enrollment management and academic support and services. As part of the administration’s goal to enhance students’ campus experience, the centralization of these services under the Division of Student Success is intended to foster student engagement from recruitment through graduation and beyond.
“As the vice president for student success, Jason brings strong expertise and experience that will enhance student services and campus life,” said President Sánchez. “He is particularly adept with the use of technology as it relates to the overall student experience. We’re delighted he’ll join our executive team focused on student life at the college.”
In his most recent role as vice chancellor at Indiana University Southeast, Meriwether was responsible for the Student Services Division, which included Financial Aid, Admissions, Career Development, Athletics, Counseling, Residence Life and Housing, Center for Mentoring and Campus Life.
"This is the perfect time to join the leadership team at Rhode Island College,” said Meriwether. “I look forward to collaborating with faculty, staff, and community partners to support RIC's students as they persist and graduate. It is an honor to prepare students who will earn their degrees at RIC and become leaders and productive citizens in this great state and beyond."
A native of Guthrie, Kentucky, Meriwether earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Louisville. He earned a master’s degree in psychology from Fisk University, as well as a doctorate in educational administration with a specialization in higher education leadership from Indiana State University.
With a passion for driving innovative and personalized development, Meriwether is an advocate for student learning and believes in using theory, legal precedent and effective practices to fuel strategic student success initiatives.
About Rhode Island College
Established in 1854, Rhode Island College serves approximately 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students through its five schools: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Business, the School of Nursing and the School of Social Work. For more information, visit www.ric.edu.
