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Dr. Frank D. Sánchez: A Situational Leader

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – There’s been a dramatic sea change taking place in higher education within the Ocean State. Just take a look at Rhode Island College (RIC).

The 164-year-old public institution that stretches across a sprawling 180 acres of land has been making some audacious moves in recent years, thanks to the visionary leadership of its president, Dr. Frank D. Sánchez.

“He’s the real deal,” declares Dr. Jason L. Meriwether, vice president for student success at RIC. A seasoned administrator who has held leadership positions in student a­ffairs at Indiana University Southeast and Fisk University, Meriwether credits Sánchez with making diversity, inclusion and student engagement a cornerstone of his presidential agenda.

“It is awe-inspiring how laser-focused he is on strategies and levers that will yield increased access and completion for students,” says Meriwether of Sánchez’s leadership of the college since taking the helm nearly three years ago. “He understands the state and the mission of the college as an engine of learning, creativity and economic impact.”

There’s no question that Sánchez — a native of Cheyenne, Wyoming — has become one of the loudest cheerleaders for public education throughout this tiny New England state. His mantra to elected officials is both pointed and quite simple: Investing in a Rhode Island College student is an investment in the state. ­The dividends, he argues, will inevitably pay off for many decades to come.

“Today, 70 percent of our graduates stay in Rhode Island,” he tells Diverse in a recent interview. “­They’re getting jobs, they’re raising families and they’re contributing to the economic base. And when you see the changing demographics in the state as they are, an institution like Rhode Island College plays a vital role in the future of the state.”

That kind of talk has positioned Sánchez as a thought leader throughout the state, as he and his leadership team experiment with new ways to “reintroduce” RIC to locals as an affordable and viable option for obtaining a college education. Such a rebranding e­ffort requires a history lesson about RIC’s early beginning as a place that was founded to provide an education to the state’s burgeoning immigrant populations and its blue-collar families.

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