RWU appoints Ioannis N. Miaoulis as 11th president
Kayla Ebner | Editor-in-Chief
Roger Williams University announced the 11th president, Ioannis (Yannis) N. Miaoulis, Wednesday morning in a campus-wide email.
He previously served as president and director of the Boston Museum of Science, where he raised the museum’s profile to an internationally-acclaimed STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education institution. He began his career in higher education at Tufts University, where he served as dean of the college of engineering, associate provost, interim dean of the graduate school of arts and sciences, and a professor of mechanical engineering.
At Tufts, he helped raise $100 million for the engineering school and contributed to the significant increase in female students and faculty members.
In a video posted to the university website, President-Designate Miaoulis expressed his excitement in joining the RWU community.
“I’m personally a strong believer in experiential learning and civic engagement,” he said. “[RWU] has all the ingredients to become that national and international platform to redefine what higher education should be.”
Miaoulis’s dream to introduce engineering to the lives of young children all over the country and the world drove his role at Tufts in the engineering school, and inspired him to continue with his love of science at the museum.
At its core, RWU strives to give students the skills to succeed not only academically, but also lead fulfilling lives within their communities.
Professor Renee Soto, associate professor of creative writing and also a member of the Presidential Search Committee, believes Miaoulis has the skills to bring the pieces of RWU’s puzzle together.
“He’s going to be really great at raising our profile, nationally and internationally, to work toward moving us into a stronger position in a really fast-changing academic environment,” she said. “This university is in place, all the pieces are here. We believe we are transformative, we believe we are inclusive, we believe we are engaged, we believe in innovation. It’s all in place. He’s going to bring the pieces together.”
Last week, The Hawks’ Herald gave details on the status of the search process and how many candidates were interviewed.
For more coverage on the President-Designate Miaoulis, pick up a copy of of The Hawks’ Herald Thursday, Feb. 14.
