Providence College Board of Trustees Issues Statement on Shanley's Forced Departure
GoLocalProv News Team
Providence College Board of Trustees Issues Statement on Shanley's Forced Departure
On Friday, GoLocal reported President Brian Shanley would be leaving the PC in 2020. The announcement late on Friday afternoon of his upcoming departure came as a shock.
GoLocal has learned that Shanley’s departure is being forced by top Dominican officials that oversee PC and that those officials are concerned about the "liberalization of Providence College."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOn Sunday, PC officials confirmed that “Fr. Shanley’s religious superior is Fr. Kenneth Letoile, O.P. Fr. Letoile is the Provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, (based in NYC) which oversees Providence College.”
“We had hoped that Fr. Shanley would be made available by the Provincial to serve a fourth, five-year term. But the decision as to whether or not he is made available to do so is solely within the purview of the Provincial,” said Steve Maurano, Associate Vice President Public Affairs & Community Relations at PC. READ MORE HERE
Statement from the Providence College Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees was informed recently by the Very Rev. Kenneth Letoile, O.P., Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, that he will not make the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. available to serve a fourth term as College president when his current term expires in June 2020. The Board is deeply disappointed in this decision. Fr. Shanley enjoys the unequivocal, unwavering, and nearly unanimous support of the Board. We believe in his leadership, which has been nothing short of transformational for the College since he took office in 2005. The strength and quality of Fr. Shanley’s stewardship, and his commitment to the mission of Providence College, has been demonstrated time and time again.
Fr. Shanley has enjoyed strong Board support throughout his tenure, and that support continues to this day. Indeed, most of us had been counting on his service for an additional five-year term. Providence College has thrived under his leadership: applications from prospective students are at record levels for the fifth consecutive year; the campus has been transformed in recent years with the construction of new academic buildings, state-of-the-art athletic facilities, and a thoughtful and innovative land-use plan that has made us the envy of our peers; our recent capital campaign was wildly successful, exceeding all expectations by raising $185 million on a $140 million goal; we have achieved AACSB accreditation for the School of Business and the College, as a whole, was recently reaccredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (now the New England Commission for Higher Education.). In short, Providence College has not simply thrived under Fr. Shanley’s leadership, but has advanced extraordinarily within the landscape of higher education.
The Board of Trustees thanks Fr. Shanley for his incredible inspiration and his leadership of Providence College over these last 14 years. While the Provincial’s decision not to make Fr. Shanley available for a fourth term is a great disappointment, we understand that when an institution is affiliated with a religious order, changes like this are often inevitable.
PC has never been in a better position, and the Board of Trustees remains extremely optimistic about the future of the College. Fr. Shanley’s visionary leadership has built an extensive and long-standing community of stakeholders whose ongoing dedication to PC have positioned the College for continued and long-term success. The Board is committed to working with the Provincial to implement a succession plan over the next 14 months which will ensure that the College remains on the tremendous trajectory established under Fr. Shanley’s leadership.