RISD President Somerson to Step Down

RISD President Somerson to Step Down

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) trustees announced on Tuesday that President Rosanne Somerson will be stepping down after 5 years as the leader of the school.

She succeeded John Maeda who left RISD in 2015 and today is an EVP & Chief Experience Officer at Publicis Sapient. 

The Trustees wrote in their statement about Somerson:

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Earlier today, President Somerson, Professor, author and founder of our Furniture Design department shared her decision to retire at the end of the academic year on June 30, 2021 and to take a long-deferred sabbatical. In honor of her service to RISD, the Board of Trustees has decided to name her President Emerita at the end of her term.

For over three decades, President Somerson has been an influential leader and educator of the RISD community fostering and driving numerous and substantive advances for RISD. During her distinguished tenure, she has bolstered RISD’s reputation as the premier college of art and design in the U.S. and around the globe with faculty, students and alumni being recognized with prestigious accolades and attention.

Most recently, President Somerson has guided the institution through the extraordinary challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and worked tirelessly to ensure our students have been able to continue in-person learning safely in classrooms and studios across campus. As a Board we recognize that RISD is currently at a critical inflection point in the institution’s evolution. We believe our next leader will be instrumental in helping the entire RISD community deliver on the first commitment announced by President Somerson in our seven year plan, Just Societies: the advancement of the principles of social equity and inclusion across the entire institution.

President Somerson has agreed to help us prepare for the transition to new leadership while leaving an outstanding and dedicated team of exceptional professionals in place. The Board will engage a search firm to work alongside a newly created Sub-Committee of the Board to identify and interview qualified candidates. We commit to engaging a diverse and inclusive representation of the RISD community throughout this process. While this year has brought unprecedented challenges both at RISD and across the globe, we remain focused on continuing to move our beloved institution forward and remain excited and confident in our future.