Meghan Hughes, Ph.D., announces departure from CCRI
March 16, 2023
Dr. Meghan Hughes, President of the Community College of Rhode Island since 2016,
has announced today that she will step down from her position, effective August 31,
2023.
As the fifth president of CCRI, and the first female president, Dr. Hughes is recognized
as a higher education visionary who led the transformation at the community college
with an unwavering focus on student success and a commitment to providing Rhode Islanders
with an outstanding education that leads to strong learning outcomes, successful degree
attainment, and robust labor market opportunities. Dr. Hughes has placed closing equity
performance gaps at the center of her work. Under her leadership, the college achieved
the highest graduation rates in more than 20 years, outpacing national two-and three-year
graduation rates, and was named the 2019 two-year college of the year by Education
Dive magazine.
Dr. Hughes fiercely advocated for the creation of a free college tuition program at
CCRI, which has become a model for similar programs across the country. Since the
program launched in 2017, the RI Promise Scholarship program resulted in dramatic
improvements in enrollment and graduation rates for students, in particular for low
income students and students of color.
Led by Dr. Hughes, CCRI’s partnerships with government and industry have transformed
the labor market landscape through collaborative building of in-demand credentials
that allow Rhode Islanders to receive the training needed to compete in today’s economy
and provide a pipeline of qualified employees for businesses. CCRI’s Division of Workforce
Partnerships trains more than 4,000 Rhode Island residents annually in short-term,
labor-market driven credentials and is the leading educational partner for General
Dynamics Electric Boat for its submarine building facilities in New London, CT and
Quonset, RI. CCRI is also poised to launch the state’s first GWO training program
in support of multiple offshore wind farms expected to be constructed in the coming
years.
Creating an inclusive, diverse and anti-racist college community has been a leading
priority for Dr. Hughes. During her tenure, the college created the first ever Office
of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Organizational Development and reformed how
the college attracts, hires, and retains a diverse talent of faculty and staff.
Dr. Hughes will complete her service at CCRI after successfully leading the College
through the challenges of the pandemic and building a strong leadership team that
will continue to position the college for future success in providing thousands of
Rhode Islanders access to an affordable, high-quality education.
“Serving as CCRI’s president has been the greatest professional honor of my lifetime,
and I am profoundly grateful to all the faculty, staff, students, and broader Rhode
Island community members who have taught me so much and who continue to inspire me
daily,” said Dr. Hughes. “I believe the time is right to transition the college to
new presidential leadership by summer’s end as CCRI is strong and continuing to grow
ever stronger. We have largely emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, our enrollment
continues to recover each semester, and we are laser focused on supporting strong
student learning outcomes. Our commitment to creating equitable access and delivering
outstanding credentials that lead to quality employment and seamless transfer is powerfully
advanced every day across all four campuses, and I have full confidence in our faculty,
staff, and administrators to continue advancing this work.
“President Hughes has been a bold, visionary leader at CCRI,” said Governor Dan McKee.
“From making community college more accessible, to increasing graduation rates, and
working together to create innovative job training partnerships in key sectors like
offshore wind, President Hughes has been a true partner on our team and a key part
of our Administration's work to strengthen our state's higher education ecosystem."
"I speak on behalf of the entire Council on Postsecondary Education when I say how
much we will miss Dr. Hughes’ passion and commitment to the CCRI community,” said
David Caprio, Esq., Chair of the Council on Postsecondary Education. "Her transformational
leadership has profoundly impacted countless lives and elevated CCRI to one of the
best community colleges in the nation."
“We wish Meghan Hughes all the best in her future endeavors, and we are certain she
will be successful based on her achievements while serving Rhode Islanders as the
president of the Community College of Rhode Island,” said Shannon Gilkey, Ed.D., Rhode
Island’s Commissioner of Postsecondary Education. “On behalf of the Council on Postsecondary
Education, I thank Dr. Hughes for her years of valued service to public higher education
in our state and share our deep appreciation for her leadership. Dr. Hughes has been
a relentless champion of CCRI and it showed in everything she did as president. Immediately,
the council will begin the process to fill the vacancy at the college’s helm and will
seek candidates with high caliber academic and institutional management experience
who will prepare Rhode Islanders with high quality degrees and certifications required
to be successful in the modern economy.”
Dr. Hughes chairs the Board of Directors for the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce
and serves on the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Foundation and the Federal
Reserve Bank of Boston. In addition, she serves as a member on the Council on Competitiveness,
the College Board’s Community College Advisory Panel, Congressman David Cicilline’s
Women’s Advisory Council, and the Rhode Island Commodores.
Dr. Hughes is an Aspen Institute Fellow for Community College Excellence. She was
presented with the “Trailblazer in Education” award in 2018 at the Realizing Inspiration
& Sustaining Excellence Women’s Leadership Conference. Hughes was recognized by the
Latino Public Radio Foundation with its Foundation Builder Award in 2016 and by the
Rhode Island Foundation with its Community Leader award in 2015. In 2014, U.S. Rep.
David Cicilline named Hughes an Outstanding Woman of the Year.
The Council on Postsecondary Education is expected to announce plans for an interim
president by the April 19 meeting.
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