Providence College Chooses Dr. Sean Reid as New Provost
May 28, 2020, Providence, RI – Providence College has named Dr. Sean F. Reid its new senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, effective July 1, 2020. Dr. Reid is a scholar in the field of finance with an extensive record of achievement and service in the military, in the private sector, and in academics. He currently serves as dean of the Ithaca College School of Business.
“We are so pleased to have someone of Sean’s experience and capabilities join the senior leadership team at Providence College,” said Providence College President-Elect Fr. Kenneth Sicard, O.P. “Dr. Reid has been an integral member of a similar team at Ithaca College and, as dean of their school of business, has played a major role in the growth of a thriving and substantive academic program at that institution. Sean has been a key partner with Ithaca’s development and finance teams, in support not only of his own school, but of that college’s mission and purpose as a whole, and I anticipate that he will do the same here at Providence College. We welcome him and look forward to his arrival as provost.”
A 1988 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Dr. Reid is a decorated veteran who served with distinction until retiring as a Naval Reserve captain in 2017. His active-duty deployments included service in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He earned seven awards for superior performance during his career as a naval officer.
Dr. Reid earned an MBA from Incarnate Word College in 1994 and worked as an investment adviser and securities analyst for two years in the late 1990s, while pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Rhode Island. He earned his Ph.D. in finance in 2002.
He held finance faculty appointments at the University of New Haven, Salisbury University, and Quinnipiac University before being appointed associate dean of Quinnipiac’s School of Business in 2012. He has been in the dean’s role at Ithaca since 2015
At Ithaca, Reid is a member of the college’s Senior Leadership Team and he serves as the dean representative on several high-level committees, including the Institutional Effectiveness and Budget Committee, and the Enterprise Risk Management Committee. Within the AACSB-accredited School of Business, he has managed development of a comprehensive strategic plan with revised mission, vision, and value statements; overseen curriculum modifications and updates; and redesigned the first-year business experience, among several noteworthy initiatives. He also is known as a key partner working with colleagues in both private fundraising and student recruitment.
He serves at the lay trustee for the Ithaca College Catholic Community and is active in both his local parish (where he is faith formation facilitator within the RCIA program) and in Ithaca’s on-campus Catholic community.
As the College’s chief academic officer, the senior vice president and provost is responsible for the planning, strategic development, and oversight of the College’s academic programs. The College’s five deans report to the senior vice president/provost, as do the associate provost for faculty affairs and the associate vice presidents responsible for admission and financial aid; institutional effectiveness; and academic facilities and technology planning.
Dr. Reid will succeed Dr. Hugh F. Lena, who is stepping down after 16 years as provost and 46 years on the Providence College faculty.
Founded in 1917, Providence College is the only college or university in the United States administered by the Dominican Friars and has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 4,000 students. Providence College consistently has been ranked among the top five regional universities in the North according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.”
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