Roth, who is currently the assistant to the dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Rhode Island and a professor of communication studies and rhetoric, will be responsible for the academic and educational mission of the college, which has nearly 1,800 students and 150 faculty members across 20 programs. He will replace Dean Robert Smart, who will retire on June 30.

“Dr. Adam David Roth is a seasoned academic leader with a strong interdisciplinary vision and an unwavering commitment to advancing student success through a liberal arts education,” Liebowitz said.“He brings extensive experience in curriculum and program development, faculty development and retention, fundraising, recruitment, marketing, and alumni, industry and community engagement.”

Roth said, “I am thrilled to join the inspirational leadership team and exceptional faculty at Quinnipiac and look forward to working collaboratively with my new colleagues to provide outstanding learning experiences for students and to propel the university into the future."

Roth joined URI in 2007 and has served in a range of administrative positions, including as a course director for the general education program, director of the Harrington School of Communication and Media, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and assistant to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for strategic initiatives — the university’s largest college with 4,600 students, 350 full-time faculty, 24 academic units and 60 undergraduate and graduate programs. Prior to joining URI, he was co-director of the Communication Across the Curriculum Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.

His accomplishments include developing and launching interdisciplinary programs, facilitating collaborative strategic planning, significantly increasing enrollments, including of underrepresented groups, creating transformational experiences for students, overseeing the construction of $17.25 million in new teaching and learning spaces, and raising $12.25 million to support the growth and success of the Harrington School and the College of Arts and Sciences. Roth’s strategic fiscal management grew the Harrington School’s endowment by 50 percent, establishing a portfolio of scholarships and investing in faculty research and creative activities, intellectual and cultural events, and student success.

As a professor, Roth has delivered a wide range of courses in rhetorical theory and criticism, persuasion and society, history of rhetoric, communication studies, and rhetoric of science, both face-to-face and online. His teaching has earned him several prestigious honors, including the Douglas Ehninger Award for Teaching Excellence and the University of Iowa Outstanding Teaching Award.

Roth’s passion for teaching is motivated, in large part, by his research agenda. One area of his research investigates the central role of rhetoric in the evolution of Western medicine. His work is published in peer-reviewed journals and books, and he frequently presents at national and international conferences devoted to the study of rhetoric, communication, philosophy and higher education. He has been invited to present his research in Greece, Cyprus, Russia and China, and his work has been translated into Russian and Greek.

Roth graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s business dual-major program with a bachelor’s degree in communication and rhetoric and business administration. He pursued his graduate studies at the University of Iowa, earning an M.A. and a Ph.D. in communication studies and rhetoric and a graduate certificate in interdisciplinary inquiry. He also completed the Management Development Program at Harvard University’s Institutes for Higher Education.

^{Photo by: Joe Giblin}