When citing what he likes about Rhode Island, David Dooley, the new president of the University of Rhode Island lists “community and relationships.”

And while his Montana home is a long way from the Ocean State, Dooley finds remarkable similarities between the two states in terms of community and relationships. Both states share a population of about a million people and like Rhode Island, if Montanans don’t know each other they are likely to know many of the same people.

Tuesday morning as the URI campus buzzed in preparation for another academic year, Dooley took time to tell a story about relationships.

The phone rings and the man of the house answers it. The conversation goes on and on and after a half hour, he hangs up. His wife is curious and asks who was on the line.

“Oh, it was a wrong number,” he replies.

Dooley believes URI is the right number – the right place for him to be – and like the man in his story he delights in getting to know people and making connections.

But he’s not a quick read.

Dooley sticks to topic, rarely wandering from the question asked or steering the conversation to his agenda. He doesn’t deliver sound bites and his answers reflect the analytical reasoning of his scientific background (He has a BA and a PhD in chemistry). He speaks quickly, which reinforces the conclusion he’s given thought to the issue, and he talks in complete sentences – something that not all in high profile jobs do.

URI’s eleventh president, Dooley has been on the Rhode Island circuit, doing television interviews, meeting with editors, talking with the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and connecting with business and community leaders at every opportunity. He has started a blog, complete with pictures, that since his appointment by the Board of Governors for Higher Education on May 11 he has used to keep readers abreast of his plans and his move east.

One would imagine in even such a short time that he’s perfected his message. That’s not the case. Rather, he seems to be testing the message.

He uses familiar catchwords when talking about the issues faced by the university, the institution and its governance: “transparency, efficiency, accountability, access and strategic planning.” Drawing upon his knowledge of URI while at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., where he started his career as an assistant professor, Dooley says, “URI is changing fairly rapidly and it is better than it was 15 years ago.” He said the university is “reasonably comfortable with change,” which he views as a positive.

What change?

Dooley immediately focuses on the curriculum and a new academic plan that has been developed over the past year. He sees it as revitalizing under graduate education and “rebuilding on an inclusive community.” Long range the image he has for URI “is a research intensive university renowned for its undergraduate work that fosters the success of students.”

One change that has already made headlines is the return of alcohol at tailgating parties after a 15-year ban. Dooley does not see extending this to the sale of beer at the Ryan Center during basketball games, nor does he consider it the reversal of a poor policy to start with. Times were different when the ban was imposed, he observes.

Why? Doesn’t this have the potential of rekindling the reputation of URI as a party school that former president Robert Carothers worked so hard to shed?

Dooley talks about the affordability of URI football games, the “exciting team” and the “game day experience.” The emphasis, however, is that the change was “guided by information, data and experience” and that just as quickly the policy can be changed or again reversed if necessary.

Don’t be surprised to find Dooley looking to change the university’s relationship with the state. He talks about the Montana constitution and how the university there has autonomy. Indeed, Montana State University, where Dooley was provost and vice president of academic affairs, receives state funding. Dooley said the university is held accountable for the state funds and is subject to an audit, however, it has the freedom to build partnerships with the private and non-profit sectors, initiate joint ventures, share costs with institutions and transfer technology. The money doesn’t come with strings attached or legislative or administrative interference.

Partnerships and ventures into research and development, Dooley sees as means of not only generating new sources of revenue but also providing new opportunities for students and faculty.

With Rhode Island unemployment high, second only to Michigan, the role of the university in rebuilding the state’s economy is a question Dooley has fielded before. He says it’s not impossible for Rhode Island to have blue-collar workers as part of the new economy. He notes that many Rhode Island manufacturers have been successful in carving out a niche and producing a superior product that meets market demand. He cites the biotech, high tech and financial services as sectors for growth.

“Higher education is only a part,” he cautions, saying that the state needs to work carefully to ensure that “all the pieces of the puzzle are on the table.”

The role of URI he sees as helping bring those pieces together. As an example he cites state tax policies and how they impact businesses. Dooley is hopeful that state leaders would look to URI as a resource.

“We can be constructive participants,” he said. “It’s a role we can and should play.”

Dooley and his wife, Lynn Baker-Dooley, are living in the on-campus President’s House. She is an American Baptist minister, which Dooley says has given him ample training in having people suggest how to run things, as pastors are often told by their parishioners. They have two children, Christopher, 25 who is living in Los Angeles and Samantha, 22, who is seeking to pursue her education in medicine.