Crystal Williams

Dear RISD Community,

As you reflect on bright and memorable moments from the academic year, I hope Commencement and Reunion Weekend serves as an exaltation of all things creative and the limitless potential in all of us. We enthusiastically congratulate the Class of 2026 as they look forward to embarking on their next adventures. And we are thrilled to welcome back alums as they reminisce and reconnect with the places and people that made their time at RISD unforgettable.

So many people across our community endeavor to make Commencement and Reunion Weekend a memorable experience for graduates, alums, families, and other attendees. We see you and thank you.

Happy Commencement and Reunion Weekend, RISD Community! I wish you all a summer of joy, rejuvenation, the company of beloveds, inspiring making, and much needed rest.

Take good care.

Crystal Williams (she/her)
President

Dear RISD Community,

As we look forward to a rejuvenating and restful summer, we write to share that the Strategic Planning Steering Committee met on May 12 to reflect on next steps in the strategic planning process. 

Throughout the process, RISD community members and stakeholders have helped RISD surface more than 3,000 comments, ideas, and recommendations to begin refining key areas of focus through surveys, interviews, focus groups, engagement sessions, alumni and family outreach, trustee and industry conversations, and recent institutional initiatives to help inform the new strategic plan. 

Having read each suggestion and through much discussion, several themes and areas of convergence have emerged, including: 

• The holistic health and well-being of our community

• Creative research and innovation

• Successful student and alumni outcomes

• Interdisciplinary collaboration

• Deepening engagement and partnerships beyond campus

• Finances, shared facilities, and spaces

We will update the Board of Trustees on these themes and ideas at the May board meeting, as the Strategic Planning Steering Committee continues to evolve them through ongoing engagement, synthesis, and refinement over the summer. In early Fall, we will partake in additional discussions with RISD leadership about feasibility, resourcing, and plan implementation. The entire RISD community will have opportunities to participate and provide feedback in the early Fall. We plan to present to the Board of Trustees in October 2026. In the meantime, you can find planning process updates at strategicplanning.risd.edu. 

Thank you again for your ongoing involvement and collective thinking as we plan for RISD’s future. We look forward to continued engagement this fall. 

Sincerely,

Crystal Williams (she/her)                       Touba Ghadessi (she/her)
President                                                       Provost

Dear RISD Community,

Thank you again to those who attended the Community Input and Feedback sessions as part of the strategic planning process. Dozens of community members joined us across seven sessions, and we were grateful for the thoughtfulness, energy, and ideas you brought in service of RISD's future.

As a reminder, RISD is developing a three-to-five-year strategic plan through a consultative process that began in Fall 2025. To date, this process has drawn on input from nearly 800 community voices, including students, staff, full- and part-time faculty, deans and other academic leaders, alums, families, trustees, and industry stakeholders. The current set of ideas reflects a synthesis of more than 400 recommendations, alongside feedback gathered through recent institutional initiatives (including the Campus Climate Assessment, Holistic Student Wellness, Preparedness for Life After RISD, and Financial Optimization) and various other forms of community engagement such as focus groups, facilitated discussions, surveys, and the recent input and feedback sessions. This phase of the process calls on us to refine priorities by analyzing what we are hearing and making adjustments based on ongoing community input.

To ensure we hear from a broad cross-section of the community and give every contribution careful consideration, we have adjusted and extended the planning timeline. Over the summer, we will conduct additional data analysis and refinement. In the fall, we will host a session for students, staff, and faculty to engage with the emerging priorities before we bring a proposed plan to the Board of Trustees in October for consideration and ratification. 

We will continue to update the community via email and strategicplanning.risd.edu. 

Thank you again for your continued engagement and collective thinking as we plan for RISD’s future.
 

Sincerely,

Crystal Williams (she/her)                       Touba Ghadessi (she/her)
President                                                       Provost