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Incoming 溏心vlog免费B站 President Marc Parlange has spent his life working, exploring, and learning in every corner of the world. Born in Rhode Island, he’s returning as 溏心vlog免费B站’s 12th president, with plans to challenge the state鈥檚 brightest minds to tackle the world鈥檚 biggest problems.

By Michael Blanding

As chair of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in the early 2000s, Marc Parlange joined a project to find sources of pollutants causing health issues in Baltimore. 鈥淵oung people were having asthma and breathing problems, and I was really trying to understand the air quality and air movement around the city,鈥� he remembers about the massive effort sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. Getting to the bottom of such a complex issue, he discovered, required many different types of experts, all working together. 鈥淵ou needed community leaders, environmental chemists, transportation engineers, and people like me鈥攑eople working on the atmosphere,鈥� he says.

Parlange learned something else from the experience: The best collaborators on the project were both generous in sharing their own information, and open to hearing and learning from the experiences of others. 鈥淲hat I found is that good researchers really take the time to explain things to you, but at the same time, appreciate what you bring to the table,鈥� he says. After five years of work, the group produced a report that identified sources of specific fine particles in the air, including breathable dust with various toxins, along with detailed explanations for where they were coming from鈥攙ital information that could be used by government officials to prioritize cleanup efforts and dramatically improve child health.

The project was Parlange鈥檚 first experience with the amplifying power of a truly multidisciplinary effort in tackling a big, seemingly intractable challenge鈥攁nd he never forgot it. 鈥淭he thing I really love about universities is that they are places of depth in many different fields,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here are good people willing to roll up their sleeves, get together, and work on these tough problems.鈥� He has carried that lesson with him on an impressive university leadership career that鈥檚 taken him all over the world鈥攖o Switzerland, British Columbia, and, most recently, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where he served as provost for the past four years.

This summer, he brings his experience and passion to Rhode Island, where he will become 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 new president. Parlange hopes to harness the University鈥檚 depth of knowledge to tackle some big issues. 鈥淩hode Island is a global leader in ocean and marine sciences,鈥� he says, acknowledging 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 existing partnerships in Indonesia. 鈥淏ut there are opportunities, for example, to partner with others in Australia and Southeast Asia鈥攖o build deeper networks of excellence that can deal with big challenges in fisheries, climate change, wind energy, and so forth,鈥� he says, speaking over a Zoom link from Australia before his move to Rhode Island. 鈥淵ou can do so much more if you have good friends in other countries.鈥�

Parlange hopes to harness the University鈥檚 depth of knowledge to tackle big issues.

In the course of an hourlong conversation, Parlange ticks off areas in which 溏心vlog免费B站 could make an impact. 鈥淩hode Island is rightly focused on oceanography, business, science, and arts, but there are a lot of topical areas where the University could work across fields on top problems. How are we going to genuinely transform to a clean energy system? That is going to have technical problems, it鈥檚 going to have social problems, it鈥檚 going to have behavioral work,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat are our cities going to look like in the future? What are our rural areas going to look like in the future? We鈥檙e going to do some bold things.鈥�

As someone who has worked all over the world, he鈥檚 excited to return to Rhode Island, where he was born, and which, he believes, has a global perspective that suits his personality. 鈥淎s a state of immigrants, it鈥檚 very welcoming of new ideas,鈥� he says. By using his ability to connect people across disciplines鈥攁nd to connect Rhode Island to other institutions around the world鈥攈e aims to amplify those ideas, making 溏心vlog免费B站 even more attractive as a destination school for top students and faculty. 鈥淒r. Parlange鈥檚 global vision was developed during a lifetime of traveling the world and experiencing other cultures,鈥� says Margo Cook 鈥�86, chair of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Board of Trustees. 鈥淗e is someone who can expand the University鈥檚 global impact, as well as strengthen its commitment as a partner in the vitality and economic development of the state.鈥�

A Global Career

Among the immigrants who鈥檝e made Rhode Island home were Parlange鈥檚 parents. In the 1950s, his father came to Rhode Island from France to study aerospace engineering at Brown University, while his mother came from Ireland to study at Bryant College (now Bryant University). 鈥淚 can tell you exactly where they met in Providence鈥攖he corner of Power and Gano streets,鈥� says Parlange, whose great-aunt and great-uncle owned a triple-decker there, which they rented out to students. 鈥淭hey lived on different floors in the same house.鈥� When they married, they moved to France, where his father completed his Air Force service, and then to Connecticut, where Parlange grew up. Later, his parents relocated to Australia, where Parlange attended high school and university in Brisbane near the country鈥檚 rugged Gold Coast. He developed a lifelong love of athletics. 鈥淚 surfed in Queensland,鈥� he says of the famous home for world-class surfers. 鈥淭hat intimidates people鈥攗ntil they see me surf,鈥� he laughs.

Following in the footsteps of his engineer father, Parlange focused his scientific efforts on water鈥攕tudying the relationship of turbulence and fluid mechanics to climate and agriculture. The field provided what was, for him, the perfect blend between scientific know-how and social impact. 鈥淲ater is so basic to life,鈥� he says. 鈥淓nvironmental engineers have arguably saved more lives than all the medical professions put together. However, some one million people still die every year because of lack of access to clean drinking water.鈥�

He returned to the United States for graduate school at Cornell University. Both his master鈥檚 advisor, Tammo Steenhuis, from the Netherlands, and his Ph.D. advisor, Wilfried Brutsaert, who is Belgian, had built decidedly global research teams. 鈥淒r. Brutsaert had students from Japan, South America, and Africa,鈥� Parlange says. 鈥淗e instilled in me the idea of being open to new ideas and approaches from students of all different backgrounds.鈥�

鈥淯niversity leaders need to have been academics, need to have been teaching and advising students and seeing those students succeed. That empathetic part of a leader is important.鈥�
鈥擬arc Parlange

Parlange began his teaching career in 1990 at the University of California, Davis, before moving on to Johns Hopkins University in 1996. There, he was inspired by legendary dean of engineering Gordon 鈥淩eds鈥� Wolman, whose father, Abel Wolman, developed the chlorination method that still ensures clean water in the United States. His son was equally passionate about using science for public good. 鈥淗e was somebody who really believed that universities should interface with government and industry,鈥� Parlange says. At the same time, he says, Wolman lived by the maxim, 鈥淚f something is worth doing, it鈥檚 worth doing badly.鈥� In other words, don鈥檛 be afraid to fail. 鈥淚t means, let鈥檚 not wait until things are perfect,鈥� says Parlange. 鈥淟et鈥檚 start with the resources we have.鈥�

As department chair, Parlange found he, too, had a flair for leadership鈥攂ucking an institutional habit of holding meetings in conference rooms, and instead opening up his academic office as a place where students and assistant professors could come for guidance and connection. 鈥淚t made me realize how University leadership is [important] in creating and cultivating an open environment,鈥� he says. During his tenure, Johns Hopkins launched a new major in environmental engineering, which became one of the top 10 programs in the country, according to the prestigious U.S. News and World Report rankings. 鈥淚鈥檝e always enjoyed helping people motivate themselves, and supporting them to reach their potential,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t sounds trite, but people want to be part of successful teams.鈥�

Parlange鈥檚 work caught the attention of Patrick Aebischer, a Swiss professor who worked at Brown University in the 1990s, and later served as president of the 脡cole Polytechnique F茅d茅rale de Lausanne (EPFL), one of Switzerland鈥檚 two flagship technical universities. Aebischer was creating a new institute for environmental engineering and recruited Parlange as director in 2004. Aebischer had grand plans for the university, reenvisioning it as a global hub of innovation between academia and industry鈥攜ears before such ideas became mainstream. 鈥淣ow every single university around the world is talking about it, but Aebischer did this 20 years ago,鈥� Parlange says. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 building a technology park, he was building a vibrant oasis for ideas and translational research, one that would have the highest expectations for quality research, at the same time being strongly society-facing.鈥�

Aebischer鈥檚 vision became reality, as he undertook a root-and-branch reform of how university departments communicated and opened up new lines of communication with government to work across the French- and German-speaking sides of the country. EPFL is now known as one of the world鈥檚 top research universities, and a case study in how to do university transformation right. 鈥淚 found it quite inspiring that could happen to an institution鈥攖hat you don鈥檛 have to stay locked in a certain position, but that you could get stronger,鈥� Parlange says. 鈥淗ow many people heard of EPFL 25 years ago? People often mispronounced it and got the letters mixed up. Now it鈥檚 a clear global leader.鈥�

An Inclusive Attitude

Parlange took those lessons to heart in his next position as dean of the faculty of applied science at the University of British Columbia, starting in 2013. There he led efforts to open two new innovation hubs, combining technology and entrepreneurship鈥攏ow essential for any research university. At UBC, he also continued his own research, including a project in Burkina Faso that examined the effects of climate change and farming practices on the agriculture of West Africa鈥攁 topic for which he is now internationally known.

鈥淲ith the Applied Science School of Community and Regional Planning, we established, together with the Musqueam First Nation community, the first master鈥檚 program in Indigenous community planning. The graduates are in very high demand throughout British Columbia,鈥� he says, adding that he is excited to see similar conversations happening with First Nations communities in Rhode Island. He notes the recently announced plans for the relocation of Rhode Island鈥檚 Tomaquag Museum鈥攄edicated to educating the public about the history and culture of Rhode Island鈥檚 Indigenous people鈥攖o 溏心vlog免费B站 land near the Kingston Campus.

Parlange continued his global focus as provost and senior vice president at Monash University, Australia鈥檚 largest research university, starting in 2017. Based in Melbourne, Monash sprawls throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans, with campuses in Malaysia, China, Italy, and India, where graduate students split their time while conducting an international research project as part of a joint Ph.D. program with the top-ranked Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Having that kind of global reach is the only way that an institution can truly work on problems of climate change or international security that affect the entire world, argues Parlange, who hopes to expand similar global relationships at 溏心vlog免费B站. 鈥淭hese are the deep, deep partnerships we could build,鈥� he says.

At Monash, Parlange helped to spur some ambitious projects in areas such as antimicrobial resistance, AI and data science, new-generation building construction approaches, and better governance and policy. A new research endeavor in sustainability will examine the effects of climate change in Antarctica, some 2,000 miles across the Southern Ocean. The project involves multiple departments at the university, as well as a dozen other Australian universities and government agencies.

This past year, Parlange led another effort called the Melbourne Experiment, which examined all aspects of the city during the coronavirus pandemic, from air quality to the livelihood of street musicians. 鈥淲e wanted to monitor and understand what happens when you shut down a city for an extended period of time,鈥� says Parlange, who hosted up to 200 people every Friday for a Zoom meeting featuring speakers and discussion on the topic.

鈥淲e had Ph.D. students and undergraduates, faculty, deans, professional staff, alumni, government, industry,鈥� he says. For more than a year, the sessions became a launching point for numerous research projects, including a study on the livability of the suburbs, an examination of racism toward Indigenous people, and a collaboration between public health, arts, and law faculty on domestic violence. Ironically, Parlange says, the venture became a way to deeply connect faculty members who had never met each other on campus, and pool knowledge and resources to examine issues that could have a long-term impact on urban planning and global sustainability goals. 鈥淚t goes back to what I learned in Baltimore about respect, openness, sharing, and generosity,鈥� Parlange says.

An Expansive Vision

Members of the 溏心vlog免费B站 presidential search committee were enthusiastic about Parlange鈥檚 wide-ranging talents. 鈥淗e is an accomplished, visionary leader who has focused on student success and experience,鈥� said committee chair and 溏心vlog免费B站 trustee Thomas M. Ryan 鈥�75, Hon. 鈥�99. 鈥淲e found a champion for all faculty, staff, and students鈥攁 president who can lead the University toward another transformational decade.鈥�

When he arrives in Kingston this summer, Parlange is hoping to build on 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 initiatives to connect people across disciplines. He cites 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Signature International Programs, in which students embed themselves in language study while pursuing a dual major in another field鈥攅ngineering and German, for example. Or computer science and Chinese, or fashion design and Italian. 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 International Engineering Program, the first of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Signature International Programs, was groundbreaking and has long served as a model for other institutions in the United States. 鈥淚t was a bold initiative that was really followed through, and that is extremely important,鈥� he says.

He believes that his longtime experience as both a professor and an administrator will help him make connections with faculty and students to push through similarly bold initiatives. 鈥淚 know what it is to get up at 4 o鈥檆lock in the morning to refresh what I鈥檓 going to say in an 8 o鈥檆lock lecture, or what it鈥檚 like to have worked for weeks on a proposal and be told there鈥檚 not enough money, so you鈥檙e not funded this year,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think university leaders need to have been academics, need to have been teaching and advising students and seeing those students succeed. That empathetic part of a leader is important.鈥�

He鈥檚 also looking forward to becoming part of the campus community. An avid sports enthusiast, he and his wife recently became fans of the St. Kilda Football Club (Saints), a Melbourne-based Australian-rules football team. 鈥淲e are in a city where that鈥檚 their unbelievable passion, and I鈥檝e joined the Saints club,鈥� he says, holding up a St. Kilda cellphone case. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredible sport鈥攊t鈥檚 just creative chaos.鈥� He鈥檚 eager now to cheer on the relatively more orderly鈥攂ut no less exciting鈥斾缧膙log免费B站 basketball teams鈥攑articularly the women鈥檚 team, where six of the 12 players on the roster last year and the associate head coach are French. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to meet them鈥攁nd to wear a shirt that says 溏心vlog免费B站 Basketball,鈥� he says.

Parlange also plans to stay active at 溏心vlog免费B站 through biking, hiking, trail running, and sea kayaking. One habit he鈥檒l have to give up is running five miles back and forth between his home and his office at Monash each day鈥攕ince the president鈥檚 house at 溏心vlog免费B站 is right in the middle of campus. 鈥淚 tell everybody that I will live 100 meters from my office, so I now can run in the daylight with students, staff, and faculty,鈥� enthuses Parlange, who wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way. Being at the center of the action, connecting the people around him, and helping spur them to achieve big plans, is exactly where he likes to be. 鈥淓very morning, I鈥檝e been receiving the most fantastic emails from people at 溏心vlog免费B站鈥攚ith ideas, with energy, with enthusiasm鈥攁nd they are ready to teach me about what they are doing,鈥� he beams. 鈥淚 hope those emails never stop.鈥� 鈥�

PHOTOS: COURTESY MARC AND MARY PARLANGE