University of New England announces Joshua Hamilton of Rhode Island College as new UNE Provost

The University of New England is pleased to announce that after a rigorous national search, Joshua Hamilton, Ph.D., has been named UNE’s new provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. He will assume his position on April 15. 

Hamilton comes to UNE from Rhode Island College (RIC), where he serves as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. In that capacity, he has worked to ensure RIC’s academic excellence in its curricula, teaching, research and public outreach.

Prior to his position at RIC, Hamilton served as the dean of the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), where he also held tenured professorships in biology and pharmacy. Prior to UMD, he served as senior scientist and chief academic and scientific officer of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where he also held a concurrent professorship in pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University. Prior to MBL, he spent over two decades at Dartmouth College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, rising in the ranks from postdoctoral research fellow to professor of pharmacology and toxicology. He served as founding director of Dartmouth’s Center for Environmental Health Sciences and associate director of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

Hamilton has authored nearly 80 research articles, more than 90 published abstracts, and almost a dozen book chapters, reviews, and reports. He holds several patents, and has served as principal investigator on numerous well-funded projects ranging from gene expression to toxicology to clinical trials. Over the years, he has served as the advisor to 10 doctoral graduates, dozens of undergraduate researchers, and has been the recipient of many awards and honors for both research and teaching. A sought after presenter, he has been invited to speak at numerous universities across the country, as well as at countless conferences, workshops, and symposia.

Hamilton received a B.S. in biology from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, and he earned both a master’s degree in genetics and a doctorate in toxicology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He was awarded a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship to support his research training at Dartmouth.

UNE President James Herbert, Ph.D., stated that he looks forward to Hamilton’s contributions to shaping and expanding the university’s academic programs. “I have full confidence that incoming Provost Hamilton will be a tremendous asset to UNE through the pursuit of innovative ideas and strategies that will enhance the university's stature as a national leader in higher education,” he stated. “His impressive record of accomplishments as an administrator, researcher, mentor, and teacher will serve the UNE community well. He will bring a wealth of experience and a rich perspective to the important work of our strategic planning process and will undoubtedly enhance the academic experience at UNE for our students.”

Hamilton, too, expressed his enthusiasm about his new position. “I am humbled by this appointment and eagerly anticipate being a part of the vitality of the UNE,” he shared. “I’ve been intrigued by this institution for several years, and the prospect of helping to write the next chapter of discovery and innovation in UNE’s history under President Herbert’s new leadership and vision will be a true honor.”

Read the news in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Portland Press Herald and the Journal Tribune

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions