John McCray

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Dr. John H. McCray, Jr., URI's vice president for student affairs for the last decade, has been appointed Vice Provost for Urban Programs at the Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education at the Providence campus of the university. McCray, who will assume the post on Jan.15, succeeds Walter Crocker, who served as dean of the college for the past 16 years and is retiring Jan. 13. McCray, who has more than 30 years of administrative experience, will be responsible for the operation of the Providence campus, including the management of all facilities and budgets, URI said. He will develop and coordinate a range of academic and service programs for urban populations and serve as a principal advocate in the Urban Initiative and of the university's role as a federally-designated Urban Grant Institution. He will also lead the planning, development and administration of all continuing education programs and facilities for traditional and non-traditional students and administer the university's summer session. A resident of Providence, McCray has served as treasurer and chairman of the Finance Committee of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority and is a founding member and past president of the Board of the Minority Investment Development Corporation. He is also a member of the City of Providence Park Commission. He holds a Ph.D. in economics and has taught regularly as an adjunct professor in the URI College of Business Administration for many years. McCray is also a graduate of Harvard University's Institute of Educational Management.