Provost Ice prepares for retirement
Richard Ice is preparing to leave CSB+SJU after 22 years as a professor, three years as academic dean, one year as vice provost, and most recently 11 years as provost.
After 37 years at CSB+SJU, Provost Richard Ice is preparing to retire. Ice first joined the community in 1989 as a faculty member in the Communication Department, where he helped launch the communications major and taught for 22 years.
From there, he transitioned into administration, serving as academic dean for three years, vice provost for one year, and ultimately as provost for the past 11 years.
Ice’s academic journey has always been rooted in the liberal arts. After earning his undergraduate degree at a small liberal arts college and completing his master’s at a larger university, he said he was eager to return to a close-knit learning community.
“I have felt that CSB+SJU is a learning community,” Ice said. “I’ve never felt like I am the professor and I’m giving knowledge, but I’m on a journey with students and my colleagues to learn together.”
He said he carried this collaborative mindset into his role as provost, focusing on building community and creating meaningful institutional change.
One of Ice’s contributions still felt today was switching the class schedule. CSB+SJU previously used a rotating “wrap-around” schedule where classes alternated Monday-toMonday and Tuesday-to-Tuesday. Ice facilitated the change to the consistent five-day schedule used today.
“I changed it because I could see that in the future, student experiences outside of class were going to be essential for learning,” Ice said. “Opportunities for community-based learning, service learning, internships and even undergraduate research.” His decision paved the way for the hands-on, experiential learning opportunities that are now a commonality of the CSB+SJU academic experience.
Throughout his tenure, Ice said he has worked to be a catalyst for change at an institution where transformation can often be slow.
“Part of what I have tried to do is accelerate change in institutions of higher learning where change is very gradual,” Ice said. “What my contribution has been is setting the groundwork and expectation for change at the institution.”
Under his leadership, CSB+SJU introduced more new academic programs than in any other 11-year period, renovated both libraries, and launched the Experience Hub to better connect students with internships, research and other cocurricular opportunities.
As Ice steps into retirement, he said he looks forward to more time with his wife and family, though he admits he faces his own unknowns.
“I’d say to all the students, if you’re not sure and a little frightened about what happens after college, so am I,” Ice said. “Because this year I leave the college too, and I’m a little uncertain about what happens after.”