Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

His days in Providence may be numbered, but don’t look for Rhode Island School of Design President Roger Mandle in the unemployment line just yet.

According to an item in today’s New York Times, Mandle has been hired as executive director of the Qatar Museums Authority, a newly created administrative body charged with overseeing museums in the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.

Among the authority’s current projects: A new Museum of Islamic Art designed by famed Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei.

Last fall, Mandle stunned the Rhode Island arts community by announcing that he would end his 15-year tenure as RISD president after the school’s graduation ceremonies on May 31. His replacement, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and digital arts pioneer John Maeda, is due to take over as president on June 2.

Mandle was traveling today and could not be reached for comment.

-- Journal staff

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