Crystal Williams

Dear RISD Community,

An art exhibition co-organized by two student groups, RISD Students for Justice in Palestine and Carr Haus, which opened on March 17 in Carr House, has been the focus of negative public attention, including calls for its removal. RISD continues to condemn antisemitism and all forms of hate, and we seek to foster an environment where artistic expression, freedom of speech, and cultures of care co-exist.

As an academic institution and a community of artists and designers, RISD has also long been a space where students can connect, express themselves, and share ideas. This sometimes includes showcasing events or perspectives that may not align with everyone’s views, opinions, or beliefs. Given this, I, RISD’s Provost, and VP of Student Life and Engagement have been in conversation with faculty leaders, the student organizers of the exhibition, and concerned members of RISD’s community about prioritizing our community’s safety, honoring our commitments to artistic expression and freedom of speech, and upholding our commitment to a culture of care, particularly in these fraught times.  

Out of an abundance of caution and to uphold the safety of RISD students, faculty, and staff, we will move the exhibition out of the Carr Haus Cafe, which reopens to the public at the conclusion of Spring Recess. Relocating the exhibition to a more secure location will enable us to prioritize the safety of staff and student employees of Carr Haus and our student artists and their work. Because Carr Haus is a public gathering space, the move also enables community members to engage with this exhibition of their own volition, as is the case with most exhibitions at RISD. 

The exhibition will reopen to the RISD community on April 7, 2025 at ProvWash 344, and it will be open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm through its original date of May 2, 2025. 

Sincerely,

Crystal Williams (she/her)
President

Dear RISD Community, 

In the past three weeks, members of the President’s Cabinet have met with groups of RISD faculty, staff, and students to discuss recent events resulting from changing federal guidelines and actions that have many in our community feeling anxious and uncertain about a range of issues, including travel. We have consistently affirmed our commitment to RISD’s foundational values. And we will continue to do so. We have also affirmed our commitment to keep RISD community members informed as much as possible to any significant changes to daily operations. 

Given that commitment and in light of recent reports about a potential travel ban and other changes to travel and visa policies, we encourage you to seriously consider, revise, or postpone your travel plans that will require re-entry into the U.S. In particular, international students, staff, and faculty, including U.S. visa holders and permanent residents (“green card holders”), are encouraged to reconsider or postpone travel outside the U.S. during these challenging times. 

I understand that this may be a difficult decision given the Spring Break plans that many of us have made. However, considering the potential changeability of international travel restrictions, an abundance of caution may be warranted. 

At a minimum, we strongly encourage all RISD community members to become acquainted with recent guidelines and actions regarding international travel—via vetted and trustworthy news sources—so that their decisions are as informed as possible. RISD holds campus-wide subscriptions to several news sources, and community members have free access to these news sources online. 

To help community members navigate these changes and make informed decisions, we will continue to actively monitor executive orders and actions concerning issues that may impact our students, staff, and faculty. RISD maintains a website page with resources, which will be updated as appropriate. Each community member should make their own choices and consult the U.S. State Department and their respective Embassies for further clarification regarding the parameters of their visa status and travel abilities. 

These are unsettling times for many members of our community, but I know that we will continue to meet these challenges with resilience, courage, and support for each other. 

Sincerely,

Crystal Williams (she/her)
President

Dear RISD Community,

The Board of Trustees met for its winter meeting in February, where they engaged with RISD cabinet leaders, students, alums, academic leaders, and faculty in addition to approving the tuition, fees, room and board rates for the next academic year (see below for details). Trustees also learned about important and notable endeavors the college is moving forward to uphold its educational excellence and its place in the world of art and design, including the creation of the new Computation, Technology, and Culture major, set to fully launch in the next academic year. Trustees heard updates on enrollment trends, the launch of the RISD Museum’s new strategic plan, had lunch with students, heard from a graduate student, an alum who founded Artolution, and Faculty Steering Committee leaders.  

For the 2025–26 academic year, the board approved an increase for tuition, room and board and student fees of 3.9% (see rates below), which is a smaller increase than the previous academic year. We continue to work to keep tuition and fees as low as feasible and simultaneously offer students the strongest educational experience possible. This rate increase helps meet some of the rising costs of goods and services that contribute to providing a high-quality student experience.

We remain committed to making a RISD education as accessible to as many students as possible; therefore, we will also increase the financial aid budget by 8% for the 2025–26 academic year. This allows us to

(a) continue to increase the number of students on financial aid, and 

(b) ensure current students receiving financial aid are not impacted by increasing their aid awards 3.9%, covering the additional tuition expense. 

RISD carefully considers its financial obligations and strives to keep tuition increases as minimal as possible while ensuring the resources and infrastructure required to operate a world class art and design school. Despite significant headwinds, our institution remains in an enviable position in higher education. We continue to attract large numbers of talented prospective students and have an exceptionally low admissions rate, which impacts and transforms the lives of emerging artists and designers positively as a result.

Thank you for your contributions to this extraordinary place. 

Sincerely,

Crystal Williams (she/her)
President 

Rhode Island School of Design Tuition and Fee Schedule 
2025–26 Academic Year
Effective Summer 2025