One of three finalists for president, an animated David Dooley spoke to students, faculty and guests at the University of Rhode Island in April. He was selected last night to be the 11th president of the university.

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The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

WARWICK — David M. Dooley, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Montana State University, has been named the 11th president of the University of Rhode Island, the state’s flagship research institution.

In the end, Dooley’s track record of expanding university research and grasping its importance to a state economy made him the standout candidate, said Frank Caprio, chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education.

Nine of the board’s 12 members were present for Monday night’s vote, in a meeting at the Community College of Rhode Island’s Knight campus, and they were unanimous in choosing Dooley.

Shortly after the 6:30 p.m. announcement, Dooley accepted the position on the telephone.

“My wife and I believe there is an excellent fit between us and URI,” Dooley said in a subsequent interview. “When we visited, we were very impressed with the faculty, staff, students and leadership team. The aspirations of the university are very consistent with our values for what a high-quality public research institution should be doing for its students.”

Dooley, 56, is scheduled to take over from departing President Robert L. Carothers in July. He will be paid about $320,000 a year plus benefits, and will be afforded both a house and a car.

He and his wife, Lynn Baker-Dooley, a Baptist minister, have two grown children.

The other two other finalists were Sona Karentz Andrews, provost and vice president for academic affairs and a professor of geosciences at Boise State University, Idaho; and Robert D. Newman, associate vice president for interdisciplinary studies and a professor of English at the University of Utah.

“We had a very strong pool and each of the three finalists was outstanding in their own right,” said Jack R. Warner, commissioner of higher education. “I think what distinguished Dave, when you look at what he’s done in Montana, is his track record in the very areas we thought were crucial for URI’s future and the state’s economic development.”

Dooley, a scientist, has ties to New England.

He was a chemistry professor and department chairman at Amherst College from 1978 to 1993 and on the faculty in the department of molecular and cellular biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1984 to 1993. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of California San Diego in 1974 and received a doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1979.

While at Montana State, Dooley helped to double the university’s research budget to $100 million, and he is credited with helping the state school rise to the top tier of research universities, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. URI, a slightly larger institution with ambitions to expand its own research, lands in Carnegie’s second tier.

As Montana State’s chief academic officer, Dooley has significant experience with the academic side of higher education, but is also knowledgeable about finances, as chairman of the university’s budget and planning committee.

Carothers, 66, announced in 2008 he would step down as URI’s 10th president after 18 years, making him one of the longest-serving university presidents in the country.

Carothers was honored at the Governors’ meeting for his years of service, and he called the board’s selection of Dooley “an excellent choice.”

“He brings to the university a keen intelligence and a strong record of effective management,” Carothers said.

Student and faculty leaders said they think the campus community will be pleased.

“Personally, I liked him the most,” said David Bedard, 21, president of URI’s Student Senate. “All three candidates would have been good, but there was just something about Dr. Dooley. I think he’ll fit in really well. And he really wants to get students more involved in the university.”

Faculty were divided among the three finalists, and some professors will be disappointed URI did not pick its first female president, said Celest Martin, president of the Faculty Senate and a member of the search committee. Science faculty, in particular, favored Dooley, she said.

“He’s a very fine researcher and I know that will make many faculty happy,” Martin said. “I heard very good things about him from the students and some of the faculty, and he clearly understands the mission of a land grant institution, which is important.”

jjordan@projo.com