During a visit in May, John Maeda extols the beauty of the Main Gallery, now known as A Grand Gallery, in the RISD Museum of Art.

>

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

PROVIDENCE — As a child growing up in Seattle, John Maeda often rose before dawn — sometimes as early as 2 a.m. — to help with his family’s tofu-making business before going off to school. The next day, he got up and did it all over again.

Yesterday, a grown-up Maeda chose a more civilized hour — 5:30 p.m. — to be sworn in as the 16th president of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Addressing an overflow crowd in the historic First Baptist Church in America, Maeda, a boyish 42-year-old computer prodigy who is also a successful artist, author and designer, urged his listeners to “create the educational foundations that will make America’s economy a truly creative economy” and “exploit all the glorious natural diversity that lives here at RISD.”

Maeda (pronounced “MY-ay-dah”) also quoted Apple Computer founder Steven Jobs, who said: “Here’s to the crazy ones — the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.” Maeda then looked out at the students and faculty members who had packed the church’s well-worn pews and added: “That’s us.”

Maeda’s comments capped a swearing-in ceremony that was notable both for its brevity — the entire event lasted less than two hours — and for its roster of A-list guest speakers.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, who arrived wearing a red and white academic gown, welcomed Maeda to Providence and predicted that under his leadership RISD would help make art and design a vital part of the U.S. economy. U.S. Rep. James Langevin, said that, after a lunch with Maeda a few weeks ago, he came away convinced that “RISD and Rhode Island are on the verge of something wonderful.”

Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline praised RISD’s role in helping to revitalize the city, while Maeda’s new College Hill neighbor, Brown University president Ruth Simmons, drew giggles from the crowd by noting Maeda’s preference for T-shirts and other informal wear.

“We’re all wondering what you’ll wear to your first meeting with your fellow college presidents,” she said.

The evening’s keynote address was delivered by Maeda’s longtime friend and mentor, Nicholas Negroponte. A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Negroponte is best known as one of the founders of the MIT Media Lab, a digital-age think tank that specializes in computer and technology issues. He’s also the founder of One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit initiative to develop low-cost computers for use in the developing world.

In his remarks, Negroponte described Maeda as a “warm and engaging person” who had a special talent for moving between the disparate worlds of art, technology and design. He also said RISD’s willingness to hire Maeda was the “best thing for both the person and the institution.”

GIVEN HIS relative youth, as well as background in computing and technology, Maeda might seem an unlikely choice for RISD, which was founded in 1877 and is considered one of the world’s elite art schools. After all, the traditional image of the starving artist doesn’t usually include a laptop or an iPod.

But RISD officials, who hired Maeda to replace longtime RISD president Roger Mandle, are counting on him to lead the school into a new century, where artists and designers increasingly rely on computers and other electronic tools to do their work.

A math and science whiz in high school, Maeda earned his graduate and undergraduate degrees at MIT, where he majored in computer programming. He also holds a doctorate in design from Japan’s University of Tsukuba Institute of Art and Design and an MBA from Arizona State University.

As a designer, Maeda has worked for a corporate Who’s Who that includes Google, Reebok, Samsung and Philips. He’s also a bestselling author — his 2006 book the Laws of Simplicity has been translated into 14 languages — and a successful artist whose work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Before accepting the RISD job, Maeda held teaching and administrative positions at the MIT Media Lab, where he was responsible for managing corporate partnerships. He’s also won numerous awards and prizes, including the 2000 Daimler/Chrysler Design Prize and the Smithsonian Institution’s 2001 National Design Award.

In 1999, Esquire magazine named him one of “the 21 most influential people of the 21st century.”

AT THE SAME TIME, Maeda has some big shoes to till.

Mandle, who left in June to oversee the national museum system in Qatar, the oil-rich Persian Gulf emirate, is widely credited with boosting both RISD’s profile and its bottom line. During his 15-year tenure, the school’s endowment increased from $67 million to $360 million — a gain of more than 500 percent. He also led RISD’s largest-ever capital campaign, which netted more than $100 million.

Locally, Mandle led RISD’s historic expansion into downtown. Both the renovation of the former Hospital Trust Bank Building (now officially the Roger Mandle Building) and construction of the new Chace Center complex on North Main Street took place during his watch.

In a recent interview, Maeda said one of his top priorities would be finding ways to make RISD more affordable. According to school officials, tuition and other expenses for the 2007-08 academic year will cost the average RISD student around $43,000. That’s nearly as much as Brown University, a member of the elite Ivy League.

Meanwhile, Maeda’s impact is already being felt in other ways.

Over the past few weeks, work crews have been installing a series of flat-screen television monitors at various locations around campus. Eventually, the monitors will be connected to a computer system that will allow various academic departments, and even individual students, to post information about upcoming projects and events.

And thanks to Maeda’s daily blog, “Our (and Your) RISD,” students and faculty can communicate with the RISD president even when he’s away from campus.

Yesterday’s inauguration also featured several Maeda-esque touches. During the ceremony, dozens of cloth banners — some printed with the phrase “Start Here,” others decorated with drawings and paintings — hung from the church’s second-story balcony. Organizers said the banners were meant to evoke both ship’s sails, a reference to Providence’s maritime past, and Tibetan prayer flags, a symbol of good luck.

After the ceremony, listeners spilled out on to North Main Street for a two-hour block party featuring music by the bands Triangle Forest and the Awesome Brothers.

Maeda’s inauguration is just one of a number of RISD-related events this month. On Saturday, Sept. 27, the school will formally open the Chace Center, the sleek new arts complex designed by noted Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. The opening will be accompanied by a major exhibition of work by internationally acclaimed glassmaker (and onetime RISD professor) Dale Chihuly.

bvansicl@projo.com