Bay Campus Quadrangle Dedicated to John Knauss

President Robert Carothers and Provost Beverly Swan look on as Dean Knauss uncovers the plaque located in front of the Pell Marine Science Library.

The Three Deans: Flanking John Knauss, GSO dean from 1962-1987, are Robert Duce, dean from 1987-1992, and Margaret Leinen, dean from 1992-1999.

ALL TIED UP: The Knauss Quadrangle dedication plaque is adorned with a festive bow tie in honor of the GSO founder who is known for his trademark neckwear.

Bay Campus Quadrangle Dedicated to John Knauss

The URI Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) held a weekend-long 75th birthday celebration to honor its founding dean, John A. Knauss.

The celebration began on Friday, Sept. 22, with the John A. Knauss Symposium on Ocean Science and Policy at the URI Narragansett Bay Campus and was followed by a birthday celebration at the Newport Officer's Club, attended by approximately 250 guests. The final event took place on Saturday morning when URI President Robert L. Carothers and Provost M. Beverly Swan joined 150 friends, colleagues, and GSO alumni in naming the John A. Knauss Quadrangle for the oceanographer who did so much to make GSO one of the foremost institutions of its kind in the country.

In addition to honoring Knauss, the celebration was part of a fundraising effort to enhance the existing John A. Knauss Fund for Excellence, created by Knauss to recognize and encourage GSO faculty, staff, and students to carry out activities which complement the institution's commitment to excellence. Since July, more than $48,000 has been raised to add to the fund.

At the dedication, Knauss told the audience that at a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology 50th reunion, the alumni were asked to write down the smartest and dumbest things they had ever done. "The smartest decision I ever made, besides marrying my wife, Lynne," said Knauss, "was to come to Rhode Island and start the Graduate School of Oceanography."

Margaret Leinen, former dean of GSO and current assistant director of geosciences for the National Science Foundation, compared Knauss to Forrest Gump because "he has been at every important event and at every milestone in oceanography for the past 50 years," she said.

Knauss became GSO's first dean in 1962. At that time, there were only a few buildings, and a handful of faculty and students. When he left in 1987 to head the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), his vision and leadership had built GSO into one of the top ten oceanographic institutions in the country.

By Lisa Cugini