  | Selected alumni profiles. | |||||||||||||
Class Acts Profiles
Kendall Moultrop '41 Serving with Honor It's been almost 60 years since Ken Moultrop led Company K of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, onto Omaha Beach, but he remembers it vividly, from the moment he led his men off the landing craft to the moment he stepped too close to an anti-personnel mine, causing a hail of shrapnel to rip through his body. "The first thing I did was pull the mirror from my pack and look at my face. I had shards of metal and pebbles embedded in my eyes, and I remember thinking how amazing it was I could still blink them." The slugs had pierced his foot, knee, abdomen, and wrist but miraculously missed his internal organs. Though he was hospitalized for six months, he suffered no long-term damage and returned to the front as soon as he could. Ken's experiences during D-Day symbolize his entire military career, a study in bravery, leadership, duty--and luck. Ken was assigned to Company K in 1941 as a commissioned officer directly from Rhode Island State College's ROTC program. A natural leader, he quickly rose to the position of company commander, remaining with Company K for 37 of his 47 months in active duty, an almost unheard-of record. He successfully led his unit through three major invasions--as platoon leader in North Africa and as company commander in Sicily and Normandy--and went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. His actions earned him numerous medals, including the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. After the war, Ken joined the Reserves, ultimately becoming a lieutenant colonel. He also became a much-admired professor of civil engineering at URI. He remains committed to the men he served with, attending four military reunions each year and participating in URI's ROTC Alumni Chapter. --Laura Nelson
Sandy Murphy Crowe '78 A Life Full of Decisions Sandy Murphy Crowe's journey from rock singer to bookkeeper to lawyer included a stopover at URI's College of Continuing Education to earn an English degree in 1978. Growing up in Cranston, Sandy's family had no resources for her or her sisters to go to college. So while still a teenager, Sandy hit the road with a band called "The Imitations, " singing rhythm and blues and rock and roll songs that groups like The Supremes were making famous. Returning home, she landed a job as a bookkeeper with an electronics firm. At 23, she was at the top of the line. "There was no place else for me to grow," she says. She enrolled in CCE's Continuing Education for Women Program, quickly earning 27 college credits by taking the College Level Examination Program, a barometer of what a returning student already understands. Sandy credits the English courses for her ability to write well. "That's what lawyers do, read and write," says Sandy, who works for the Director of Administration as an administrative hearing officer. When a state worker is appealing an action and exhausting all avenues before court, Sandy will hear the case and write a final determination. She'll also hear taxation appeals and review other agencies decisions. But the bulk of her work is dealing with personnel issues. There are 12,000 classified state workers and appeals range from rejection from an exam, to desk audit reviews, to classification issues. Sandy's love of theater opened a new act in her life outside the office. Twelve years ago, the divorcee married Timothy Crowe, an actor with Trinity Repertory Company. At 53, Sandy considers herself fortunate. "I'm very lucky," she says sitting in her beautifully appointed office at the Department of Administration. "Is it luck? I don't know. Perhaps, as the saying goes, luck is where preparation meets opportunity." --Jan Sawyer '87
Ken Lee '81 Going With the Grain When Ken Lee graduated from URI with a degree in political science, he considered several careers. Rice importing was not one of them. Today, however, Ken is president and co-owner, with Caryl Levin, of Lotus Foods, a leading provider of exotic rices. Lotus Foods' A World of Rice products are imported from family farms throughout the world and sold in upscale gourmet food shops around the country. So how did a nice poly-sci grad from Rhode Island end up with such an exotic job? After holding a series of jobs in telecommunications and finance, Lee was ripe for a new challenge. "The timing and circumstances were just right for making a career/life change. Caryl and I met in Connecticut in 1990. She was fundraising for a local university, and I was selling insurance and investments. We quickly fell in love with each other and out of love with our work. We were both ready for a career change." Fortunately Ken's parents, who are active in Rhode Island's Chinese community, introduced the couple to a graduate student from China who suggested they pursue some type of Pacific Rim venture that would enable them to work and travel together. Lotus Foods was born after the couple made an exploratory two-month trip to China. Although he never envisioned a life as a rice expert, Ken couldn't be happier. Asked what he likes best about his work, he says, "The whole journey is my favorite part. The fact that we started Lotus Foods from an idea that we dreamed up through traveling; that we literally started with nothing and created demand for a category of specialty food that didn't exist previously. Each year has been exciting and different, presenting unexpected challenges and obstacles. The journey continues, and that's still the best part." To learn more about Lotus Foods, check www.lotusfoods.com. --Laura Nelson
Deborah Bradford-Allawi '88 'Lending' a Helping Hand Ever since she graduated in 1988 with her degree in human development, Deborah Bradford-Allawi knew she wanted to help people. It was just a matter of how. "I didn't know what I wanted to do. I wanted to save the world. I was idealistic," says Bradford-Allawi of Cumberland, R.I., who works as a business development manager for the Rhode Island Coalition for Minority Investment. Today she puts that desire to work helping women and other under-represented groups get their small businesses on the road to success. "We offer the technical assistance that other lending institutions in Rhode Island do not," she says. The Coalition provides oversight on a number of important issues that are key to the success of a fledgling business: operations, management, marketing, computers, accounting, personnel, and most importantly, financing. "We prepare potential and existing businesses and individuals to become bankable." Reflecting back on her days at URI, Bradford-Allawi does so with a bright smile. "Going to Kingston was a big treat for me," she recalls. "URI was probably one of the best experiences I ever had." She credits a strong group of professors, advisors, and the guidance of the Talent Development Program with her success. "They really wanted to help and see their students succeed." After graduating, Bradford-Allawi spent time working in Boston and New York. She even recalls a trip she took to France that really impacted her life. "I saw more than I anticipated. I found out how people really lived there, not just the Chanels of the world. I saw people in need. I saw people in poverty," she says. "Now I am back in Rhode Island doing what I wanted to do, helping people." Bradford-Allawi, who is currently completing her Master's Degree in Accounting at Suffolk University, serves on the Alumni Association Finance Committee. --Jim Beardsworth '95
Richard Wilmarth '88, M.A. '91 Dead Metaphor Press "I understand that poets are anachronisms in today's society, but that's exactly why I do what I do," says Richard Wilmarth, the owner of Colorado's Dead Metaphor Press. "We're an oasis in the cultural desert." The Library's Special Collections Department recently acquired a number of items from Dead Metaphor, including 175 small press chapbooks, pamphlets, magazines, and broadsides that contain 300 of Wilmarth's poems, most written in the terse, confrontational style of the Beat poets, his first and most lasting inspiration. "You work your whole life on something, and you want it to end up somewhere," Wilmarth remarked. A high school dropout, Wilmarth earned a GED, pursued music in the 1960s and 1970s, returned to school at CCRI in 1983, then earned a B.A. in English at URI in 1988 and an M.A. three years later. His poems in The Great Swamp Gazette made him a recognizable figure on campus. "I switched to poetry in the early 1980s when I suffered a nerve injury playing music," he said. "In 1991, following the advice of the late Mark Goldman, I moved to Colorado to attend the Naropa Institute. I worked with Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, Anselm Hollo, Joanne Kyger, and Jack Collom and received an M.F.A. in Writing and Poetics in 1994." Wilmarth fondly recalls faculty who nurtured him. "There have been a lot of brilliant people at URI: Nancy Potter, Daniel Pearlman, Paul Petrie, Art Stein, Galen Johnson, Sharon Forleo, and others who gave me the impetus to keep going. I'd like them to know how much I appreciate what they did for me." "I remember Richard's earlier poetry, especially the series with a Cuban setting," Pearlman recalls, "for its political and personal frankness and for its sharp imagery and varied rhythms. He is a dedicated writer, and I hope his reputation continues to grow." --John Pantalone '71
Claudia Iannuccilli '82, M.S. '94 Cut of a Different Cloth For Claudia Iannuccilli of East Greenwich, conservation is truly the fabric of her life. "You have to think as a scientist as well as being creative," she says. Add to that one part research historian and one part artist and then you will start to understand the kind of work Iannuccilli loves. As an assistant conservator of textiles and costumes at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, she developed the tools of her trade at URI, receiving both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree focused on textiles, costuming, and clothing. Iannuccilli got her start at the museum while in URI's internship program. That hands-on experience opened the door to a part-time position and eventually to the job she holds today. From a dress worn by Paul Revere's granddaughter to an Elizabethan bodice or an ornate Japanese Fukusa (cloth gift wrapping), it is Iannuccilli's job to look at the many pieces collected at the museum and figure out how best to prepare them for exhibit. With over 30,000 objects in the Textiles and Costumes Department, that's no easy task. "The most important aspect of the job is to take care of an object to prolong its life. We try to stabilize a piece, not make it look new," she says. It is with this goal in mind that Iannuccilli sets about her job. And on any given day that might include repairing a torn garment, dyeing fabrics, removing stains, or even preparing specially sized mannequins to display a dress worn by actress Winona Ryder or Princess Diana. One day it's 16th century Venetian footwear, and the next it's on to more modern dresses from the 1960s. "I try to keep myself very versatile. I can get excited with just about anything I am working on. What I do, it's wonderful," says Iannuccilli. "I am working with one of the best collections in the world." --Jim Beardsworth '95 |
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