News&Views

URI's Economic Impact

The University of Rhode Island generated about $518 million in economic activity statewide in 2002, nearly $5 for every $1 in state support for the University, according to a new report, A Partner for Prosperity: the University of Rhode Island’s Impact on the Economy of the Ocean State.“ ”These statistics show in a very clear way the importance of URI to the health and prosperity of our state,” said President Carothers. “The report also shows that the University can be a powerful engine for economic development in Rhode Island, creating the kind of high paying, clean jobs we all seek.” Published earlier this year, the report says that in 2002 URI paid $46.6 million to Rhode Island businesses for goods and services, including construction.

Robert Ballard

Marine explorer Robert Ballard recently announced several major initiatives to make URI the global headquarters for exploring the world’s oceans. Ballard reported that he has secured more than $2 million in new federal and private funds for the technology to operate the Inner Space Center, which he describes as the ocean equivalent of the NASA command center for space exploration. The Inner Space Center is a component of the Undersea Exploration Center that was approved in the bond referendum on Election Day. Working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration, this center will be linked to several research vessels using the latest in telecommunications technology.

Biotech

A biotech manufacturing training lab opened at the Feinstein Providence Campus on September 20 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to thank the legislators and biotech companies that funded and equipped the facility. The lab is a key element in an economic development strategy aimed at providing trained workers to the state’s growing biotechnology industry. It is the first visible sign of the University’s biotechnology initiative, which was launched in 2003 and which will include a $50 million Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences on the Kingston Campus that won voter approval at the bond referendum on November 2.

Support URI’s Alumni Fund

Wesley R. “Wes” Card ’70, chief operating and financial officer of Jones Apparel Group, Inc., New York, and his wife, Dianne Kenny Card ’69, have volunteered to chair the URI Alumni Fund this year.

The Alumni Fund is the University’s premier fund and the primary source of unrestricted support for many of URI’s on-going programs. These unrestricted contributions are critical to the University because they provide flexible funding that can be put to immediate use where needed most

A memory from Wes Card’s senior year was in large part the reason for his decision to spearhead the yearly fund drive. “I needed a few hundred dollars to help me get over the edge,” said Card, who worked his way through college. “The Student Financial Aid Office provided those few hundred dollars from an alumni scholarship, and they told me they wished I had sought help sooner, because they could have provided more assistance.”

In addition to their generous financial support of the Alumni Fund, the Ballentine Hall renovation project, and the Vangermeersch Endowment, the Cards, who met on a blind date at URI, are active members of the URI community. They are current members of the Massachusetts Alumni Chapter, and Wes is a past member of the College of Business Administration Advisory Council.

“We felt this was a good time to become more involved in the fund-raising enterprise at URI, and more specifically the Alumni Fund,” Wes said. “We were surprised at the level of state support for the University; as a state school, we assumed it would be much higher [than 20 percent]. That’s one of the primary reasons we volunteered.”

The 2003-2004 Alumni Fund raised about $1.03 million from generous alumni. The money is being used to support undergraduate scholarships, faculty development programs, alumni communications and events, and a range of day-to-day programs for URI students.

If you would like to learn more about giving to the Alumni Fund, contact Sarah Howard, Annual Fund director, at showard@advance.uri.edu.

Meet the Freshmen

• This fall about 2,600 freshmen enrolled at the University; of those, 45 percent are from Rhode Island.

• URI freshmen come from 30 states and 14 countries. After Rhode Island, the top states represented are Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

• The class has 18 valedictorians and eight students who ranked second in their high school graduating class.

• The average SATs for the class are 1,119. The average high school class rank is in the top 26 percent, a three percent improvement from last year.

• About 24 percent of freshmen are receiving the University’s Centennial Scholarships.

• For the first time ever, a freshman residence hall is affiliated with a college. Browning Hall is dedicated to freshmen enrolled in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences.

• Altogether there will be approximately 11,200 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students at URI this year.

• About 4,300 students, including approximately 2,500 freshmen, live on campus in one of the 19 residence halls. About five percent live in fraternities or sororities, and about 62 percent commute.

• The University Admissions office continued its record-breaking trend, having received and reviewed more than 14,580 applications for enrollment. This represented a two- percent increase from last year. In-state applications were up by four percent, out-of-state increased by 22 percent.

Survey Results

A recent Alumni survey shows that URI graduates feel great pride in URI. The findings show that nearly 85 percent of those surveyed hold the opinion that URI is good and improving, 96 percent have great pride in their URI degree, and more than 86 percent believe their degree is helping them achieve their goals. “These findings are encouraging,” said Vice President of University Advancement Robert M. Beagle, “and particularly useful as we examine our strategies for reaching out to URI graduates. This survey will help us listen to our alumni in much more systematic and comprehensive ways than we ever have before.” The Center for Research & Public Policy of Trumbull, Conn., conducted the comprehensive telephone survey of 501 alumni.

Sareh Rajaee

International Engineering Program

Sareh Rajaee, a biomedical engineering and German major in URI’s International Engineering Program, recently completed an internship with Slater Hospital using voice-activiated technology to develop a device allowing disabled patients to call for assistance. This year, she is studying and working in Germany as part of her URI academic program. Rajaee’s outstanding academic record, internship, and other experiences have earned her admission to Brown University’s Medical School through its Early Identification Program. Rajaee, a native of Iran who speaks four languages, is the first URI engineering student ever to be admitted through the program.

Joyce and Charles Salvo

Parents Fund

the 2004-2005 Parents Fund is being chaired by Joyce and Charles Salvo. The goal of the Parents Fund is to enrich the college experience for URI students by helping to support student programs that are not otherwise funded by tuition. The Salvos, whose daughter Marissa ’09 is a pharmacy major, have been active members of the Parents Council since 2003. To learn more about the Parents Fund, contact Erin O’Gara, assistant director of the Annual Fund, at eogara@advance.uri.edu.

Congratulations to Bonnie

URI’s famous guard donkey, who gave birth to baby Clyde on July 26. Bonnie and Clyde are housed at the University’s Peckham Farm. URI uses the farm and its animals for hands-on teaching of its animal science students.

Paul DePace, right, awards a silver medal at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games to U.S. athlete Dan Jordan, 10m. Air Rifle qualifier.

Paralympic Games

As a member of the International Paralympic Committee that oversees the Paralympic Games, Paul M. DePace ’66, M.B.A. ’75, carried the Paralympic Torch for one mile along the Greek coast last September. He had previously carried the torch at the games in Atlanta in 1996 and Salt Lake City in 2002. The 2004 Paralympic Games, in which 3,837 athletes from 136 countries competed over 11 days, were held in Athens two weeks after the Olympics. The U.S. Paralympic team is fielded by the U.S. Olympic Committee. DePace, who is director of URI’s Office of Capital Projects and Facilities Planning, is also president of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation and a former member of the board of directors of the U.S. Olympic Committee. DePace awarded medals in shooting, track and field, archery, swimming, and powerlifting, the sport in which he had formerly competed.

Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice

William P. Robinson III, M.A. ’67, was sworn in as an associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court in a ceremony held in the State House Rotunda in August. At the swearing-in ceremony Governor Carcieri praised the East Greenwich Democrat’s “keen intellect and legal scholarship.” Robinson spent 27 years with the Providence office of Edwards and Angel, where he was a partner. He has a passionate interest in First Amendment issues and has represented defendants in the areas of civil rights, employment discrimination, and wrongful termination. In addition to his M.A. in French from the University of Rhode Island, Robinson holds a B.A. from the University of Louvain in Belgium, a Ph.D. in French and Spanish literature from the University of Connecticut, and a J.D. from Boston College. He is a former member of the Board of Governors for Higher Education.

Voters Approve 3 URI Bond Questions

Thanks to the voters of Rhode Island, who voted to approve three bond referendum questions supporting higher education in the state, the University of Rhode Island will soon embark upon several construction and renovation projects on campus.

Voter approval of questions 5, 9, and 13 authorized the issuance of bonds to finance the final stage of residence hall renovations, expansion of the Pell Marine Science Library, and construction of a Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences.

“We are deeply grateful to the people of Rhode Island for their faith in the University of Rhode Island and its role in Rhode Island’s future,” said URI President Robert L. Carothers. “By definition, education is always about the future, and the voters have ensured that their University will continue to play a leading role in preparing our people for an environment where change is the only constant, generating the workers and the research necessary for the state’s new economy to prosper. Our students will be better housed, our preeminent place in the exploration of the world’s oceans assured, and our role in the vital field of life sciences firmly established.

“Election Day was very good for URI and for Rhode Island,” he added.

Unfortunately, question 10, which would have authorized bonds to finance construction of an athletic performance center adjacent to Keaney Gymnasium, was rejected. It is believed that the large number of bond questions on the ballot and voter concern over the state’s debt load was the reason for the question’s failure to pass.

“While we are disappointed in the defeat of question 10, we are still looking forward to meeting the challenges ahead,” said URI Athletics Director Tom McElroy.

“Thanks to everyone in the URI community who worked tirelessly in support of all four bond referenda,” said Carothers. “Your hard work and commitment are greatly appreciated.”