URI QuadAngles Summer 2011

QUADANGLES

Trawling the Bay

ALUMNI MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2011 Volume 18, No. 4

50 years of fisheries data provide global insights

2011

Commencement uri.edu/commencement

As many as 15,000 people gathered in Kingston for the University’s 125th Commencement. On May 21, advanced degrees were awarded to 711 graduate students. On May 22, degrees were awarded to 3,283 undergraduates. The Main Commencement speaker was Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory A. Booker, and the student speaker was Rainville Award winner Valerie Damon-Leduc. Citing the advice of his grandfather, Booker advised the new graduates: “Please, in everything you do, stand up tall. Stand up for who you are and from where you come from. Stand up in honor of those who came before, and stand up with hope for those who will come after.”

QUADANGLES DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

PRESIDENT’s View 3

UP FRONT 4 News and views

PRESS BOX 8

10

ALUMNI CHAPTERS 28 Upcoming events and contacts

CLASS ACTS 30

News from your classmates,

photo wrap-ups,

and alumni profiles

BACK PAGE 40 The Most Golden Grad

INSIDE BACK COVER

The 2011 Distinguished Achievement Awards

BACK COVER Homecoming 2011

WEB EXTRAS

URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

Well-heeled Grads

ClassPix More . . .

Inside front cover and Contents:

Nora Lewis; istockphoto.com;

U.S. Transportation Security

COVER: NORA LEWIS

Administration

Alumni Magazine | SUmmer 2011 | Volume 18, No. 4

A CHAT WITH BOARD OF GOVERNORS CHAIR LORNE ADRAIN

By Jan Wenzel ‘87 Lorne Adrain ’76 is the first URI graduate to head the Board of Governors for Higher Education

12 TRAWLING FOR DEEPER UNDERSTANDING

By Todd McLeish

As the GSO celebrates its half-century

mark this year, the ongoing fish trawl

research is considered to be one of its

crowning achievements 16 EVALUATING DEEPWATER

By John Pantalone ‘71

Christopher Reddy, who earned his Ph.D. in

1997 from the GSO, was the first scientist to

have a paper published on the Deepwater spill 18

FLYING COLORS

By Maria V. Caliri’86, M.B.A. ’92 As vice president of airport services at American Airline’s Miami hub, Marilyn Cox Devoe ’77 is responsible for all airport operations

20

BIG BLUE ADVENTURE

By Shane Donaldson ’99 Elizabeth Koenig ’07 joined an international crew that set out to break a world record by rowing from Morocco to Barbados in less than 33 days

22

Helping SOLDIERS IN A MAJOR WAY

By Jan Wenzel ’87 Matthew Pierce ’01 hopes to complete a two-year internship needed for licensure at one of the Army’s five medical centers

26

COMMUNITY Network

By Shane Donaldson ’99 The Alumni of Color Network provides professional and personal development and networking for alumni, students, staff, and faculty of color

10

12

16

18

26

WEBVIEW

University of Rhode Island Alumni Association

Like us.

The ideas and opinions expressed in QUADANGLES do not necessarily reflect those of the Alumni Association, the editor, or the University. QUAD ANGLES is published four times a year for alumni and friends of the University of Rhode Island; standard postage paid at Burlington, Vt. QUAD ANGLES is printed at The Lane Press, South Burlington, Vt., and is recyclable. URI is an equal opportunity employer committed to the principles of affirmative action.

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QUADANGLES QUADANGLES is a publication of the University of Rhode ­Island Alumni Association, Division of University Advancement, 73 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881. p: 401.874.2242.

Vice President for University Advancement Robert M. Beagle Executive Editor Michele A. Nota ’87, M.S. ’06 Editorial Committee Jodi Hawkins Mike Laprey Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87 Liz Prager O'Brien ’83 Managing Editor Vida-Wynne Griffin ’67, M.A. ’72 Associate Editor Barbara Caron, Online Edition Jan Wenzel ’87 Art Director Kim Robertson Interim Director of Publications Russell Kolton Director of Communications & Marketing Linda A. Acciardo ’77 Contributing Editors Gigi Edwards, Online Edition Mary Ann Mazzone, Class Acts Nicki Toler, Alumni Online & Chapters Contributing Designers Johnson Ma Bo Pickard Verna Thurber Photographer Nora Lewis Alumni Relations Staff Chris DiSano, Specialist Robert Ferrell ’07, Program Assistant Michelle Fontes-Barros ’96, M.A. ’11 Assistant Director Kathleen Gianquitti ’71, M.S. ’82, Assistant Director Lisa Harrison ’89, Executive Assistant Sarah Lobdell ’96, Associate Director Jess Raffaele ’04, M.S. ’09, Program Assistant Kate Serafini ’08, Specialist Gina Simonelli ’01, M.S. ’03, Assistant Director Alumni Association Executive Board Donald P. Sullivan ’71, President Joseph M. Confessore ’96, President Elect Gary W. Kullberg ’63, Past President Louise H. Thorson, M.B.A. ’85, Vice President Raymond L. Watson M.C.P. ’05, Vice President Ronald P. Joseph ’67, Treasurer Councilors-at-Large Brandon F. Brown ’10 William M. Dolan III ’81 Allison E. Field ’95 John Finan ’80 Kelly J. Nevins ’90, M.S. ’02 Kathleen P. O’Donnell-White ’90 Edwin R. Pacheco ’05 Gregory S. Perry ’88 Benjamin W. Tuthill ’04 Christos S. Xenophontos ’84, M.S. ’85 Representatives Arts and Sciences: Jerome H. Kritz ’76 Business Administration: Laurel L. Bowerman ’77, M.B.A. ’84 Continuing Education: Edward Bozzi Jr. ’68 Engineering: Leo Mainelli ’58 Environment and Life Sciences: Wayne K. Durfee ’50 Human Science and Services: John Boulmetis ’71, M.S. ’73 Nursing: Denise A. Coppa ’72, Ph.D. ’02 SAA President: Chris Aiudi ’14 Student Senate: David Coates ’11 URI Foundation: George Graboys, Hon. ’99

PRESIDENT’SVIEW As I write this column, our students are studying for and taking final exams, and my second academic year at URI is drawing to a close.

Doing some things for the second time has been a welcome change from my first year. At the same time, this has been an eventful year for URI. Here are some reasons for that assessment.

We have a new governor, and an almost entirely new Board of Governors for Higher Education chaired by Lorne Adrain (see page 10).

Our former board, chaired by the Honorable Frank Caprio, was outstanding. It is clear that we will continue to benefit from superb, dedicated, and visionary leadership by our new board. We are looking forward to working with Lorne and the other members of the board, which includes several distinguished URI alumni.

In a previous column, I indicated that a central priority for URI would be to make the case for investment in higher education as essential to building a vigorous and sustainable economy for Rhode Island. With the tremendous help of our alumni and other supporters, we have made remarkable progress toward that goal. Last fall Rhode Island voters approved funding for the construction of a new building for chemical and forensic sciences; we anticipate that construction will begin next year. More recently, Governor Chafee proposed a $10 million increase in funding for higher education, the first such increase in an administration’s proposed higher education budget in several years. While much work remains in order to secure this funding in the General Assembly (you can help by contacting your representative and senator to express support), it is an encouraging indication of the growing awareness of URI’s pivotal role in economic renewal in Rhode Island.

Joe Giblin; Nora Lewis

The University of Rhode Island, along with Brown University and Rhode Island College, has been engaged in discussions and planning centered on development of the “knowledge district” in Providence. For example, an innovative collaborative planning process, requested by the General Assembly, regarding the feasibility of a shared URI-RIC facility for nursing education in Providence, is nearing completion.

Faculty and staff from both institutions have worked together throughout the development of the report.

On another front, URI has been consulting with numerous companies and organizations throughout the state on how we can create new, productive partnerships. These partnerships are being designed to enhance the quality of undergraduate education at URI, to better prepare our students for success in the 21st century, and concomitantly to provide value to our partner companies and organizations. The growing enthusiasm across the state for partnering or collaborating with the University of Rhode Island is exciting and reflects the increased importance of URI in building a new and vibrant economy in Rhode Island. Over the next year, QUAD ANGLES and other University venues will be reporting on these partnerships, pointing to the work and contributions of our students and faculty.

There is more to do and many challenges ahead. But, with the guidance and assistance of our alumni and friends, we will succeed.

An innovative collaborative planning process regarding the feasibility of a shared URI-RIC facility for nursing education is nearing completion.

Rhode Island voters approved funding for the construction of a new building for chemical and forensic sciences.

URI has been consulting with numerous companies and organizations throughout the state on how we can create new, productive partnerships.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 3

news&views How Sweet (and Beneficial) It Is Here’s some good news for all you guilt- stricken pancake eaters. You can now pour pure maple syrup on the stack and feel better, too.

Researcher Navindra Seeram, professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, has discovered 54 beneficial compounds in the syrup.

How sweet is that?

“Nature is the best chemist,” Seeram said. “Our laboratory research showed several of these compounds possess anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that have been shown to fight cancer, diabetes, and bacterial illnesses. Discoveries of new molecules from nature can also provide chemists with leads that could prompt synthesis of medications that could be used to fight fatal diseases.

“I can guarantee you that few, if any, other natural sweeteners have this anti-oxidant cocktail of beneficial compounds,” he continued. “Pure maple syrup has some of the beneficial compounds that are found in berries, some that are found in tea, and some that are found in flaxseed.”

Hot Off the Presses! Levin Named to Journalism Hall of Fame Linda Lotridge Levin, a faculty member in the Department of Journalism since 1983 and its chairwoman since 2001, was inducted into the Rhode Island Press Association Hall of Fame.

Levin began her career as a reporter for The Providence Journal.

After leaving The Journal, she became an award-winning freelance writer specializing in health, medicine, and travel. She wrote a nationally syndicated health and medicine column, travel stories for magazines and newspapers, and edited two books on

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Rhode Island history. Her most recent book was a biography of Stephen Early, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s press secretary.

Levin has spent the last decade writing about First Amendment issues, in particular the area of access to public information.

During her tenure, journalism majors have doubled. A host of URI graduates work at daily and community papers in the state and the region. In addition, a number of journalism alumni report on national and international issues.

NORA LEWIS, MICHAEL SALERNO, istockphoto, and courtesy of Scott Andrews

Student Recognized for Leadership, Community Service

URI Rolls Up Its Sleeves URI faculty, staff, and students have donated 33,000 pints of blood to the Rhode Island Blood Center, the highest amount of donated blood in blood drive history. “We say that three lives are saved with each donation,” says Frank Prosnitz, communications manager at the blood center.

“So put in another way, those 33,000 pints basically saved the city of Warwick.”

Blood drives, sponsored by The Clearinghouse for Volunteers, are held four times a year. Between 85 to 110 pints per day are collected during the three-day drives.

The donated blood is tested, split into its various components, and then distributed first to hospitals in Rhode Island and then to hospitals in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The blood is used to help leukemia, cancer, accident, anemia, transplant, and surgery patients.

“It’s one of the little things that I do that can make a big difference in people’s lives,” said frequent donor Anita Burke, senior word processing typist in the Department of Communications and Marketing.

Scott Andrews is president of both URI’s Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the URI College Democrats.

These roles merge his passions and reflect his belief that a gap exists between community service and political activism, a gap Andrews works to bridge.

He envisions students raising a roof on a Habitat house in the morning and advocating for affordable housing at the Statehouse in the afternoon.

It’s not surprising that Campus Compact chose this man of action for its first group of 135 Newman Civic Fellows. The fellows come from 30 states. The award, named after the late Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact and URI president from 1974 to 1983, honors inspiring college student leaders who through service, research, and advocacy are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues, and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change. Newman Civic Fellows are nominated by their college presidents.

Andrews spent his freshman year at the University of Miami and witnessed what he said was corporate greed that led to the country’s financial meltdown. He began to take stock of himself and his personal values. He heard presidential candidate Barack Obama ask citizens to believe in their own abilities to change the world, saying “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”

Inspired, Andrews headed home and enrolled at URI. He became an active member of community service groups including URI Habitat for Humanity, URI SAVES (Students Actively Volunteering and Engaging in Service), and Student United

Way. He switched his major from business to political science.

“This is the right decision. URI is the place for me,” he said, noting that his mother and father earned their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University. He plans to take time off for the presidential race, graduating either in December 2012 or May 2013.

Last summer, he turned a three-week stint in U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s Providence office into a yearlong internship. This summer, Andrews is interning in the senator’s Washington, D.C., office.

For the past year, Andrews has volunteered with the Obama for America organization, building on the grassroots movement that elected the president by empowering communities across the country.

In appreciation, Andrews was invited to meet President Obama on the tarmac as Air Force One arrived in Rhode Island last fall and to attend Michelle Obama’s Holiday Open House dinner at the White House in December.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 5

Building

Concrete Canoe Racing Hard to Beat

URI civil engineering students rarely get a sinking feeling racing a concrete canoe. Each year, a team spends months researching, designing, and creating an unsinkable, full-sized canoe.

URI hosted 13 teams during the Northeast Regional Championships last April. Presentations were

made in Edwards Auditorium on the Kingston Campus while the swamp tests and races were held at Burlingame State Park.

Students from our northern neighbors, Laval University in Quebec, captured first place while our Rhody students took second.

Quotable “I like hiring people who have overcome adversity, because I believe I’ve seen in my own career that perseverance is really important. I will ask them directly: ‘Give me an example of some adverse situation you faced, and what you did about it, and what did you learn from it?’ The people I’ve hired who have had that ability to describe the situation have always worked out, because they’re able to sort of fall down, dust themselves off, and keep fighting the next day.”

—Nancy McKinstry ’80, Hon. ’05, CEO of Wolters Kluwer, the Dutch publishing and information company.

From “Distilling The Wisdom of CEOs,“ New York Sunday Times Business Section, April 17, 2011.

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MICHAEL SALERNO

When they could have basked in the Cancun sun, four groups of URI students spent their spring break working all day and often sleeping on floors at night.

“These kinds of University experiences show students the connections between the classroom and society,” said Gail Faris, whose honors course, Classroom Without Borders, includes an alternative spring break. Faris has spent the past six spring breaks overseeing students doing community service in other states. This year, accompanied by Chip Yensan, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, she lead 23 URI students who emptied an 18-wheeler filled with kitchen cabinets, installed windows, and hammered clips into boards for Habitat for Humanity in Birmingham, Ala. “The goal is to have students think and analyze social and political issues critically and to be respectful to all regardless of difference,” says Faris.

Faris also kept in contact with URI seniors Elise Glidden and Ryan Kilpatrick who led six other students to Exmore, Va., as part of a senior honors project. They pitched in to help the Eastern Shore Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

“We worked on three different houses, two foundations, and an enclosed structure. We built a driveway, which included shoveling and

Community in the South

raking dirt and then laying the gravel. We also installed anchor bolts, did some plumbing, closed gaps in one of the houses’ framework, reinstalled insulation, and set up scaffolding,” explained Glidden.

Besides practical construction skills, the students learned valuable lessons in friendship. “Eight different people became as close as family in just a week’s time,” she said.

Twenty-three members of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship hopped on a bus and nearly 30 hours later rolled into New Orleans to help remake what Hurricane Katina had destroyed.

“We went because as Christians we believe our faith does not allow us to be complacent in the face of others’ suffering,” said fellowship member Adam Croft. The group helped Habitat for Humanity, Arkansas Baptist Builders, ReBuild Together, and the St. Bernard’s Project. After the day’s work, they discussed connections between the Christian worldview and justice issues.

New Orleans was also the destination of 21 students from URI Habitat and URI Students Actively Volunteering and Engaging in Service (SAVES) with staff advisors Sarah Miller, coordinator of URI’s Feinstein Center for Service Learning, and Jerry Sidio, director of University Facilities Services.

The trip, organized by students Courtney O’Keefe, Chelsea Tucker, and Evan White, partnered with the St. Bernard Project, Habitat for Humanity, and the Green Project. Their work

included sorting through rubbish to find building materials that could be refurbished and used for reconstruction efforts.

“One of the key reasons for going on alternative spring breaks is to help students take that commitment of service to the community a little bit further,” said White, who will move to Sacramento in the fall to serve a year with AmeriCorps. He will be part of a team assisting the Pacific Coast area in a variety of ways, from volunteering as firefighters to becoming mentors in local schools.

“I have been blessed to get a college education and be able to do what I want with my life,” he said.

“Why not help others, if I can?”

…And Right Here at Home URI, in partnership with South County Habitat for Humanity, held a groundbreaking this spring for four single-family homes on Old North Road, just walking distance from campus.

The first house to be built at the site is the result of fundraising that involved the URI Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and members of the Greek system, athletic teams, and URI’s Department of Housing and Residential Life.

Building begins this fall. “This is an opportunity for students to go beyond their residence halls and become part of the larger South County community,” said Scott Andrews, president of the URI Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

—Jan Wenzel ‘87

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 7

PRESSBOX Bone Marrow Donation Junior offensive lineman Matt Greenhalgh completed a bone marrow donation on April 11 at the Rhode Island Blood Center in Providence. His donation will help save a leukemia patient’s life. Since head coach Joe Trainer’s arrival at URI in 2009, the Rams have hosted an annual bone marrow drive in support of the National

Marrow Donor Program. On March 17, Greenhalgh was notified of his status as a perfect match with a patient.

Through the Marrow Program’s privacy policy, Greenhalgh, a two-time CAA Football All-Academic Team honoree, is able to have anonymous written contact with his marrow recipient.

Matt Greenhalgh with head coach Joe Trainer.

Honored at Black Scholar Awards Marquis Jones (men’s basketball) and Willie McGinnis (football) were recognized on April 4 at URI’s annual Black Scholar Awards. McGinnis received the Jackie Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, and Jones received the Harvey Robert Turner Award for Outstanding Service to the URI community.

This past season, McGinnis anchored a defensive line that helped propel the Rams to five wins, including a 4-1 mark at Meade Stadium. He tallied 41 tackles. Off the field, McGinnis earned a spot on the CAA AllAcademic team.

Luther King Jr. Jones was Award for Outnamed to the standing LeaderAtlantic 10 Allship and ContribuDefensive team. tion to the UniverThe 6ft. 1in. sity Community. He senior point has published a guard ranked best-selling book, 10th in the Green Deen: What league in steals, Islam Teaches about notching 44 total Protecting the swipes—a 1.5 Planet. Currently, steals per game L-R, Willie McGinnis, Professor Donald Cunnigen, he is a policy average. Jones and Marquis Jones. advisor in the New also posting a Former URI football player York City Mayor’s career-high Ibrahim Abdul-Matin ‘98 Office on long term planning in scoring 11.4 points per was keynote speaker at the and sustainability. game, which ranked second Awards Ceremony. In 1999 For more information, go to on the team for the 2010–2011 Abdul-Matin won the Martin uri.edu/hsa/index.html season.

Student Athletes Honored at Senior Banquet Five student athletes received the Athletic Department’s major awards at the annual Senior Awards Banquet at Quidnessett Country Club.

Delroy James (men’s basketball) and David Kennedy (men’s track & field) were co-winners of the Albert

LeBoeuf Award; Lilli Falconer (swimming) was presented with the Winifred Keaney Award; and Michael Tanke (men’s soccer) and Jenessa Redfern (rowing) were recognized as winners of the Elizabeth Holmes Award.

Lilli Falconer

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Courtesy of URI Athletics Department

President Dooley, Marissa Norman.

Honored at the State House Ten student-athletes and a distinguished alumna were recently honored at the State House. The annual event was hosted by Speaker of the House Gordon D. Fox. The student-athletes Included Kaylen Shimoda (women’s soccer), Ben Eaves (men’s basketball), Matt Rae (football), Andrew Reigstad (men’s track & field), Jhokania De Los Santos (softball), Katie Mangano (women’s swimming), Marissa Norman (women’s track & field), Megan Shoniker (women’s basketball), Michael Tanke (men’s soccer, and John Kelly (golf). Marilyn Picerelli, a former tennis standout at URI, was honored posthumously as this year’s distinguished alumna. Her husband, Bob, and sons James and Peter accepted the award in her honor.

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Team Wins Championship Rhode Island captured the 2011 Atlantic 10 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship, completing a sweep of the indoor and outdoor conference crowns.

The Rams compiled 179 points—including 100 on day two—to capture URI’s eighth Atlantic 10 team title. Coach

John Copeland earned 2011 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors. URI had four individual gold medalists: Trent Baltzell (decathlon), Wayne Seaton (400m hurdles), Jacob Keeling (javelin), and Rainford Thomas (high jump).

Autism Awareness Fundraiser On April 30, the Rhode Island baseball team held its fourth annual Autism Awareness fundraiser game to benefit the Autism Project of Rhode Island. The festivities began two hours prior to first pitch, with Cat Country (WCTK, 98.1 FM)

on hand to provide music and activities.

All kids in attendance were invited onto the field after the game to meet the Rams. In total, the event raised $5,200.

The cause is especially important to head coach Jim Foster as his youngest

daughter, Delaney, is affected by the developmental disorder. Over the past four years, the URI baseball team has raised over $10,000 for the Autism Project of Rhode Island.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 9

A Chat with Board of Governors’ Chair Lorne Adrain Lorne Adrain ‘76, appointed by Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, became chair of the state’s Board of Governors for Higher Education this past spring. The higher education system includes the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island. The board is steward to assets that include 43,224 students, 4,100 employees, a $987 million budget, 366 buildings and facilities on nine campuses with just over 7 million square feet of space that accounts for approximately 49 percent of all state property.

Lorne Adrain ’76, CLU, has just been named managing director of Ballentine ­Partners, LLC. He earned an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1983.

His prior experience includes 18 years leading an insurance practice focused on estate planning and corporate applications of life insurance; five years as an executive at AT&T; and 10 years assisting firms with startup plans, turnaround strategies and equity financing. He lives in Providence with his wife, ­novelist Ann Hood ’78, and their children.

Other BOG appointees with URI connections include Dr. Antonio Barajas ’91, Eva-Marie Mancuso ’82, and John A. Walsh, Ph.D ’08.

URI Vice Provost Emeritus Thomas Rockett will remain on the board until 2012.

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NORA LEWIS

Q: This new role requires much of your time, energy, and talent, but comes without a paycheck. Why were you interested in becoming chair?

A: I am proud to have the opportunity to contribute to Rhode Island as chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education and to contribute to this community that I love. As the second of eight children and a first generation college graduate, URI was the very special place that, for me, was the beginning of seeing possibility, of having opportunities to lead and to serve, of exploring and experimenting with my interests and skills, and of imagining and practicing my roles as citizen, parent, and friend. I will do all I can to be sure that others have the same opportunity to learn and grow.

Q: Since you haven’t served on a higher education board before, what have you done to prepare yourself for this important task?

A: I launched a process of learning and discovery for myself. I met with RIC president Nancy Carriuolo, toured the RIC campus, and learned more about the strength of its nursing, teaching, and arts programs. This is a place where lives are transformed, a place that educates and inspires thousands of students every year who tend to live and work in Rhode Island. CCRI President Ray DiPasquale helped me begin to understand the challenges faced by first generation, older and recent immigrant students looking for opportunities to develop skills that can

nora lewis

make them more competitive in the workforce and help them discover the passion and selfconfidence that will enhance their contributions as citizens and community members. CCRI is and must remain an affordable link to the future for more than 16,000 students. With President David Dooley’s help, I hope to understand better and be part of the transformation that is taking place at our flagship university, where strengthening the research agenda, extending URI’s global reach, building a diverse community, and creating a 24/7 learning environment are key objectives.

Q: During the past five years, the state appropriation to higher education has dropped by $38.3 million. Since the board is charged with managing the system’s finances, how will you manage competing interests in this climate?

A: One of our central roles is to advocate for the system. We must understand the social and economic benefits of higher education and be able to translate conceptual benefits into stories that every political leader and every person in Rhode Island can understand.

We must help everyone understand the collective benefit of more people having access to higher education. Governor Chafee has demonstrated his belief, reversing the trend of decline by increasing the budget allocation by $10 million.

My predecessor, Judge Caprio, noted that the completion of a higher education degree on average enables a person to earn $700,000 more in a lifetime. Increasing the number of

students we serve by just two percent might add several billion dollars to our economy while helping people live more satisfying lives.

Q: You and the majority of the board members are new. Do you see this as an obstacle or an opportunity?

A: It is all about opportunity from my perspective. We have an outstanding new team of thoughtful people with fresh ideas and perspectives. We are also lucky that Dr. Tom Rockett remains a board member. Many previous board members have freely shared their wise counsel. We have an extraordinary group of presidents, faculty, and staff. And we have a challenging economic environment that forces people to consider new ideas and perspectives.

What could be better?

Q: Rhode Islanders have consistently approved bond issues for higher education, and because they do, many wonder why CCRI, RIC, and URI seem to always want more money.

Haven’t taxpayers given enough already?

A: The cost of providing an education that prepares people to be competitive in a changing global economy will always be increasing. We simply have to decide how important it is for our people and our state to be competitive in that environment.

I believe most Rhode Islanders want us to continue to improve.

To do so, we have to invest more and differently and get creative about sources of investment and collaboration beyond the usual suspects.

Q: What is your vision for higher education in this state?

A: I envision increasing the levels of access, satisfaction, skill development, career success, and community contribution for students attending our schools.

I would also like to see continuous improvements in effectiveness of all parts of the system, as well as improvements in relative performance/attractiveness of our system. Finally, I would like our higher education system to be seen by the people of Rhode Island, the nation, and the world as a system of excellence and leadership that equips people to lead satisfying, productive lives.

Q: When you’re not being the chair of the Board of Higher Education or managing director of Ballentine Partners, LLC, what do you do to relax?

A: I love to be outdoors—be it climbing my next mountain on a far continent, biking around my neighborhood in Providence, or paddling in a nearby stream.

I also love working with family, friends, and neighbors on ideas that make our community an increasingly fun and interesting place to be.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 11

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Trawling for Deeper Understanding 50-plus Years of Fisheries Data Provide Global Insights

Nora Lewis

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND  13

C

limbing aboard the research boat Cap’n Bert in April to trawl for fish in ­Narragansett Bay, the weather looked somewhat ominous, with gusty winds and threatening skies. But like iconic postal workers, the weather never stops Captain Tom Puckett and oceanography graduate student Anna Malek from their appointed rounds. In fact, every single week since 1959, a student from the Graduate School of Oceanography has trawled for marine life in the exact same two places the Cap’n Bert was headed, producing a data set that is virtually incomparable anywhere on Earth.

Not far from Fox Island, a few miles north of the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge, Malek dropped a device into the water to measure the temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen at several depths, then released an otter trawl behind the boat to drag the seafloor. Thirty minutes later, the net was hauled in and a lobster pot-sized mass of marine life was dumped on the deck.

“It’s one of the longest continuous studies of marine ecosystems anywhere,” said Professor Collie.

Video | uri.edu/quadangles

14 QUAD ANGLES Summer 2011

Most of the catch was tunicates, sac-like invertebrates that live on the bottom and which Malek described as looking like “muddy ice cubes.” But mixed in among the tunicates were dozens of spider crabs, several prehistoric-looking mantis shrimp, three varieties of flounder, a lobster, and a few other odds and ends. As Malek and undergraduate Sam Collie sorted, counted, and weighed the catch, Puckett steered the boat toward the rough seas at the mouth of the Bay to do it all over again.

The weekly fish trawl is managed by Professor Jeremy Collie, Sam’s father, who assumed responsibility for it in 1998 from Professor Emeritus Perry Jeffries, caretaker of the project for the previous 30-plus years. But it was Charles Fish, co-founder of the Graduate School of Oceanography, who launched the project to learn about the seasonal occurrences of fish in Narragansett Bay. He had no intention of making it a long-term project, and he certainly never envisioned that it would continue for more than half a century.

As the GSO celebrates its own half-­ century mark this year, the ongoing fish trawl research is considered by many to be one of its crowning achievements.

“It’s one of the longest continuous studies of marine ecosystems anywhere,” said Professor Collie. “The data are used in high-profile studies of the global syntheses of long-term trends in fish abundance. And they have regional significance, too, as a measure of the pulse of Narragansett Bay.” Over the years, more than 2 million individuals of 130 species have been captured, recorded, and returned to the sea, providing valuable insight into the evolving composition of marine life as environmental conditions change. While the total abundance of fish and other creatures peaked in the 1990s, Collie said that the number of individuals and the variety of species has experienced significant shifts.

The community of marine life in the bay shifted from predominantly fish to predominantly invertebrates (lobsters, crabs, and squid) and from those that live on or near the bottom to those that feed higher in the water column, he said. In addition, smaller, warm-water species have increased while larger, cool-water species have declined.

“Few species have stayed the same over the life of the project,” Collie said. “They either increased or decreased a lot.”

The big losers in this process have been tautog, sculpin, hake, and cunner, while the winners have been lobsters, crabs, butterfish, and bluefish. The one wildcard has been winter flounder, what Collie calls “the poster fish for Narragansett Bay,” which fluctuated wildly in abundance before decreasing in recent years.

The culprit in many of these shifts is ­climate change. The average temperature in the Bay has increased by 2 degrees ­Celsius since the start of the trawl survey, which helps to explain why species preferring cool temperatures have declined while those preferring warm waters have increased.

“Some species are better than others at shifting their ranges,” Collie said. “Those that spawn offshore, like butterfish, aren’t as tied to a particular location, whereas winter flounder, which spawn in the bay, can’t easily move north and instead just ­disappear.”

The warming water has also resulted in a reduction of phytoplankton, the microscopic plants that form the basis of the marine food web. Now that it is warm enough for the tiny marine creatures called zooplankton to remain in the Bay during the winter, they are ready to feed on the phytoplankton as soon as it blooms. Collie said that may be the reason why bottom feeding fish have declined in favor of those that live higher in the water.

“As soon as the phytoplankton blooms, the zooplankton eat it, leaving nothing to rain down to feed the fish at the bottom,” he said.

Asked what the next species shift is likely to be in Narragansett Bay, Collie said that the fish community in the Bay will begin to more closely resemble estuaries to the south, like Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay. In particular, he expects an increase in the population of blue crabs.

“Instead of eating lobster rolls around here, we’re going to be eating crab cakes,” he said.

NORA LEWIS

Oceanography graduate student Anna Malek and undergraduate Sam Collie sort the catch.

As important as the weekly fish trawl is to the global community of fisheries researchers and to state officials who seek to manage the Bay ecosystem, the project also has a very human side that represents the community of oceanographers at URI. “As we reflect back on the 50 year history of GSO, it’s worthwhile noting that the trawl has involved three different faculty members, along with generations of graduate students providing valuable contributions. We have a lot of human capital invested in this project, and it’s something that we all can be proud of.”

At Whale Rock, where the turbulent waters of Rhode Island Sound merge with the calmer Bay waters, Anna Malek followed the same procedures as before, taking measurements of the marine conditions and then dropping the net overboard. The weather had worsened, but the students seemed to hardly notice.

Malek said she enjoys following the tradition of the many GSO students before her, going out on the water on a weekly

basis and observing how the community of marine life changes from season to season and year to year. She has come to expect the unexpected, including the various ­tropical fish species that arrive in the Gulf Stream every year and the giant torpedo rays that can jolt you with an electric shock if touched.

But today’s second trawl wasn’t nearly that exciting. It did, however, contain a great deal more than the first trawl of the day: dozens of skates, each looking like a giant square dinner plate with a tail, hundreds of rock and Jonah crabs, more lobsters and flounder, and the first Atlantic cod of the year, which brought a big smile to the crew, since they typically only catch one a year.

“It was a much larger haul than last week,” Malek said. “It’s a good sign. The seasonal movement of fish into the bay is finally beginning.”

Added Collie, “Every time we go out there, we’re collecting another little piece of the puzzle. It all adds up over time.”

By ToddMcLeish

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 15

EVALUATING DEEPWATER Being a scientist can be a treasure because “you can seize opportunities, explore new fields, and be nimble in your interests. And because of that, my experiences have taught me how much, thankfully, I still have to learn about oil spills and being a scientist.”

I

rony runs all over Christopher Reddy’s

story. As an undergraduate at Rhode Island

College, the Cranston, R.I., native seemed

the least likely candidate to become a

senior scientist at the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he has worked since 1997.

His classmates at RIC certainly wouldn’t have expected him to earn a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography nor would they imagine him writing nationally published articles about last year’s monumental Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In fact, Reddy, who earned his Ph.D. in 1997 from URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, was the first scientist to have a paper published on the Deepwater spill.

Last summer the prestigious journal Science included the results of his team’s study of underwater plumes containing petroleum hydrocarbons at the Deepwater site, which showed for the first time that oil leaking from an undersea source doesn’t always rise to the surface.

On the day of the oil rig explosion in April 2010, it just happened that reporters were interviewing Reddy about research that he and his team of scientists had conducted off the coast of California. As soon as news of the explosion reached them, the journalists peppered him with questions about impending disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Not long after, Reddy and an interna-

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Reddy ended up at the GSO after a fitstional team of scientists received a grant world through his research and the new and-starts undergraduate career in chemfrom the National Science Foundation to techniques he had developed for measuring istry: “I wasn’t the most serious student conduct oil plume research using a subcompounds in ocean waters. He was lookwhen I started; I did better later.” He credits ing for something new, but then the Gulf mersible vehicle operated from onboard Professor Emeritus James Quinn with URI’s research vessel Endeavor. spill occurred and the “Jim Quinn engine” being the engine that drove him into marine revved up again. Writing about the Gulf “It was an amazingly fast process,” chemistry. “I barely got into the GSO,” Reddy said of the research done in June research, Reddy said, “the crew and science 2010. “The article relating results team worked around the clock colof the research appeared in Science lecting hundreds of samples. It was in August. It all happened really clear we were making new discovquickly.” eries, and spirits were high.”

Reddy and his team tracked The disappointment he had an oil plume 3,500 feet below the been feeling about his work disapsurface of the Gulf. The plume peared. In The Chronicle article he extended for at least 20 miles, was noted that being a scientist can a mile wide, and 600 feet deep. be “a treasure” because “you can While Reddy acknowledges that seize opportunities, explore new their findings are significant and fields, and be nimble in your interhave broken new ground in underests. And because of that, my expestanding how underwater oil spills riences have taught me how much, behave, it is way too early to assess thankfully, I still have to learn about the damage done to the environoil spills and being a scientist.” ment and marine life and to Reddy notes that much work determine how much oil was remains to be done on the Gulf oil On the day of the oil rig explosion in April 2010, it just happened spilled and where it all went. spill, but the most important work that reporters were interviewing Reddy about research that he and As a result of his work and past relates to prevention and preparedhis team of scientists had conducted off the coast of California. experiences studying numerous ness. Despite BP’s poor safety other oil spills, Reddy testified record— including a fatal explosion Reddy says. “I didn’t have the best grades, twice before Congress on aspects of the oil at a Texas refinery, a severe oil spill in but my GRE scores were fair. I actually spill. He also has written half-a-dozen Prudhoe Bay, and accusations of dangerous applied for the Ph.D. program because I op-ed columns for publications across the cost-cutting and neglect of equipment had been working at chemical firms nearby, maintenance—Reddy thinks both the comcountry and gave a public lecture in URI’s but GSO said no. Instead, I was accepted Edwards Auditorium as part of the GSO’s pany and the U.S. government did a good as a master’s student (with concern) and annual Vetlesen Lecture Series. His mesjob responding to the spill and getting oil worked second shift as a chemist during sages are clear: Don’t jump the gun on out of the area; however, he remarked, my first year. After the first year they assessing, or even expecting assessments “you can still learn a lot from what went reevaluated me and gave me the okay. of, damage done by the spill because that wrong or what didn’t work.”

“Jim Quinn was the key; he looked out will take years; focus instead on preparaAnd major questions remain: For for me and stuck up for me. He was one of tions for similar incidents while reforming instance, why didn’t the oil that formed the the finest professors at URI ever. Students laws and regulations to prevent future plume come to the surface? “It’s a basic always came first with him—he considers spills. scientific question,” Reddy says. “Assessing himself successful if his students succeed.

“Spectacular science has been done all the aspects of what happened in the Gulf There are scientists working all over the in respect to the Deepwater Horizon spill,” will take years. It’s not like CSI on television; world who were trained by Jim Quinn.”

Reddy says. “An extraordinary number of there’s no 100 percent certainty. It takes In a column he wrote for The Chronicle samples have been taken and an amazing time, teamwork, and patience. It took five of Higher Education last October, Reddy con- years to evaluate the effects of 11-million amount of data has yet to be produced by fessed that prior to his work on the Gulf oil a wide range of scientists. It will all be gallons in the Exxon Valdez spill. It will take spill he was feeling distressed by an inabilvaluable in the future, but it will take time at least that long to evaluate this spill.” ity to make a true impact in the regulatory for it all to come out and be digested.”

By John Pantalone ’71

TOM KLEINDINST; COURTESY OF U.S. COASTGUARD

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 17

CHICAGO ROME BOGOTA A N O L E C R BA A N A C A T N PU S A G E V S LA CANCUN ST. LUCIA ZURICH ST. CROIX BOSTON CE N I R P U A ORT S I H P M E M LE L I V S E N I GA TY I C E Z I L E B O C S I C N A SAN FR MUDA BER RT U F K N A R F I was looking MADRID “WhenforIajoined, position that would T S E me to use my finance KEY W S enable background. I interviewed R E Y M with American and thought FORT sounds like fun for a HOUSTON few‘thisyears.’

The irony is that O G N I’d never flown. My father MI O D O T N was a plumber, and my SA S L E S S U mother was a housewife.

BR S When we vacationed, BARBADO S we drove.”

N A E L R O W E N LONDON LLE I V N O S K JAC E T T O L R A CH

Flying Colors

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A

s vice president of airport services at American Airline’s Miami hub,

Marilyn Cox Devoe ’77 is responsible for all airport operations. “My goal is to make the customer experience as best as it can be,” Devoe commented soon after joining the Miami team from Dallas, where she served as vice president of the Dallas-Fort Worth hub.

That is no small feat given that Miami is the airline’s largest international hub and its gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean.

“The majority of customers in Miami aren’t on ­business,” Devoe remarked. “They’re traveling with family and friends and are often traveling internationally, which has its own set of complexities like customs and border protection laws and required forms.” Adding to the challenge are language barriers and the ongoing construction at Miami International Airport.

Though enhancing customer service in this environment is a daunting task, Devoe, with more than three decades of experience at American, embraced the opportunity: “I focused on the employees—being out there and meeting them face-to-face and building relationships. They’re the ones handling the day-to-day customer issues. It’s important that we’re all equally committed to the same goal.”

Devoe’s approach proved to be successful. In August 2010, American’s Miami hub was honored for improved customer service. For their efforts, employees received the Customer Cup, an American Airlines award that recognizes customer service performance across various customer touch points, such as gate interaction and baggage handling.

Devoe enthuses about her “great group of employees who truly love what they do” and is equally animated about all of the opportunities afforded her throughout her tenure. “I’ve had the ability to move about and had different careers in one company— that is exciting.”

She has managed cargo at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, where American handles more than a million pounds of freight daily. As manager of flight services when American launched its service to Europe, Devoe oversaw the growth of the flight attendant base from 800 people to over 1,600 in three months.

And she accomplished this within strict time constraints.

While she has held many operations positions, Devoe began her career at American’s headquarters in finance: “When I joined, I was looking for a position that would enable me to use my finance background. I interviewed with American and thought ‘this sounds like fun for a few years.’ The irony is that I’d never flown.

My father was a plumber, and my mother was a housewife. When we vacationed, we drove.”

Photo provided by Marilyn Cox Devoe

Her finance degree and her ambition served her well. After two years, she took a position in the budgeting department, establishing the framework for spending at LaGuardia Airport: “I knew I could do it and convinced the hiring manager to give me the job, but did I have a lot to learn! After working all day, I’d go into the terminal at night to truly understand what happened there every day. I knew I would not understand it sitting at a desk.”

Devoe believes that her willingness to go the extra mile has driven her career advancement, and she often shares this philosophy and her experiences with colleagues. In her closing remarks at a Women in Aviation Conference in March 2010, she stated: “Top performers consistently work harder than the average person; in other words, they work hard and then some. ‘And then some’ is the real key. It’s one of the most important factors to achieving success.”

Consistently, Devoe excelled in every position she has held by “working hard and then some.” She cites a particularly challenging time when, as regional managing director of the West, overseeing airports in 18 cities in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, she was involved in the American-TWA integration.

In addition to her demanding day job, Devoe worked well into the night learning about TWA’s policies and procedures. In order to blend the two organizations effectively, she had to identify each airline’s best practices and ensure they became the standard for the newly combined carrier. The pace she maintained in carrying out these responsibilities was frenetic: “We were merging in a post-9/11 environment that made the situation a more monumental task. I don’t remember that two-year period.”

Expert leadership has complemented Devoe’s inherent talent and the unparalleled work ethic that guided her through

these taxing situations. For more than a decade, she worked under the direction of AA Chairman and CEO Bob Crandall ’57.

“He’s a brilliant man and a tremendous leader. He is someone you can learn a lot from and also someone who demands the best from you. Everyone performed at peak working for Mr. Crandall. If he asked you a question, you never guessed or made an assumption because he would see right through it. If you had a meeting with him, you were sure to be prepared for anything he might ask—you were always on your toes.”

Devoe shares Crandall’s passion for the airline. After 30 years, she maintains the same level of excitement that she had as a new hire in finance: “When I observe the ticket agents, I’m still amazed by all of the intricacies involved in their jobs—especially at international hubs where they must memorize all the different documents and visa formats.”

Just as her enthusiasm for American has never waned, Devoe also possesses a great fondness for the University: “I loved my time at URI and feel that URI prepared me for a terrific future.” To help current students realize similar success, Devoe serves on the College of Business Administration’s Advisory Council. Members participate in the strategic view of the college’s mission and offer guidance to the dean, whom she holds in high regard.

“Dean Mark Higgins has student interests at heart and is working to make the college a better place. The recent accreditation is a testament to his hard work.”

Whether optimizing the flying experience for travelers or helping to ensure that the College of Business Administration is preparing its students for great careers, Devoe excels in everything she does.

Rather than cruise uneventfully at altitude, she moves ahead at full bore and lands smoothly.

By Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ’92

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 19

BIG BLUE

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Imagine being out on the open water for 48 days. You are on a 39-foot catamaran named Big Blue with 15 people from all around the world with whom you have previously spent very little time.

Each day, the waves of the ocean toss your vessel about. The sun beats down, trying to sap you of every last ounce of energy you have.

Sure, there is a GPS on board to let people on shore know where you are. Other than that, it’s just you, 15 new faces, and more than 3,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, which you have to row across.

This is how Elizabeth Koenig ’07 chose to spend most of her winter.

That’s right. Koenig chose this adventure.

A former member of URI’s women’s crew team, Koenig was part of an international crew that last January set out to break a world record by rowing from Tarfaya, Morocco, to Port St. Charles, Barbados, in less than 33 days.

The row was completely unaided, with no second trailing boat to help out if Big Blue ran into trouble. Koenig and the rest of the team were on their own.

Crew members rowed in shifts for two hours at a time, catching sleep and meals in between. Each crew member had extra duties.

Whether cooking meals, providing medical attention, or documenting the experience with cameras, everyone had to pitch in.

What started as an inquiry into an Internet advertisement turned into an experience the Huntington, N.Y., native will never forget.

“I was looking on Row2k.com, and I came across an ad looking for athletes to try out for an international crew,” Koenig said. “I thought to myself, ‘If I am going to do this, I want that world record.’ Initially, 15 people tried out, and I was one of the 12 they kept.”

The record attempt was targeted for the winter of 2010. However, a change in skippers and other logistical issues pushed the trip to 2011.

One January 15, Koenig became a member of a crew that included American skipper Angela Madsen (a paraplegic), Australian Margaret Bowling, and others from England, Austria, and Canada. Crew member David Davlianidze, originally from the Republic of Georgia, is president and chief operating officer of Roc Expedition, which supported the record attempt.

Unfortunately, Big Blue was blown off course and had to drop anchor 10 days into the attempt, costing the crew a shot at the world

photos courtesy of Elizabeth Koenig

record. Adding to the disappointment was the news that a boat from the United Kingdom with a more traditional single hull had succeeded in breaking the world record by two days, completing the course in 31 days.

While the Big Blue crew did not set the world record, they did manage to become the first 16-person catamaran to complete the voyage.

“Mental preparation is the biggest part of ocean racing,” Koenig said. “You can work out and get yourself physically prepared, but the mental aspect is huge. Rowing out in the ocean is so different from flat-water rowing; some of the challenges you face, you just can’t really train for.”

While Koenig did not get the world record she was looking for, there were plenty of benefits that she did gain. Before setting off on the journey, she had raised $10,000 in sponsorships. Part of the money is going to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Koenig dedicated her efforts with Big Blue to three people she knew who had cancer. Two died, but Koenig’s younger cousin Sarah was able to beat cancer thanks to the care provided at Sloan-Kettering. Koenig decided to raise money through her Row for Hope to show her family’s appreciation. The money will help further research on pediatric cancer.

The students at Saint Anthony’s High School in Long, Island—where Koenig is both an alumna and a part-time coach—chipped in as well. They sold hundreds of Row for Hope bracelets for $5 each, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Sloan-Kettering.

“One of the girls on the crew team at Saint Anthony’s, Caroline Spiezio, really took that responsibility on,” said Koenig, who had been a captain at Saint Anthony’s during her prep years. “I coached her last year when she was a freshman, and she came to me saying how

much she wanted to do something to help. So she became my campaign manager. It was one of many examples of the type of support that made this whole thing possible.”

The team members at Saint Anthony’s provided emotional support for Koenig, too.

Training on her own for several months before meeting up with the Big Blue crew was a tall order.

“In the winter, when I was doing indoor training, they were all getting a kick out of it,” said Koenig, who juggled coaching and training with her full-time job as a community manager for the digital marketing firm Kinetic Fin. “I would work out early in the morning and late in the afternoon; it was really helpful to be able to coach and work out there.”

In the end, Koenig got an adventure on the open water while helping a cause close to her heart: “It was a way for me to help fight for a cause I believe in, curing pediatric cancer.

My cousin is a survivor, and with proper research, others can do it, too. I’ve known other people who weren’t as fortunate. Research saved my cousin. This row was an opportunity to do something for myself while helping others at the same time.”

To learn more about Koenig’s adventure, go to http://bigbluerow.blogspot.com/ Shane Donaldson ’99

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 21

Matthew Pierce with his wife, Amanda, and daughter Abbiee at his promotion to U.S. Army Major. Arranged

by URI ROTC, the ceremony was held in Keaney.

Little did Matthew Pierce ’01 know on the day he graduated with a psychology degree and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army that the world would change dramatically within a few months and shape his life.

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Nora Lewis; Courtesy of Matthew Pierce.

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or did he realize that 10 years later he would be a URI student again, pursuing his master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology. But this time, it would be as a recently‑promoted major.

Pierce was stationed at Fort Bragg, N. C., when terrorists hijacked four commer‑ cial planes and attacked America. Within a year-and-a-half, he was part of the initial invasion of Iraq working as medical platoon leader for the 1-325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division for 11 months.

When he returned from his deployment, he was assigned as a human resource officer and eventually as a company com‑ mander with the 28th Combat Support Hospital at Fort Bragg.

“During my time as a company com‑ mander I was able to see the effects of post deployment issues, as well as dayto-day stresses on soldiers and their families that include but are not limited to domestic violence, substance abuse, sexual assault, PTSD, and all the little things that add up as well,” says the 35-year-old graduate student. “While many commanders saw their troubled sol‑ diers as the worst part of their job, these individuals inspired me to want to contrib‑ ute more to the military.”

Pierce’s journey to graduate school included an assignment as a medical operations combat development officer for two years at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

Not surprisingly, his deployment and experiences since have influenced his educational focus. He will examine post traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders among returning veterans for both his master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation.

He counts himself lucky to be collabo‑ rating with M. Tracie Shea, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, and with the Providence Vet‑ erans Administration. His biggest form of mentorship comes from Mark Wood, a social psychology professor in URI’s behavioral psychology program.

Pierce hopes to finish his URI stud‑ ies within the next two years and then

complete a required two-year internship needed for licensure at one of the Army’s five medical centers. Based on the needs of the Army at that time, he could serve as a clinical psychologist in a variety of other positions: “My only hope is that I will be making a significant difference towards improving the mental health among those in need because our soldiers and their families deserve the best support we can provide them.”

His graduate education and Army internship obligates Pierce to an additional six years of service, extending him past the normal 20-year retirement framework. But the career solider is fine with that.

His Army career actually began three years before the Brunswick, Maine, native originally enrolled at URI. During his undergraduate studies Pierce met his future wife, Amanda Rose. The couple married between his junior and senior years and now have an 8-year-old daugh‑ ter named Abbiee. The family lives in Westerly with Chloe and Rhody, their two St. Bernard dogs.

Amanda and Abbiee were present when Pierce was promoted to major this past winter. “When I found out I was being promoted I wanted to do something for my family. My daughter wasn’t old enough to remember the last time I was promoted, and I always like to involve my family in these occasions because they are what make it so special.”

Pierce asked Lt. Col. Deb Wilson, who heads the ROTC department, if his promo‑ tion ceremony could be held in Keaney, which would provide an opportunity for the cadets to question him about his experi‑ ences and educational opportunities.

“Our ROTC program definitely helped develop me into the leader I would like to think I am,” Pierce says. “My under‑ graduate psychology degree was just the beginning of my understanding, but it taught me enough about human behavior, social dynamics, and communication to help me in relating to and understanding the soldiers I have been blessed to work with.”

By Jan Wenzel ’87

URI’s Student Veterans There are 310 students currently receiving veteran benefits, up from 267 last year. Some, like Major Matthew Pierce, belong to URI’s Veteran Student Association.

“We help ease the transition from military life to campus life on a peer level,” says sophomore Travis Crewdson, a U.S. Marine Corps Iraq war veteran who is president of the association. The group, which rotates meetings between the Kingston and Providence Campuses, has raised funds for the Wounded Warrior Proj‑ ect and the National Guard’s Adopt A Family and Operation Holiday Cheer programs. The association is open to veterans, their family members, and anyone interested in supporting veterans. To learn more, contact Crewdson at tjcrewd@gmail.com The URI Supports Student Veterans Committee was formed in 2007. Its mission is to attract, retain, and support student veterans and to make recommendations regarding URI policies and procedures. The committee’s membership consists of faculty, staff, and students from the Kingston and Providence Campuses and representa‑ tives from Veterans Affairs offices.

“It is our pleasure to provide what‑ ever support we can to our military and veteran students seeking an education while juggling many other responsibili‑ ties and readjusting to either life after deployment or a career as a reservist with continuous mini deployments,” says Christine Dolan, education special‑ ist, special programs at URI’s Feinstein Providence Campus and School of Edu‑ cation. She co-chairs the committee with Nancy Kelley, assistant dean of Human Science and Services.

Among its many accomplishments, the committee has helped establish and staff a Veterans Office at the Feinstein Providence Campus, put in place point people in the Enrollment and Admission offices, and developed a Veterans Education Fund and a 101 class tailored to veterans. For more information, contact Dolan at christine@uri.edu.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 23

Discovery@URI the role of university research and innovation as Research and innovation were spotlighted on April 13 at Discovery@URI, an event that showcased the intellectual productivity of students and faculty and demonstrated how their work can contribute to economic development.

The highlight of the program was a ­display of posters in the Carothers Library featuring 100 examples of the best scholarly and creative work being done in URI’s eight major academic units. The projects ranged from research on harvesting solar energy from roadway pavements to creating markets for sustainable technologies to determining how novel compounds fight epilepsy.

The event opened with a keynote presentation by Keith Stokes, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, who examined the role of university research as a driver of economic development and how it fits into the state’s long-term growth plan. The address 1

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1 Event Keynote Speaker Keith Stokes, executive director, R.I. Economic Development Corporation 2 Hong Chen and Professor Mohammed Faghri, “Partnership for International Research and Education in Microfluidic Technology and Applications in Point of Care Diagnostics.”

College of Engineering partnered with the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.

3 Anna Blake, “Survey of the Second Tier Ancient Harbors of the Roman Empire.”

Dept. of History, College of Arts and Sciences 4 Margot Bergstom and Jacqueline Webb (not pictured), “Linking Hydrodynamic Stimuli and Feeding Behavior in a Lake Malawi Cichlid” Dept. of Biological Sciences, College of the Environment and Life Sciences 5 Event Panelists, Leslie Taito, CEO, R.I. Manufacturing Extension Services and Umberto Crenca, founding artistic director, AS220

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was followed by a panel discussion about how to translate research into jobs, startup companies, and economic development.

“This is a signature event that demonstrates the level of exciting intellectual activity that is taking place here at URI,” said Nasser Zawia, dean of the Graduate School and coordinator of the event.

“We hope it will stimulate collaboration across disciplines and with the business community around the region. It’s really a showcase for the big thinking that is taking place on campus.”

Participants in the panel discussion, moderated by Zawia, were Leslie Taito, CEO of the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Service, Umberto Crenca, founding artistic director of AS220, and, Paul ­Hastings ’84, president of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals in Redwood, Cal., which developes therapeutics to target cancer stem cells.

3

2011 Best Student Research Awards First Place Honors Simon Sarkisian, an M.S. candidate in the College of Pharmacy; G.E. Henry of Susquehanna University; K.L. Plante of URI and the V.A. Medical Center Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory in Providence; and D.C. Rowley of URI’s College of Pharmacy: “Inhibition of Bacterial Growth and Biofilm Production by Metabolites from Hypericum spp.”

a driver of economic development

The group received a certificate and a $600 prize.

Second Place Honors Leanne Elder, a Ph.D. candidate in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences: “Implications of Global Climate Change and Declining Oceanic Oxygen Levels for the Hyperiid Amphipod Phronima.”

She received a certificate and a $400 prize.

Third Place Honors Anna Malek, a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate School of Oceanography: “Zoning for Offshore Development: Fisheries Ecosystem Dynamics in Rhode Island’s Coastal Waters.”

Miao Song, a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Engineering: “Assessing the Tailgating Situation on Urban Rhode Island Highways and Potential Counter-tailgating Measures.”

Joseph Schrader, a B.S. candidate in the College of Pharmacy: “Synthesis, Purification, and In-Silico Modeling of Second Generation Anti-Epileptic Compounds.”

Each winner received a certificate and a $200 prize.

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4

NORA LEWIS

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UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 25

Community Network The Alumni of Color Network provides professional and personal development, networking, advocacy, and community-building opportunities.

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hrough their undergraduate internships in URI’s Alumni Relations Office, Marquis Jones and Cyntoya Simmons, both 2011 graduates, have helped build the University’s Alumni of Color Network into a campus asset for alumni, students, staff, and faculty of color. The network provides professional and personal development, networking, advocacy, and community-building opportunities.

The two worked closely with Michelle Fontes-Barros ’96, assistant director of Alumni Relations, to develop what is now a thriving organizational support system.

Founded in 2007, the ACN has been steadily building its membership. Several events the group held this year have had strong attendance, including a panel discussion in March that filled the Galanti Lounge of the Carothers Library.

“When the ACN started, the events would have a handful of people here and there, but a lot of the events we’ve had this year have been very successful,” Simmons said. “The support we are getting from current students and alumni keeps getting better.”

The experience has influenced both students.

For Jones, who came to URI on a basketball scholarship, getting involved helped him grow away from the court: “This University has been a real life changer for me,” said Jones, an English major from South Plainfield, N.J. “The personal growth that I’ve experienced through networking with the Alumni of Color has been great.”

Nora Lewis

Jones plans to pursue a professional basketball career, most likely in Europe. He knows, though, that he has a degree to fall back on whenever he returns stateside: “I didn’t want to pick a major that was going to be easy so I could just skate by.

I wanted to study something I enjoyed that would also challenge me. If you can read and write well, you can take that in a lot of different directions.”

For Simmons, an East Providence native and journalism major, URI has become a home she loves: “At first, I didn’t think URI was the right fit.

Being from Rhode Island, I didn’t really want to stay in state. Before I came, my plan was to start here and transfer out. When I got here, I found it was the right place for me.”

Besides the ACN, Simmons was also involved with the all-female student group Powerful Independent Notoriously Knowledgeable (P.I.N.K.) Women. She served as the group’s president during the 2009-2010 academic year. “What college has taught me about myself is that writing is just one of the things that I like to do. For a career, I would rather go into student affairs, especially after working in the Alumni Center. With the ACN, seeing the faculty and student involvement gave me more insight into the URI campus.”

After working for a year, Simmons plans to attend graduate school for student affairs at either George Washington University or North Carolina State University. Both intend to stay involved with the ACN after they leave URI so they can help future students the way their own mentors have helped them.

By Shane Donaldson ’99

ACN 2011 Spring Forum ACN’s annual Spring Forum provides an opportunity for students to hear alumni panelists from a range of careers speak about their experiences and challenges as professionals of color.

Held in March in the Galanti Lounge of the Carothers Library, the 2011 Spring Forum included, from left, panelists Barry O’Connor Jr. ’02, Alexandra Lovegrove ’10, Natalya Rocha ’09, Hariff Davies ’08, Moderator Tyrene Jones ’10, Maxford Foster ’01, and Margarida Da Graca ’09. Nearly 100 students attended the forum.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 27 00

ALUMNICHAPTERS

advance.uri.edu/alumni/chapters

FUN WITH ALUMS Chapter events are open to all alumni, family, and friends of the University. Contact your local chapter rep and join the fun!

Calendar of events Upcoming Events July 30 The Chicago Chapter invites area alumni to take in the White Sox–Red Sox game at 6:10 p.m. at U.S. Cellular Field and to a pre-game patio party, sponsored by the URI Alumni Association. The total package is $85 per person, and includes game ticket, full buffet, and unlimited beer, wine, and soft drinks. Register today or contact Chicago Chapter Leader Jimmy De La Zerda ’04 at jimmydlz401@gmail.com with your questions.

August 5–6 Current chapter leaders and alumni admission representatives are invited back to the Kingston Campus for Alumni Leader Weekend 2011, a weekend of training and fun.

August 6 Phi Kappa Psi welcomes its brothers to the annual “Pop Top 2011” at Fenner Hill Country Club. Putting contest will begin at noon, followed by a 1 p.m. tee time.

A steak fry will conclude the evening. For details and to register, contact Andy Marcoux at awm414@aol.com or Mike Chmura at mike@eastchopsleepshop.com.

August 10 Join the Minnesota Chapter at a Minnesota Twins–Boston Red Sox game! The game starts at 7:10 p.m. at Target Field. Tickets are available at a discounted rate of $22. Register online today! For more information, contact Minnesota Chapter Leaders John ’92 and Kristen ’95 Turcotte at keturcotte@mindspring.com.

September 24 The Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter invites alumni and their families to a “Taste of Rhode Island” barbecue at the home of David '98 and Cortney '01 Nicolato at 3 p.m. “Tastes” will include chowder and clam cakes, coffee milk, and other R.I. goodies. Be sure to wear your URI apparel! For more information contact David Nicolato '98 at RhodyGrad@gmail.com or 401.255.5127.

September 24 The tradition continues at the 16th annual Northern California Chapter clambake, held at Coyote Point Park in San Mateo from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. For more information, contact Sarah Lobdell at 401.874.2438, or slobdell@advance.uri.edu.

Events Gone By Alumni from the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter got together on April 2 for a wine tasting at Wine Styles in Fort Worth.

On April 2, the Arizona Rhode Runners held a networking event at Greasewood Flats in Scottsdale.

The Massachusetts Chapter Professionals Club held a networking event in Boston on April 5 at the TD Bank North Garden, taking in a Celtics game from the Promenade Suite. Special guest speaker was Rich Gotham, Celtics’ president.

September 6 The Theta Chi Affinity Chapter will meet for dinner at Arturo Joe's, 140 Point Judith Road in Narragansett at 6 p.m. All Theta Chi alumni and undergraduates are welcome. Contact John Eastman at jeastman33@gmail.com with questions.

On April 9, the Southwest Florida Gators held their annual Steak Out at Port Charlotte Beach Complex.

September 16 The URI ROTC Golf Tournament will be held at Green Valley Country Club in Portsmouth. Shotgun start at 12:30 p.m., followed by a meal at the club. $125 per person to include green fee, cart, and meal. To register before August 25, send a check (payable to ROTC Golf #5919) to The URI Foundation, Attn: Gerri Beagle, Fiscal Manager, 79 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881. To register after August 25, send cash or check (payable to Green Valley Country Club) to Jane Stich, 77 Cedar Island Road, Narragansett, RI 02882. Registration before August 25 is encouraged. Registration closes September 12. In addition to payment, please email Jane Stitch at jstich@mail.uri.edu with the names of player(s), individually or in a foursome group.

On May 5, the Writers Affinity Chapter hosted its first event, which was held at the Alumni Center and featured guest speaker Tom Verde ‘81.

September 17 Join the Massachusetts Chapter for bowling and pizza at PINZ Entertainment in Milford, Mass., from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Enjoy this easy, fun way to spend time with friends and family, and to reconnect with other URI alumni. Register online or contact Chapter Leaders Mike Sams ’90 at mpsams@KandSlegal.com or Nicholas G. Chigas '03 at Nicholas.G.Chigas@mssb.com with questions.

The Villages Chapter in Florida held a successful gathering on April 27 at Cody’s Original Roadhouse.

TELLING TALES At the Alumni Center on May 5, journalist and author Tom Verde ’81 shared some of his experiences with alumni and friends in the Writers Affinity Chapter.

28 QUAD ANGLES Summer 2011 | uri.edu/quadangles

Alumni living in Germany, who are graduates of URI International Engineering Program and the International Business Program, got together in Braunschweig on May 21 and in Munich May 28.

On May 25, the Massachusetts Chapter hosted a tasting at the Harpoon Brewery’s 5:30 Club in Boston.

On June 7, the Theta Chi Affinity Chapter held its annual golf tournament and clambake.

The New York Metro Alumni Chapter held a networking event on June 9 at Bamboo 52 in New York City, with special guest speaker Wes Card ’70, CEO and Director of The Jones Group.

On June 14, alumni enjoyed a special day at the Narragansett Bay Campus, courtesy of the Southwest Florida Gators Chapter. Alumni enjoyed tours of the Inner Space Center and the Research Aquarium, lunch in the Mosby Center, and a presentation by Dr. Bridget Buxton.

The LA Rams Chapter hosted an eight-ball pool tournament on June 18 at South, a popular locale in Santa Monica, California.

On June 18, Northern California Chapter alumni gathered at Oakland Coliseum for an inter-league matchup between the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants.

Rhode Island Chapter alumni and friends enjoyed The Family: a Musical about the Mob at Providence’s Trinity Rep on June 24.

BY THE BAY Theta Chi Affinity Chapter alumni held their annual golf tournament and clambake on June 7 in Jamestown.

PROST! International Engineering Program alumni in Germany toasted former IEP Director John Grandin (left) on his visit to Braunschweig in May.

CELTICS FANS The Massachusetts Chapter Professionals Club cheered on the Celtics at a networking event held in the Promenade Suite of Boston’s TD Garden in April.

TEXAS TOAST Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter alumni got together in April for a wine tasting at Wine Styles in Fort Worth.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 29

REGIONAL Chapters

Minnesota

Affinity Chapters

Music Department Alumni

Schmidt Labor Research Center

Arizona Rhode Runners

John ’92 & Kristen Turcotte ’95, Saint Louis Park, MN p: 952.285.1148 e: jfturcotte@mindspring.com keturcotte@mindspring.com New Hampshire White Mountain Rams

Alpha Chi Omega Gamma Sigma Shanon Whitt Horridge '86 Cranston, RI p: 401.383.4657 e: shannyh40@aol.com alpha phi Chi Phi

Allison Lacasse ’07, Boston, MA p: 508.971.3527 (h) 978.251.5177 (w) e: allisonlacasse@gmail.com

J. Richard Rose M.S. ’06 p: 401.461.2786 (h) e: rrose@mail.uri.edu Sigma Chi

Julie Griffin ’99 Scottsdale, AZ p: 480.634.1950 (h) 480.754.6147 (w) e: Julez99@aol.com California LA Rams Brett Freitas ‘99, Santa Monica, CA p: 323.833.8011 (h) e: brettfrietas@gmail.com Northern Greg Passant ’80, Pleasanton, CA p: 925.227.1878 Southern Jeff Bolognese ’02, Oceanside, CA p: 760.945.4560 e: jeff@richmondfinancial.net Colorado Mile High Rams Christy L. Gallese '03 Denver, CO p: 717.856.8525 e: christygallese@gmail.com Connecticut Tara Blumenstock ’96, Wallingford, CT p: 203.294.0246 e: tarabarbara@hotmail.com Janet Sisson ’87, Middletown, CT p: 860.214.7998 e: sissonj@independentdayschool.org Florida Southeast Riki Greenbaum ’01, Homestead, FL p: 305.978.2023 e: rhgreenbaum@yahoo.com Southwest Gators Richard Boldt ’64, Naples, FL p: 239.417.0375 e: rboldt854@aol.com The Villages Al Bateman ’59, The Villages, FL e: acbnaples@aol.com Illinois: Chicago Jimmy De La Zerda ’04, Orland Park e: jimmydlz401@gmail.com Louisiana/Mississippi Dee Canada ’62, Slidell, LA p: 985.643.8801 (h) e: delinac@charter.net Phyllis DelFiore ’68, Slidell, LA p: 985.847.1609 (h) e: feliciadf@hotmail.com Massachusetts

Clarissa M. Uttley ’04, M.S. ’06, Ph.D. ’08, Rumney, NH p: 603.786.5035 (h) 603.535.2915 (w) e: cmuttley@plymouth.edu New Jersey Lauri Pietruszka ’84, West Paterson, NJ p: 973.890.1623 (h) e: lauriann_p@yahoo.com New York: Albany Cindy Ladd Anderson ‘80, Clifton Park, NY p: 518.373.9440 (h) 518.527.4195 (c) e: rhodymom3@gmail.com New York: Metro John Companario ’93, New York, NY e: john.campanario@gmail.com North Carolina Ed Doughty ’93, Charlotte, NC p: 704.995.9300 (h) 704.552.5200 (w) e: eddoughty@gmail.com Ohio Tom Noyes ’67, Wooster, OH p: 330.345.6516 (h) 330.264.8722 (w) e: noyes.1@osu.edu

Douglas Bennet ’77, Providence, RI p: 401.351.3522 (h) e: dbennet@aol.com Community Planning Mike DeLuca ’80, M.C.P. ’88, Narragansett, RI p: 401.789.6888 (h) 401.461.1000, ext. 3137 (w) Continuing Education Joyce Dolbec ’95, Slatersville, RI p: 401.766.2209 (h) Delta Zeta Nancy Lundgren ’54, Tiverton, RI p: 401.624.6364 (h) Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Sybil Akins '08 Wakefield, RI p: 401.783.0953 e: sma718@gmail.com Jenna Hecker '09 Providence, RI p: 518.542.7654 (h) 781.769.0200 (w) e: jennahecker@gmail.com Italian Alfred Crudale ’91, West Kingston, RI p: 401.783.3081 e: acwvmhs@rinet35.org

Remo Trivelli, Kingston, RI Bill ’74 & Betty ’74 Sepe, Hudson, OH p: 401.874.2383 p: 330.650.6715 Lucia Vescera ’96, Lincoln, RI e: OHRhody@hotmail.com e: lvescera@hotmail.com LGBTIQ2 Rhode Island (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Allison Field ’95, Providence, RI Intersex, Queer, and Questioning p: 401.808.9463 Alumni and Friends) e: allison@conderi.com Marc R. Archambault ‘73, Texas Wakefield, RI Dallas/Ft. Worth p: 401.932.3715 (c) Cortney ’01 and David Nicolato ‘98, e: marc@randallrealtors.com Dallas, TX Gregory C. Waugh ‘07, p: 401.255.5127 (c) North Kingstown, RI e: rhodygrad@gmail.com p: 401.787.3980 (h) Texas Rhode Horns e: Gregory.waugh@gmail.com Jeffrey A. Ross ’75, Houston p: 713.668.3746 (h) 713.791.9521 (w) e: jross67785@aol.com Washington, D.C./ Baltimore

Nicholas G. Chigas ’03, Waltham, MA Hank Nardone ’90, Laytonsville, MD p: 978.505.7161 (h) p: 301.803.2910 (w) 781.672.5170 (w) 301.482.1062 (h) e: nicholas.g.chigas@mssb.com e: henryjn@us.ibm.com Michael P. Sams ’90, Brina Masi '01, Baltimore, MD Westborough, MA p: 401.261.5416 p: 508.665.4299 (w) e: brimasi16@gmail.com e: mpsams@kandSlegal.com Michigan David Diana ’84, Warren, MI p: 586.268.0048 e: dianad@flash.net

30 QUAD ANGLES Summer 2011 | uri.edu/quadangles

Lambda Chi Alpha Jeffrey Hill ‘00, Shippensburg, PA p: 717.530.0188 e: firemarshal70@hotmail.com Lambda Delta Phi Linda F. Desmond ’68, North Andover, MA p: 978.687.7443 (h) 978.794.3896 (w) e: lfdesmond@comcast.net Martha Smith Patnoad ’68, Wyoming, RI p: 401.539.2180 e: mpatnoad@uri.edu

Nicholas Zammarelli Jr. '97 Coventry, RI p: 401-828-5823 (h) e: nzamm1@verizon.net Phi Gamma Delta Richard Kingsley ‘71, Jamestown, RI p: 401.874.6693 (w) e: kingsley@gso.uri.edu Phi Kappa Psi Joe Hart ’85, Kingston, RI p: 401.783.4852 e: pkpribeta@cox.net www.ribeta.com Phi Mu Delta

Mark Trovato ’89, Wakefield, RI p: 401.782.0064 (h) e: mtrovato@riag.state.ri.us www.rhodysig.com Sigma Pi George B. Smith ‘66, Venice, FL p: 941.408.9786 e: drgeorgebsmith@verizon.net Student Alumni Association Louis R. Maccarone II ’00, Cranston, RI p: 401.486.7849 e: Louis.maccarone@gmail.com

Lindsay Redfern Lazzeri ‘04, Boynton Beach, FL p: 561.735.7811 401.474.6580 (c) e: lindsayredfern@gmail.com Stand Up Against Lyme Kenneth Gambone ‘88, New York, NY David J. Wallace ’76, ‘92, p: 917.701.4631 e: Kenneth.gambone@barclayscapital.com Exeter, RI e: dave@teegreensod.com Political Science Theta Chi Al Killilea, Kingston, RI John Eastman ’62, p: 401.874.2183 (w) North Kingstown, RI Physical Therapy Program Alumni p: 401.295.1956 (h) John McLinden ’93, Wakefield, RI e: jeastman33@gmail.com p: 401.783.7179 (h) Mike Testa ‘63, Jamestown, RI 401.874.5001 (w) p: 401.423.8918 e: Elvis1122@aol.com e: jtown@cox.net Public Relations Society Theta Delta Chi DeAnna Lynn Englezos ’08, Eric Lalime ’95 Brooklyn, NY p: 201.962.2001 (h) p: 212.237.0048 (w) 347.739.7345 (cell) e: dlenglezos@gmail.com e: eric_lalime@ml.com Kate Scozzaro ‘10, Fairfield, NJ URI Difference Equations p: 973.809.5044 (h) Association e: kate.scozzaro@gmail.com Jim DeNuccio ‘75, East Greenwich, RI p: 401.884.2993 (w) f: 401.885.2228 (w) Phi Sigma Kappa

RIDOT Christos Xenophontos ’84, Exeter, RI e: xenophon@dot.ri.gov

Michael A. Radin ‘01, Rochester, NY p: 585.461.4002 (h) 585.475.7681 (w) e: michael.radin@rit.edu

Charles St. Martin ’92, Coventry, RI Writers Affinity Group e: cstm@cox.net; cstmartin@dot.ri.gov Jan Wenzel '87, Tiverton, RI ROTC p: 401.714.6595 (c) 401.874.5190 (w) William MacKinlay '69 e: wenzel@ds.uri.edu p: 781.608.7335 e: WMacKinlay@TaskForcePro.com Military Instructor Group, Kingston, RI e: urirotcalumni@cox.net www.uri.rotc.alum.org

Are you a veteran? The Alumni Association is interested in starting a URI Veterans Chapter, and would like to hear from you. If you would like to learn more, please contact Bob Ferrell '07 at rferrell@advance.uri.edu or 401.874.7402.

CLASSACTS

Read Class Notes Online at advance.uri.edu/quadangles/classnotes Submit Class Notes Online at advance.uri.edu/eservices

Diversity Task Force: The Division of University Advancement has recently created a task force to assure full representation for all the diverse members of the Advancement community.

Members of the Task Force are, clockwise from left, Robert M. Beagle, vicepresident of University Advancement; Michelle Fontes-Barros ’96, assistant director, Alumni Relations; Johnson Ma, graphic designer, Publications and Creative Services; Sarah Lobdell ’96, associate director, Alumni Relations; Shane Donaldson ’99, writer, Department of Communications and Marketing.

`48 Edmund W. Kreischer, ENG, of North Attleboro, Mass., writes: “Life moves on and never stands still. I moved into my 92nd year in April and am feeling fine healthwise.

I’ve slowed down a lot walking and have to watch my step. My youngest grandaughter is getting married this coming May. A big event, and the family is looking forward to the occasion.”

`59 Marilyn Romano Pellini, A&S, of Katonah, N.Y., has had her article “When Kids Skip School” published in Bay State Parent magazine.

`64 John Joseph Boyle, ENG, of Yorkshire, England, writes: “For over 40 years I worked for the federal Department of Defense and for defense related industries before retiring in 2000. During my career I worked in Rhode Island, Hawaii, New Jersey, Japan, Alabama, Saudi Arabia, Virginia, and California. My retirement goal was to travel, and

I’ve been doing just that. I ran away from home (USA) and stopped in Ireland for two years on my way to England where I’ve lived for the the past four years. My home is in Ruswarp, a small and wonderful village in a quiet corner of North Yorkshire. My travels have taken me to many interesting places. The first stop on my 2011 list is eight weeks in Nepal teaching English to orphans and Buddhist monks. The schedule for the rest of 2011 is yet to be determined.”

Joseph F. Campoli, HS&S, of Ada, Ohio, was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in May 2011 along with his 1993 Division III National Championship team. He was selected as the N.A.B.C. Division III Coach of the Year in 1993 and 2001.

Herbert G. Peterson, ENG, of Barrington, R.I., writes: “After a 20-year run, I have closed Peterson Engineering Robotics Manufacturing Division and consider myself semi-retired. The business’s Sky Division, an offshoot of a lifelong astronomy hobby, continues to export telescope parts world-

Share your big moments. uri.edu/quadangles

NORA LEWIS

STAY

CONNECTED wide. While the Wishing Star Observatory was built as a lab for equipment development, it also serves as a classroom and since 2009 has been affiliated with the Harvard-Smithsonian Minor Planet Center searching for and tracking near-earth asteroids. What strange twists our lives take!”

aging director of Ballentine Partners, LLC. He has joined the firm to lead business development activities. Ballentine Partners is a globally recognized multi-family office and investment advisory firm with clients in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Its Family Office division serves families with assets of $20 million or more.

`67

`78

Alfred J. Verrecchia, CBA, of Warwick, R.I., has been inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.

David A. Bergeron, A&S, of Alexandria, Va., was appointed deputy assistant secretary for policy, planning, and innovation for the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. James W. Montgomery, ENG, of Des Moines, Iowa, was named site manager for the piping installation contract for Dry Fork Station Unit 1, a new 420 megawatt, pulverizedcoal power station owned by Basin Electric Power Co-Op, in Gillette, Wyo.

`71

Teresa Christo Norris, HS&S, of Mystic, Conn., took an early retirement from teaching in 2005 to pursue her writing.

She’s just published a book about her mom’s last years of living with dementia, Almost Home—How I Lost My Mother Without Losing My Mind: A Faith Journey. It’s available through her Web site, teresamorris. com. Teresa and her husband, Tom Norris ’70, celebrated their 40th anniversary last June in conjunction with their fifth year living on the Connecticut shore.

`79 Robert A. Desharnais, A&S, of Tujunga, Calif., was the recipient of this year’s Cal State L.A. President’s Distinguished Professor Award.

`73

`80

Susan Roy, A&S, of New York, N.Y., has published a book called Bomboozled: How the U.S. Government Misled Itself and Its People into Believing They Could Survive a Nuclear Attack (Spring 2011). The book is an outgrowth of research done for her master’s thesis, “The Family Fallout Shelter During the Cold War.” Susan received her M.A. in architectural history from Columbia University in 2010.

Margaret S. Leinen, GSO, of Vero Beach, Fla., is director of Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and associate provost of marine and environmental initiatives. She was the featured speaker at URI’s Graduate School Commencement on May 21, where she received an honorary degree.

`74 D o u g l a s K . R i t t e r, A & S , o f Southlake, Texas, has published a book about growing up in Italy, La Dolce Vita: An American Childhood in Rome in the ’60s.

`76

CLASSPICS

ALUMNI DIRECTORY

Mark M. MacCracken, ENG, of Fairlawn, N.J., has been selected as chair of the U.S. Green Building Council board of directors for the 2011 calendar year. He is also serving as director in the Energy Services seat. Mark is CEO of CALMAC, a leader in energy storage systems.

Lorne Adrain, CBA, of Providence, R.I. has been named man-

`92 John M. Newson, A&S, of Brooklyn, Conn., was nominated to the Connecticut Superior Court by Governor M. Jodi Rell. John had recently returned to the Connecticut Office of the Public Defender, where he worked from 1996 to 2001. From 2001 to May of this year, he was in private practice in Norwich, Conn.

He received his law degree from Western New England College of Law in 1995. A lifetime member of the NAACP and a 1987 graduate of Norwich Free Academy, John has also served as a corporator for the NFA since 2008. While at URI, he was on the football team from 1987 to 1992, serving as captain in 1991.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 31

A Special Thank You to our Scholarship Golf Tournament Sponsors Quidnessett Country Club • July 6, 2011

Beverage Sponsor: Sullivan & Company Tee Sponsors: Amica Insurance Apex Payroll Citizens Bank Carousel Industries (2) Coastway Community Bank Elite Physical Therapy Gilbane Building Company Global Spectrum/ The Ryan Center Greg Whitehead Hampton Inn Jim Conlon Liberty Mutual Group PAETEC (2) RDW Group Ron Joseph Thomas Day Janney Montgomery Scott Trane Parts Center URI Bookstore URI Dining Services URI Health Services Washington Trust Wealth Management Product Donation: Pepsi Beverage Company Narragansett Brewery Putting Contest Prize Donation: Steve Lombardi ’74

Give a Special Gift to a URI Alum Buy a brick on the URI Century Walk, and give a gift that lasts a lifetime.

For $150, you can order a 4” x 8” brick for yourself, to honor a friend, a former faculty member, a student, or to recognize your fraternity, sorority, club, reunion class, or alumni chapter.

Inscriptions are limited to two lines with a maximum of 18 characters per line.

For more information or to order online, visit advance.uri.edu/alumni/centurywalk or contact Bob Ferrell ’07, URI Alumni Relations, at 401-874-5808.

Your brick donation is tax deductible and benefits Alumni Association scholarships and programming.

32 QUAD ANGLES SUMMER 2011 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

`95

`05

Melissa Larsen, A&S, of Narragansett, R.I., is pleased to announce the opening of her law practice at 1130 Ten Rod Road, Unit A103, North Kingstown, melissa@larsenlawri.com, www.larsenlawri.com.

Her practice focuses on estate planning, family law, criminal defense, and personal injury.

Joseph R. Marion, A&S, of Little Compton, R.I., has joined the firm of Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. in Providence.

Robert D. Phillips, CBA, of Woonsocket, R.I., has been named to the Rhode Island House Committee on Labor for the 2011–­2012 legislative session.

`96 Kelly J. Griller, HS&S, of New Castle, Colo., has published her first children’s book, Every Road Leads to School.

`00 Dustin R. Sears, CBA, of Cranston, R.I., has joined the Woonsocket office of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company as an account executive.

`01 Robert R. Ferraro, CBA, of Kingston, R.I., operations manager of Jerry’s Paint and Hardware in Narragansett, was named Young Retailer of the Year by the North American Retail Hardware Association.

`02 John B. Trevor, CBA, of Providence, R.I., has joined Parsons Capital Management as an investment advisor.

`03 Samantha A. Cotter, PHM, of Lowell, Mass., was selected to be the 2010–­2011 Food and Drug Administration/ Institute for Safe Medication Practices Safe Medication Management Fellow. She will spend six months at ISMP in Horsham, Pa., and six months at the FDA with the Division of Medication Error Prevention and Analysis in Silver Spring, Md. Alison A. Patton, A&S, of Voluntown, Conn., has been promoted to a dual rate manager position in the Environmental Services Department at Foxwoods Resort and Casino.

Kelley D. Sanzen, PHM, of West Warwick, R.I., is serving as president of the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association. She works full time as a health education professional for Eli Lilly and Company.

`04 Claire L. Stadtmueller, A&S, of Greenwich, Conn., who is a soprano, performed in a concert for the Richard Tucker Foundation on March 10, 2011, in New York City.

`07 Rebekah A. Berger, A&S, of Cranston, R.I., writes: “I am Rhode Island host for This Week in Entertainment with Bekah Berger on News Talk 630 WPRO & 99.7 FM. In addition, I am producer for The Gene Valicenti Show and WPRO’s marketing and promotions director.”

Weddings Joyce Adams Desposito ’73 to Thomas Paul Husband, on March 17, 2010.

James J. Gillis ’81 to Julie B­isbano, on October 23, 2010.

Angela E. Bertholdt ’96 to Jon Herzner ’95, on April 22, 2011.

Beth L. Bradley ’99 to Cody J. Korecky, on August 27, 2010.

Melanie A. Jewett ’99 to Eric Army, on October 16, 2010.

Kim M. Alessi ’00 to Scott E. H­arkins, on August 27, 2010.

Wesley T. McGuire ’00 to Ch­ristine L. Bowers ’02, on Oc­tober 30, 2010.

Jessica Lynn DiSanto ’01 to M­atthew Ketrow, on October 2, 2010.

Andrea L. Rene ’01 to Adam Rose, on April 24, 2010.

Emily D. Clapham ’02 to Josh D. Smith ’02, on May 16, 2010.

Sara E. Fabryk ’02 to Jason DeFilippo, on October 11, 2009.

Michael R. Pierson ’02 to Sara J. Olink, on August 28, 2010.

David A. DeFusco ’03 to Randi B. Volpe, on July 30, 2010.

Carin Beth Lightbown ’03 to Daniel Cook ’03, on January 16, 2010.

Kristen M. Vanner ’03 to Peter A. Lund Jr., on July 9, 2010.

James E. McCurdy ’04 to Ka­thleen M. Busam, on July 24, 2010.

Andrew J. Bicknell ’05 to Sara Spino, on August 14, 2010.

Scott T. Burns ’05 to Kelly L. L­annigan, on July 17, 2010.

Kelly A. Sullivan ’05 to Matt Renehan ’05, on October 24, 2010.

Lyndsey H. Bannon ’06 to James G. Garcia ’06, on October 10, 2010.

Shannon E. Cooney ’06 to Kyle Wilcox, on September 19, 2010.

Profile Focus: URI’s Newest Alums

Valerie Damon-Leduc ’11

Commencement Speaker If something really scares Valerie Damon-Leduc, she runs toward it. Take public speaking, for example. As a sophomore, she took a leadership class: “We went around the class and everyone had to introduce themselves and say something about their lives. I was so nervous, I thought about dropping the class. Instead, I took public speaking classes whenever I could and spoke to groups whenever I got the opportunity.”

Damon-Leduc displayed her speaking skills on Sunday, May 22 when, as student commencement speaker, she addressed an audience of nearly 15,000 during undergraduate commencement ceremonies.

URI, she says, was her last choice of colleges, but the honor student received an offer that couldn’t be refused—a full, four-year Centennial Scholarship. “I believe it was meant to be,” says the vivacious graduate who majored in English and minored in communication studies and leadership.

Damon-Leduc was this year’s winner of the A. Robert Rainville Student Employee Leadership award. Working as an event management consultant in the Student Programming Office for three semesters, she consulted for nearly 100 events. In May she helped fraternities and sororities execute more than 20 events during Greek Week.

“I learned to apply my training to practical situations and take the theories I learned about working with groups into the real world. I have had to speak publicly on various occasions and teach students tips to make their organizations better. As an advisor, I have had to learn to trust my instincts and to know that I can make good judgment calls, not only for myself, but others.

“I have also been transformed from a shy, slightly insecure individual to someone who can confidently call or approach the people I need to talk to, or stand my ground when necessary,” Damon-Leduc wrote in her application for the competitive Rainville award.

She enjoys event planning so much, she plans to explore job opportunities in that field. Her goal is to attend graduate school and go into human resources.

—Jan Wenzel ’87

MICHAEL SALERNO, Courtesy of Patricia Coutts, COURTESY OF MATT HORN

Patricia Coutts ’11

Job, Research, Travel Fall into Place

Matt Horn, Ph.D. ’11

Tracking Nitrogen and CO2 in the Oceans

When Patricia Coutts graduated on May 22 with degrees in chemical engineering and German, she departed with research experience, memories of a year spent abroad, and best of all—an excellent job in her field.

Coutts, a native of Staatsburg, N.Y., enrolled in the URI International Engineering Program, which meant she would spend a year studying in Germany and interning at a global company.

“I had never been abroad before, so I was nervous to be in a foreign country where they don’t speak English,” said Coutts, who played rugby and varsity field hockey at URI. “I was skeptical about how well I would do speaking German, but you learn small phrases really fast and you learn to think quickly.”

Her internship was spent outside Munich at Osram Opto Semiconductors. Her job was to help formulate and test a new chemical coating on the company’s products so they aren’t damaged by lasers used in the production process.

“It was great to get out of the U.S. and learn in a foreign environment,” she said. “As a native English speaker, I was somewhat of a novelty there, so I was asked to edit scientific papers and emails that had to be in English.”

Coutts’ internship wasn’t her only experience conducting engineering research. As a sophomore she worked with Professor Stanley Barnett on a project to build a microbial fuel cell that uses bacteria and waste from the production of biodiesel to generate renewable energy.

Months ago Coutts was offered a job at Praxair, a Fortune 300 company that supplies gases to a wide variety of industries: “I went to Houston for the interview, and just a few weeks later they offered me the job. I’ll be going through their year-long training program based in Hatfield, Pa. It’s the fast track for a good position.”

Matt Horn enrolled in URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography just three days after earning a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

Three weeks later he went to sea for the first time to begin his research on how carbon dioxide (CO2) moves from the atmosphere into the ocean and back again.

“It enters the water under high wind speed conditions, but most oceanographers only like to go to sea when it’s calm,” he said. “So I had to go to sea in the worst conditions and try to convince the ship’s captain to drive into the middle of the perfect storm.”

On an expedition aboard a 300-foot British research ship north of Scotland in 2007, he experienced 120-knot winds and 50-foot seas and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard.

Half way through his degree, he changed his research focus to diatoms that live at the surface of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, one of the only places in the world where CO2 both enters and exits the ocean. He grew diatoms—single celled marine plants—in a laboratory under conditions resembling the Antarctic and analyzed the relationship between stable isotopes in their cells to the isotopic relationship found in sediment core samples from 30,000 years ago.

“CO2 levels have bounced around between 180 parts per million and 280 parts per million from one glacial cycle to another,” Horn said. “Now we’re at 390. I was looking to learn how nutrient utilization changed in the Southern Ocean and what kind of variability that has on CO2 levels over Earth’s history and see what it means for today.”

Horn now works as a chemical oceanographer at Applied Science Associates, just a few miles down the road from the GSO. He looks forward to applying his diverse background and experience to the company’s projects tracking oil and chemicals in the ocean and addressing other —Todd McLeish coastal and environmental hazards.

Video | uri.edu/quadangles

—Todd McLeish

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 33

Matthew J. Klepadlo ’06 to Michaela A. Schiano, on October 10, 2010.

Elizabeth Long ’07 to Joseph McGuire ’07, on October 8, 2010.

Laura C. Rainone ’07 to Matthew Bilodeau ’07, on September 18, 2010.

Meghan E. Vitale ’07 to Paul Comorosky, on October 10, 2010.

Michael D. Bessette ’08 to Andrea E. Mackowitz, on June 5, 2010.

Kevin DiBiasio ’08 to Melanie D’Acchioli, on July 24, 2010.

Births Michelle V. Martins-Botelho ’94 and Michael H. Botelho ’93, a daughter, Mackendra Michael, on April 1, 2010.

Alison and Trevor P. Macko ’94, a daughter, Charlotte Ann, on September 25, 2010.

Sean J. ’96 and Kerrie C. Giguere DeFusco ’96, a son, Quinn M­atthew, on July 17, 2010.

Alvin B. ’96 and Patricia Shawcross Buffington, a son, Calvin Keaney, on November 5, 2010.

Christopher and Jodi Rosati Magill ’98, a son, Cooper Ross, on March 15, 2011.

Brian and Michelle Dybala Midkiff ’98, a daughter, Madeline Lily, on June 26, 2010.

Stephen W. and Melissa S. D­onahue Gardner ’00, a son, Benjamin Paul, on December 22, 2010.

Jennifer L. Papageorge ’02 and Michael C. Gerdes ’00, a son, Andrew George, on February 8, 2011.

Danielle J. ’01 and Carter W. Quigley ’01, a daughter, Reagan Jennifer, on January 15, 2011.

Emily D. Clapham ’02 and Josh D. Smith ’02, a daughter, Madeline Clapham Smith, on November 16, 2010.

Scott and Michelle B. Levitt Goldman ’02, a son, Joshua David, on February 8, 2010.

Marc and Kelley D. Sanzen ’03, a daughter, Madisyn Kathleen, on November 3, 2010.

Jacob and Michaela McGuire Lamb ’04, a daughter, Molly Louisa, on April 5, 2011.

Diana ’04 and Gary Comtois ’05, a son, Benjamin Paul, on November 3, 2010.

Peter and Susana A. Pacheco ’06, a daughter, Elise Faith, on January 20, 2011

In Memoriam Correction: A notice in the spring issue reporting the death of Ernest A. Vetelino Jr. ’73 of Westerly, R.I., was incorrect. Instead, the notice should have been for his father, Ernest A. Vetelino ’43, who died on December 4, 2010.

Henry French ’34 of Boxborough, Mass., on March 19, 2011.

John Hinchliffe ’35 of Florham Park, N.J., on March 4, 2011.

Alice Ventrone Roanowicz ’35 of Weymouth, Mass., on February 28, 2011.

David Dick ’36 of Newport News, Va., on March 5, 2011.

James Furlong ’36 of Westerly, R.I., on February 7, 2011.

Guido Colarulli ’37 of Narragansett, R.I., on February 3, 2011.

Leopold Hofinger ’37 of Wakefield, R.I., on November 3, 2010.

Chester Niedzwicki ’37 of Providence, R.I., on March 15, 2011.

Madeline Card Place ’37 of Cranston, R.I., on December 12, 2010.

Natalie Blackmar Wilcox ’37 of Martinsville, Va., on January 15, 2011.

Natalie Dana Brown ’38 of Newport, R.I., on April 20, 2011.

John Christy ’38 of Indianapolis, Ind., on February 15, 2011.

Anthony DiPetrillo ’38 of Cranston, R.I., on April 28, 2011.

Edith Caplin Sugerman ’38 of Cranston, R.I., on April 5, 2011.

Harold Abrams ’39 of Warwick, R.I., on February 6, 2011.

Harry Crook ’39 of Sarasota, Fla., on January 8, 2011.

Matthew Lysik ’39 of Providence, R.I., on January 29, 2011.

Joseph Wood ’40 of Johnston, R.I., on April 6, 2011.

Dexter Stearns Haven ’42 of Yorktown, Va., on March 12, 2011.

Kenneth Pickett ’42 of Chapel Hill, N.C., on February 25, 2011.

Stephen Campanella ’43 of Verona, Pa., on February 4, 2011.

Thomas Clarke ’43 of Old Saybrook, Conn., on April 5, 2011.

Patricia Maguire Conrad ’43 of Newport, R.I., on January 21, 2011.

Frances Lawrence ’43 of Gaithersberg, Md., on February 12, 2011.

Lawrence Sarni ’43 of Mystic, Conn., on February 6, 2011.

Morris Satloff ’43 of Providence, R.I., on January 9, 2011.

34 QUAD ANGLES SUMMER 2011 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

Beth Penoyer Beretta ’47 of Geneva, N.Y., on March 11, 2011.

Carolyn Strealdorf Boden ’48 of Wakefield, R.I., on July 27, 2010.

Herbert H. Boden ’48 of Wakefield, R.I., on February 15, 2011.

Richard Garland ’48 of Narragansett, R.I., on February 22, 2011.

Anna Petrarca Hagan ’48 of Warwick, R.I., on March 17, 2011.

Elizabeth Rooney Mullally ’48 of Orange, Calif., on February 4, 2010.

Suzanne Thornley Schultz ’48 of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on April 13, 2011.

Doris Volk ’48 of Warwick, R.I., on January 18, 2011.

Frank D’Ambra ’49 of Barrington, Ill., on April 12, 2011.

Margaret Gilbert ’49 of Lakeland, Fla., on February 18, 2011.

William Lang ’49 of Warwick, R.I., on April 19, 2011.

Jane Harris Andrews ’50 of Barrington, R.I., on March 6, 2011.

William Davis ’50 of Branford, Conn., on January 22, 2011.

Herbert Derigo ’51 of Savannah, Ga., on February 23, 2011.

Donald L’Heureux ’51 of Bedford, Mass., on February 19, 2011.

Curt Ritzen ’51 of Vernon, Conn., on March 26, 2011.

Merrill Temkin ’51 of Providence, R.I., on March 7, 2011.

Sema Broomfield Dwares ’52 of Sunrise, Fla., on January 4, 2011.

Calvin Giusti ’52 of Cranston, R.I., on December 28, 2010.

Arthur Nardone ’52 of Pawcatuck, Conn., on April 10, 2011.

Ralph Ferrara ’53 of New York, N.Y., on December 29, 2010.

Mary Reilly Gavin ’53 of Rexford, N.Y., on January 18, 2011.

Francis Greetham ’53 of North Syracuse, N.Y., on January 1, 2011.

Robert Martin ’54 of Elkins, W.Va., on December 22, 2010.

Kathryn Trost ’55 of Colts Neck, N.J., on March 5, 2011.

Ann Winfield Gerlach ’56 of Narragansett, R.I., on January 26, 2011.

Paul McGinley ’56 of Ramsey, N.J., on January 28, 2011.

William Cormier ’57 of Middletown, R.I., on January 20, 2011.

Chester Gardiner ’57 of Hope Valley, R.I., on January 11, 2011.

Harold Anderson ’58 of East Greenwich, R.I., on August 15, 2010.

Robert Brush ’58 of Cranston, R.I., on February 14, 2011.

Alan Dressler ’59 of Buffalo, N.Y., on December 27, 2010.

Raymond LeBlanc ’59 of Sun City Center, Fla., on January 9, 2011.

Frank Cain ’61 of North Kingstown, R.I., on February 15, 2011.

Richard Cooper ’61 of North Stonington, Conn., on January 28, 2011.

Roland Lavallee ’61 of Central Falls, R.I., on January 13, 2011.

John McGuire ’61 of Wakefield, R.I., on March 30, 2011.

David Collom ’62 of Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 24, 2010.

Jack Appelbaum ’63 of New Haven, Conn., on November 3, 2010.

Ronald Durand ’63 of Mount Pleasant, S.C., on January 12, 2011.

Joseph Frisella ’63 of Wakefield, R.I., on April 23, 2011.

Sona Basrur Gollerkeri ’63 of Sudbury, Mass., on January 10, 2011.

George Haag ’63 of Grahamsville, N.Y., on February 17, 2011.

Ann Reichenbach Hall ’63 of Silver Spring, Md., on January 21, 2011.

Judith Stephenson Heelan ’63 of Jamestown, R.I., on February 15, 2011.

Dorothy Browning ’64 of Wakefield, R.I., on January 17, 2011.

David Milligan ’64 of Glastonbury, Conn., on April 4, 2011.

Mary Lemmis Crompton ’66 of North Kingstown, R.I., on February 12, 2011.

Francis Cronin ’66 of Marietta, Ga., on March 9, 2011.

Thadeus Gruczka ’66 of Putnam, Conn., on January 3, 2011.

Judith Gervais Michalenka ’66 of Johnston, R.I., on January 29, 2011.

Judith Anderson Sfisko ’67 of Hanson, Mass., on May 20, 2009.

Jeffrey Sosne ’67 of Stockbridge, Mass., on January 25, 2011.

Alison Lane Tierney ’67 of Chepachet, R.I., on March 7, 2011.

William McDermott ’68 of Boston, Mass., on January 14, 2011.

Barbara Weisse Weaver ’68 of Thompson, Conn., on December 26, 2010.

Blanche Bergeron ’69 of North Attleboro, Mass., on January 19, 2011.

John Blackburn ’69 of North Attleboro, Mass., on March 29, 2011.

Diversity Awards As president and chief executive officer of California-based OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Paul Hastings ’84 has helped improve the lives of people around the world through his work in the biotechnology industry.

As the first member of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender community to receive URI’s Diversity Award for Lifetime Achievement, Hastings is hoping to change the culture on campus.

Hastings was the featured speaker at the University’s 13th Annual Diversity Awards banquet held at the Memorial Union Ballroom on April 12.

The nomination came from URI President David M. Dooley, who met Hastings during a trip to San Francisco last summer. The two hit it off through a mutual interest in molecular biology and discussed the science field at length before Dooley turned the conversation to more personal matters. “In the middle of the conversation, he turned and said, ‘I understand you are interested in other types of issues on campus, and that you have a rich and diverse background,’” Hastings recalled.

Understanding what Dooley was asking, Hastings confirmed that he was gay and that he was interested in helping with any issues on campus. URI did have issues, Dooley explained. He told Hastings about unfortunate incidences on campus that targeted members of the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender community.

“I am happy to be considered and honored with the award,” Hastings told Dooley, “as long as the focus is on helping people who are affected by potential discrimination or lack of respect for a simple matter of sexual preference or diversity. We need to clean up perceptions on campus about people’s differences. If that is the goal, tell me where, when, and how I can help.”

Following their meeting in California, Hastings sent Dooley a note letting him know he’d be in Boston in early April for a business trip. The timing worked out perfectly for the Diversity Awards, as well as for the Discovery@URI program where Hastings was part of a panel that addressed the role of research, scholarship, and innovation in the creation of new companies and jobs.

“I am a biotechnology junkie, so it is exciting to see what the University is doing with the College of Pharmacy, biotechnology and the College of Business,” Hastings said. “To be able to give students the opportunity to work in life sciences with a focus on the science of process development and recombinant DNA manufacturing is perfect for URI. One of the last innovation areas the United States ‘owns’ is biotechnology, and the fact that URI is embracing that is a great thing.”

Shane Donaldson ’99

President Dooley with Paul Hastings ’84

the winners are: Student Excellence (Artistic & Cultural): Jason Almeida and Darnell Spencer.

Undergraduate Student Excellence (Academic & Service): John Brito and Maxwell Edmonds.

Undergraduate Student Excellence (Leadership & Service): Michaela Cashman and Brandford Davis.

Changing the Culture: The Gay Strait Alliance.

Organization Excellence (Leadership & Service): eXposure, a multicultural dance team, and We’re Offering Women Wisdom.

Graduate Student Excellence (Leadership & Service): Bryana White Staff/Administrator Excellence (Leadership & Service): Tripp Hutchinson, program coordinator for Rainbow Diversity House, and Amy Olsen, director of URI Hillel.

Faculty Excellence (Leadership & Service): Jody Lisberger, director of the Women’s Studies Program, and Mercedes Rivero-Hudec, associate professor of chemical engineering.

For more on the Diversity Awards, go to uri.edu/mcc/ DiversityAwards/2011/

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 35

Normand Gendreau ’69 of Woonsocket, R.I., on April 11, 2011.

Maria Hallas Santoro ’69 of Lincoln, R.I., on April 30, 2011.

John Smith ’69 of Charlestown, R.I., on April 26, 2011.

Robert Ward ’70 of Warwick, R.I., on April 7, 2011.

Kenneth Goldblatt ’71 of Lauderhill, Fla., on January 3, 2011.

Craig Anderson ’72 of Warwick, R.I., on April 30, 2011.

Peter Giard ’72 of Warwick, R.I., on January 15, 2011.

Thomas Mundy ’72 of Slatersville, R.I., on November 8, 2009.

Susan Forte Shekerow ’72 of Monument, Colo., on February 23, 2011.

Stephen Gorman ’73 of Cranston, R.I., on March 2, 2011.

Nancy Watt ’73 of Reading, Mass., on February 5, 2011.

Ruth Curry ’74 of Fall River, Mass., on February 13, 2011.

Terry Irza Piekos ’74 of White Plains, N.Y., on March 7, 2011.

Alyn Platt ’74 of Lakeville, Mass., on February 12, 2011.

Lauren Luongo Hart ’75 of Indianapolis, Ind., on February 17, 2011.

John Knowles ’76 of Wakefield, R.I., on April 14, 2011.

Sally Spence Kujawski ’76 of Englewood, Fla., on January 26, 2011.

Glenn Ames ’77 of Toledo, Ohio, on October 14, 2010.

Michael Arnold ’77 of Tiverton, R.I., on April 1, 2011.

Joanne Donnelly ’77 of Barrington, R.I., on January 26, 2011.

Merilyn Monroe Lafferty ’77 of Gualala, Calif., on January 1, 2011.

James Bubien ’78 of Pelham, Ala., on January 11, 2011.

Thomas Daley ’78 of Coventry, R.I., on January 9, 2011.

Marcia Holmes Heussler ’79 of Hamden, Conn., on January 18, 2011.

John Hickey ’79 of Boulder, Colo., on January 13, 2011.

Marilyn Hartley Picerelli ’79 of Warren, R.I., on January 29, 2011.

Warren Seekell ’79 of Narragansett, R.I., on November 6, 2010.

Anthony Squadrito ’79 of Hope, R.I., on February 4, 2011.

Richard LaPointe ’81 of Spokane, Wash., on March 3, 2011.

Phyllis Poticha Rosenthal ’81 of Saint Louis, Mo., on November 24, 2010.

Terry Chaffee ’82 of Warwick, R.I., on January 14, 2011.

Christine Nowak ’82 of Lincoln, R.I., on March 13, 2011.

Gary Baker ’88 of North Scituate, R.I., on January 12, 2011.

Kimberly Campo Bohan ’89 of Macon, Ga., on February 8, 2011.

Mary Labenski ’89 of Westborough, Mass., on December 21, 2010.

Jennifer Simpson Natalizia ’92 of Narragansett, R.I., on April 16, 2011.

Robert Asher ’94 of Portsmouth, R.I., on January 25, 2011.

Jason Nye ’96 of Westerly, R.I., on January 26, 2011.

Jesse Cook ’05 of Central Falls, R.I., on January 9, 2011.

Lindsay Freeman ’09 of Towson, Md., on January 27, 2011.

in memoriam faculty Edward J. Carney, 82, professor emeritus of computer science and statistics, died in Westerly, R.I., on May 16, 2011. A graduate of the University of Rochester, he received his doctorate from Iowa State University in 1967 just before joining the URI faculty. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict and earned several medals. He is survived by two sons, Stephen and Thomas Carney; three daughters, Jane E. Bentley, Ann L. Ohlin ’76, and

Marguerite L. Carney ’90; seven grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. Memorial donations may be made to Kingston Congregational Church, 2610 Kingstown Road, Kingston, RI 02881.

John Milton Gates, 70, professor emeritus of environmental and natural resource economics, died at Kent Hospital after a year of fighting pancreatic cancer. He was a resident of Kingston, R.I. Born January 21, 1941, in Nova Scotia, he obtained his undergraduate degree from McGill University’s McDonald campus and earned his Ph.D. at the University of California Berkley. He moved to Kingston in 1969 with his late wife Jane Susan Gates. He pushed for the benefit of his graduate students and loved teaching but also worked with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. He promoted the protection of natural resources through novel approaches such as individual transferable quotas, knowing that the inefficiency of an industry is an important unseen cost to the resource, worker, and consumer. He is survived by his companion Carol Gibbons, his sons Jonathan and Sander, and two grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Professor John M. Gates Memo-

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36 QUAD ANGLES SUMMER 2011 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

Profile Focus: URI’s Newest Alums

Cynthia Limoges ’11

The Phoenix

Cynthia Limoges is like the mystical Phoenix that arose from its own ashes to begin a new life.

Born in Galveston Island, Texas, she was abandoned by her mother when was five; her father died when she was eight. Raised by her grandparents and other family members, she suffered physical, sexual, and verbal abuse.

In the ninth grade, she joined Air Force ROTC: “The instructors were my saving grace.” When she graduated high school, she left home with only the clothes she was wearing and a small backpack.

“The military has been my only family, my means of survival,” she says. “It’s been one hell of a journey—a life-learning experience. I have fallen, but by the grace of God, I’ve come back up.”

Limoges’ latest achievement is a B.A. in psychology. The 34-year-old honor student took the majority of her classes at URI’s Feinstein Providence Campus.

Her journey to this degree took 10 years, two deployments to Afghanistan with the Rhode Island Air National Guard, employment as a victim’s advocate, and the birth of sons Ethan, 8, and Benjamin, 2.

She enrolled at URI as a part-time student in 2007. When she came off active duty in 2008 (she is now in the Guard reserves), she worried about balancing life as a single mother with work, military commitments, and college studies.

In fact, she excelled. A highlight of her time at URI was an internship with former Dean of Students Fran Cohen to found PAVS (Providing and Assisting Veterans and Significant Others) to help veterans transition from the battlefield into the classroom.

Limoges is a full-time advocate with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office ensuring that victims of violent crimes are informed of their rights and receive referrals to counseling.

She also prepares them for trial or grand jury testimony.

Limoges plans to take a year off for family time before entering a graduate program in clinical psychology. Her husband, Army Sergeant Michael Limoges, will be deployed to Kuwait in September.

—Jan Wenzel ’87

Video | uri.edu/quadangles

Vanessa Venturini ’08, M.S. ’11 Michael Tanke ’11

Empowerment Through Environmental Education

As Vanessa Venturini received her M.S. in environmental science and management, she looked forward to a career building awareness of the natural world.

“I got my first taste of environmental advocacy as a high school student through Save the Bay when I did a beach clean-up; it was one of the most fulfilling things I had ever done,” said Venturini.

Venturini has worked with the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, helped with the restoration of the Pawtuxet River, organized beach clean-ups through Project Clean Sweep, and taught environmental lessons to elementary school students: “I’m passionate about working with people to protect the environment. I like the idea of empowering people.

“I learned through my coursework how people and development have had such a negative impact on biodiversity and the environment, and I believe that through education we can help alter perceptions and practices to be better for the planet.”

As part of her degree program, Venturini undertook a research project with the Rhode Island Natural History Survey and the URI Outreach Center to encourage the use of native plants in home landscaping and ecological restoration projects. She studied model programs from around the country, interviewed nursery owners and program coordinators, and designed a training program for nursery professionals that will be launched this year.

At the same time, Venturini has spent the last three years working at the URI Outreach Center coordinating youth programs, training volunteers, developing curricula, and teaching students about the environment. She will continue these activities after graduation and start a program for the new community garden at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center that will encourage children to become gardeners while teaching them about biodiversity in urban spaces.

“I always thought I was an English and history type person, but I’m also fascinated by the science side of things,” Venturini said. “Eventually I’d like to branch out and maybe one day be the director of a nonprofit environmental group.”

From Ram to Rhino Michael Tanke always dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player: “My parents got me involved when I was young; by the time I was 8, I was begging them to let me play on more and more teams. On Saturdays I would have games from early morning to late at night, all for different teams.

“A huge part of my coming to URI was for soccer—not just for the winning records and playing facilities but for the team and coaching staff. Coach John O’Connor had the attitude of a coach I knew I could play for.”

“When I was appointed head coach, I was going through the files of recruits and found a letter from Michael about his interest in URI,” said O’Connor. “I knew I had to have him in my first class of Rhody Rams.”

Tanke has lived up to O’Connor’s expectations and has grown into a powerful midfielder, starting in all 18 games of his senior year, all while maintaining a 3.4 grade point average and being named to the Dean’s List. Tanke acknowledges the difficulty of fitting in time to study during his intense traveling and demanding practice schedule.

A nutrition and dietetics major and international development minor, Tanke remarks: “I already had an interest in nutrition because I pay attention to what I eat due to soccer; I became interested in international development since becoming aware of the Grassroot Soccer organization as a teenager.”

As part of his minor, he traveled to South Africa with Cross Cultural Solutions, a volunteer program that helps address global issues and promotes education and childhood development for diverse populations.

During his final semester at URI, Tanke was signed with the Rochester Rhinos, a United Soccer League team based in Rochester, N.Y. He is modest about his success: “I was never the best player on the team; I owe my success to my teammates and coaches.”

—Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87

—Todd McLeish MICHAEL SALERNO, COURTESY OF VANESSA VENTURINI

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 37

Beginning Your Career Congratulations, Class of 2011! We welcome you as the University’s newest alumni and offer you the benefit of our services and expertise.

The Career Services Web site contains a wealth of information including the connection to RhodyNet and the RhodyNet job board, access to our career events calendar, and the opportunity to search for and contact alumni mentors. Career advising, either on campus or by phone, is available to you throughout your career.* Graduation opens the door to a lifelong journey in career management. As your work experiences, skills, knowledge, and interests evolve, you will find yourself in work situations you planned for—and in those you never could have imagined.

You own your career development, and there are significant activities you should complete each year to maintain a current career portfolio.

Update your Résumé. Once a year, schedule a two-hour appointment on your calendar to refresh your résumé. By making this commitment, your résumé will always be ready.

Graduation opens the door to a lifelong journey in career management.

URI Alumni Career Services Advisors Karen Rubano and Marie Geary are here to help.

Karen Rubano Alumni Career Services 228 Roosevelt Hall 90 Lower College Road Kingston, RI 02881 p. 401.874.9404 f. 401.874.5525 e. krubano@uri.edu w. advance.uri.edu/alumni/careerservices/advisor.htm Karen Rubano

Marie Geary Alumni Career Services 228 Roosevelt Hall 90 Lower College Road Kingston, RI 02881 p. 401.874.9404 f. 401.874.5525 e. mrgeary@uri.edu w. advance.uri.edu/alumni/careerservices/advisor.htm Marie Geary

38 QUAD ANGLES SUMMER 2011 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

Keep Networking. Make it a habit to build and maintain professional relationships. No matter your career situation, a solid professional network is essential.

Engage in Professional Development. Take advantage of professional learning opportunities specific to the skills needed in your job, in addition to those in the areas of leadership, team building, and project management.

Stay Curious. Always maintain a level of curiosity about your next potential job role. Take interest assessments and schedule several informational interviews each year to discover details about potential jobs or career paths. The better informed you are, the better your next career choices.

Good luck in this new chapter. We are here to assist you in your career journey, confident that your URI education and experiences will serve you well in the workplace.

Visit us on the Web: career.uri.edu/alumni.shtml * I f you graduated within the last year, you must make an appointment online through your RhodyNet account. Alumni who graduated more than one year ago must contact Marie or Karen directly by phone or email.

rial Fund, URI Foundation, 79 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881.

Roger D. Goos, 86, professor emeritus of botany and former department chair, died on March 7, 2011. He grew up on a farm in Iowa and served in the Infantry in WW II (European theater), earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

He was recalled to service during the Korean War. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Before arriving at URI in 1970, he worked for United Fruit Company in the U.S. and Central America, the National Institutes of Health, the American Type Culture Collection, and the University of Hawaii. He was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Lisbon in Portugal and an IndoAmerican Fellow at the University of Madras. He served as president of the Mycological Society of America and published many articles and papers on mycology.

After his 1995 retirement from URI, he regularly conducted local mushroom walks. He was an elder in Apponaug Pentecostal Church and in the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International, and was ordained as a minister. He is survived by his wife of more than 64 years, Mary Lee; daughters Marinda Lee Cox and Suzanne Pfisterer ’86; and seven grandchildren. Memorial donations may be sent to the Apponaug Christian Academy, 75 Prospect St., Warwick, RI 02886, or to the Providence Rescue Mission, 627 Cranston St., Cranston, RI 02907-2813.

John J. McGuire, M.S. ’61, Ph.D. ’68, age 81, professor emeritus of plant sciences, died on March 30, 2011, at his Wakefield, R.I. home.

He was a U.S. Army veteran. After retiring from the University, he served as executive secretary of the Rhode Island Nurseryman’s Association. He is survived by his wife, Harriet; three sons, Timothy, Thomas, and James Maguire ’88; three daughters, Maureen Goodwin ’82, Helen Lewis, and Eileen Slovak ’90; and 10 grandchildren.

Memorial donations may be made to Hospice Care of Rhode Island, 1085 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02904.

Barbara Louise Tate, R.N., 89, dean emerita of the College of Nursing, died at her home in Peacedale, R.I., on May 26, 2011.

She was a graduate of Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing, Montclair, N.J. and of Elmira College; she earned an M.A. and an Ed.D. at Teachers College,

Columbia University. She had a distinguished career as a nurse/ educator. She was the director of Research and Studies Service at the National League for Nursing, New York; editor of Nursing Research; a research associate for the Division of Nursing at Teachers College, Columbia University; associate director of the School of Nursing, St. Luke’s Hospital, New York; a nursing instructor at the College of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania and at the School of Nursing, St. Luke’s Hospital and the School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins Hospital.

She held two Fulbright Scholarships: The first in 1977 with the International Council of Nurses in Geneva, Switzerland where she wrote The Nurses Dilemma— Ethical Considerations in Nursing Practice; the second in 1983 as professor and researcher with the University of Tromso, Norway. She also authored and co-authored numerous papers and articles for National League for Nursing, Rhode Island Medical Journal, American Journal of Nursing, International Nursing Review, Nursing Research, and Nursing Outlook.

She served as project director of a number of studies for the National League for Nursing, the Florence Nightingale Foundation, and Columbia University. She was a consultant to the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. She was a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Delta Upsilon Chapter, Pi Lambda Theta, American Psychological Association, New York Academy of Sciences, American Nurses’ Association, the National League for Nursing, and the Visiting Nurse Association of Rhode Island. She served on the board of directors for several organizations: The Nurses Educational Funds, Inc., including four years as president; Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Blindness; and Rhode Island Health Services Research, Inc., and South County Hospital. She also served on the editorial review board for Nursing and Health Care; the executive committee to the New England Council on Higher Education in Nursing. She loved to travel, visiting over 35 countries and every continent except Antarctica. She is survived by five nieces and nephews; three stepchildren; four step-grandchildren; and four step great-grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Barbara L. Tate Scholarship in Nursing, URI Foundation, 79 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881 or to South County Hospital, Develop-

ment Office, 100 Kenyon Avenue, Wakefield, RI 02879.

many students and was active in URI’s Foreign Student Association. He was a veteran of WW II Frank George Wiener, 91, former serving with the Glider Unit at Wright Patterson Field, Ohio. professor of business adminHe was a member of Kingston istration, died at his home in Congregational Church. He is Narragansett, R.I., on February survived by Camilla Carroll , his 16, 2011. He was a graduate of wife of 65 years, and six children: Rutgers University and received his master’s at Columbia Univer- Frank, Robert ’74, and Andrew Wiener, and C. Elizabeth Candas, sity. He was a member of Delta Margaret D. Loyd ’75, and Susan Sigma Pi business fraternity.

P. Ritter ’94; seven grandchilHe was also a professor at the dren; and a great-grandson.

Middle East Technical UniverMemorial donations may be made sity in Ankara, Turkey, where he developed case studies of Turkish to VNS, 14 Woodruff Avenue, Narragansett, RI 02882, or to The Ark businesses that were accepted of Life, LLC, PO Box 3229, Narraby Harvard Business School for gansett, RI 02882. inclusion of their case studies collection. He was a mentor to

ER T S I REG

!

Y A D TO

Rhody Night with the PawSox (formerly Pride in URI Night) August 17, 2011 at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket A great night at the ballpark for alumni and their families as the PawSox take on the Columbus Clippers Rhody Night includes a barbecue and raffle prizes For more information go to advance.uri.edu/alumni/rhodynight If you have a disability and need an accommodation, please call 401.874.2242 at least three business days in advance.

For TTY assistance, please call the Rhode Island Relay Service at 1.800.745.5555.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 39

BACKPAGE A Most Golden Grad On June 3, Blanche Richard ­Murray ’41, Hon. ’88, attended her 70th Class Reunion at Golden Grad Weekend. Her attendance was the least of many accomplishments.

Here is her shortened résumé: 1971 First woman president of the URI Alumni Association.

1976 Winner of the Alumni Ram Award.

1981 First woman president of the URI Foundation.

1983 Rhode Island Home Economics Teacher of the Year.

1988 Recipient of a URI honorary degree in tandem with her husband, Daniel J. Murray ’35.

2003 Inducted into the College of Environment and Life Sciences’ Hall of Fame.

2011 Athletic Department’s Rhody Role Model Class of 2011.

In addition, she served 34 years on the URI Foundation Executive Board and two terms on the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education; she also served on a presidential search committee, an evaluation committee, and on the Alumni Association’s Golden Grad Committee.

Family members who attended URI include her sisters Roma Richard Bourassa ‘40 and Yvette Richard Biehusen, who transferred to Yale; her sons Richard M. O’Brien ’74, E. Gerald (Jerry) O’Brien ‘73, M.A. ‘81, and his wife, Norma ‘73; and her grand­children Elizabeth O’Brien ’04, Nicholas O’Brien ’09, Adam O’Brien ’10, and Eric O’Brien, who will graduate in 2012.

[ 40 QUAD ANGLES SUMMER 2011 | uri.edu/quadangles

“I hope my experience inspires younger alumni to serve,” she says.

“It has been a lifelong pleasure for me.”

]

NORA LEWIS

Save the Date for the

DAA

Distinguished Achievement Awards 2011 Dean’s List Recipients

sixth annual distinguished achievement awards saturday, october 22, 2011 at the providence westin hotel

For more information on table and program sponsorships, please call Joanne Esposito at 401.874.9455 or email jesposito@advance.uri.edu.

You may also check our Web site at advance.uri.edu/programming.

Alumni Center 73 Upper College Road Kingston, RI 02881 USA Alumni Association

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Permit No. 28 Burl., VT 05401

SAVE the Date October 21–23

Homecoming 2011

PHOTOs: Mike Salerno

Join us for Homecoming!

You’ll find details about the weekend on our Web site.

advance.uri.edu/events/homecoming Are you planning a class reunion this year? If so, how about holding it during Homecoming?

Contact Michelle Fontes-Barros at 401.874.4854 or mfontesbarros@advance.uri.edu.