URI QuadAngles Summer 2015

QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Farm to Vine

How a family farm reinvented itself as a destination vineyard. | 14

In the Brine

The policy makers, researchers and growers behind oystering’s resurgence. | 18

This Del’s for You

One man, many frozen treats. | 33

New Mayor New Vision Jorge Elorza ’98 knows the challenges of the capital city’s urban core— he faced them himself.

Now, he’s dreaming big. | 12

CONGRATS CLASS OF 2015!

Lanh Dang of Lawrence, Mass., just earned her doctor of pharmacy degree. She walked in URI’s 129th Commencement this May, along with 700 other graduate students and 3,000 undergrads.

A passionate proponent of community service who helped organize the first Rhode Island Alternative Spring Break, which benefits local nonprofits, Dang will next go to Florida for her pharmacy residency.

Odds are good the rest of her classmates will also soon be gainfully employed. Of last year’s graduates, 75 percent are now employed, and another 20 percent in grad school, a recent URI survey found.

And for majors related to business, engineering, computer science and health care, numbers are even better. Pharmaceutical science grads, for instance, are finding 100 percent employment or further education.

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QUADANGLES

SUMMER 2015 | VOLUME 22, NO. 4

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The Summons

Jorge Elorza ‘98 answered the call of service as a public interest lawyer and housing court judge.

Now, as the new mayor of Providence, he’s tackling the city of his hardscrabble childhood.

Destination Wine

Their family ran a farm on the land in Middletown, then a car dealership. Now John Nunes ‘88 and his brother grow grapes there, and Newport Vineyards is reaching for a new label: upscale destination.

The Oyster is Their World

Some say it’s an industry with no downside: aquaculture cleans the water, creates valuable habitat, and generates millions of dollars. As it expands, oystering must navigate the shoals of competing uses, disease, and brutal winter weather.

The Virtual Economist

An economist, hired to manage the millions of dollars that flow through a massive multiplayer online game, weighs in on bitcoin, gold farming, and how the university he runs in Iceland is preparing students to learn and earn in a wired world.

A Life, in Words

Poetry professor Paul Petrie’s work was a love letter to his wife and children, the quiet life he lived in South Kingstown, and “the illicit heresies of joy.”

A Closer Look at Carbs

Two masters students are doing ground-breaking research on sugars and complex carbohydrates, and along the way, helping fellow students understand their diets.

Players work the net at the annual Student Alumni Association’s Oozeball Tournament, held on 14 mud courts below the URI Athletic Fields.

Departments 2

FEEDBACK

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PRESIDENT’SVIEW

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5-MINUTEEXPERT

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A lab, on paper

NEWS&VIEWS PRESSBOX

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CLASSACTS

News from your classmates

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CLOSEUP

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CLOSEUP

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Demetrios Kazantzis ’83 Raquel Ferreira ’92

BACKPAGE

Farm to Food Bank

ON THE COVER: PHOTO COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION. SEE STORY, PAGE 12.

LEFT: NORA LEWIS; CONTENTS: MICHAEL SALERNO

More Online URI.EDU/QUADANGLES Mudfest

This year was the 25th Oozeball Tournament. See all the fun, plus choice cuts from previous years.

FEEDBACK

Lifeguards!

Our Online Conversation Here’s a sampling from our Spring 2015 issue.

Come join the conversation: uri.edu/quadangles.

On “Law and Order, URI” A few years ago I mentored women in transition from prison back to the community (in Rhode Island) and learned more than I could ever hope to teach them.

I read each of the eight articles with eagerness to find out more about the various accomplishments of each of the URI graduates and the professors who taught them. I was so very impressed that these individuals have chosen the incredibly challenging professional path of working with incarcerated men and women.

—Norma V. Hardy, URI nursing instructor Your reference to Leo Carroll’s books dealing with troubles at the ACI and resulting federal court receivership brought back memories about my work experiences some forty years ago, when I was part of a team examining a variety of issues at the ACI’s infirmary. I remember being horrified at the state of health care delivery to the prison population. We looked at staffing, procedures, and records, and the deficiencies noted in Professor Carroll’s second book were as he reported. Without this story, I would have missed knowing his full account of those troubling times.

—F. Gerald “Jerry” Nault ’64, Windsor, Maine On “Seeing Green” The Town of South Kingstown has had very positive experiences with student led projects, particularly with the Landscape Architecture curriculum under Will Green’s leadership. The students’ concept plans and creative approaches for improving the functionality and aesthetics of the Dale Carlia vicinity in Wakefield (and an earlier project focusing on the Route 108 corridor between Kingston and Peace Dale) continue to inform town and state efforts for land use and infrastructure improvements. I am a proud URI graduate and would have liked to have been included in the article, since my career illustrates how my education ties together with my professional experience as a land use planner working for the university’s host community for the last 2

QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Maybe you were one; maybe you just admired one from afar. We’re still looking for stories: pjack@uri.edu

17 years. In any event, it was nice to see a positive article about the college and host community working together.

—L. Vincent Murray ’77, MCP ’89, Director of Planning, Town of South Kingstown As a former URI landscape student, I am glad to see the students of Professor Green out in the landscape applying the full range of the skills a landscape architect needs on an actual site with real and complex problems. Sounds like the program has established itself as a legitimate community resource.

—Terrence Parker ’79, Portsmouth, N.H. On “The Wildest, Wettest Sport” Thanks so much for featuring the URI Sailing Team in the latest edition of QuadAngles. I’m making my move to support the team’s rebuilding efforts right now. Go Rams!

—John Lombard ’86, Stratford, Conn.

On AlumniWrite, “Swim That Rock” I’m from a fishing family, and I remember pulling up eel traps at the docks in Barrington; my brother is a shellfish diver now. It’s a hard living, and how the book describes being a quahogger is right on.

—Susan Pelletier, URI Facilities Services Two alumni contacted us to say they were offended by the use of profanity in the book excerpt. We regret making anyone uncomfortable.

MORE LETTERS URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

CORRECTION

We deeply regret that a database error caused us to wrongly report a death in last issue’s In Memoriam section. The listing should have read Anne Bowen ’55 of Cranston, R.I., (not Ann E. Bowen ’61 of North Kingstown, R.I., who would like readers to know that she is still kicking).

The Coolest College Band Jim DeStout ’69 wrote to tell us that The Others, the band he and other URI students formed in 1964, was inducted this spring into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.

Jim lives in Beavercreek, Ohio, after a career as a pilot in the Air Force—he retired as full colonel, and has since served as a defense consultant—but he says music has remained a significant part of his life, from playing bluegrass to directing a Catholic choir. The Others helped him pay his way through college, but perhaps most significantly, it was during his time as lead guitarist and vocalist for The Others that he met his wife of 47 years, Betty. We’re betting she had plenty of competition for his attention. Here’s his story: I met two guys named Pete Shepley and Mike Brand during freshman week, and we decided to form a band to play on campus.

We pulled in our friends Mike Patalano and John Costa. John went to Brown University, so we drove to see him and sang Beatles songs in the parking lot in three-part harmony. It sounded great, and that was the beginning of The Others.

The first time we performed publicly was at “Rhody Night,” a talent show at the college; we sang ’When I Get Home’ by The Beatles. Then, in early 1965, Mike Brand’s father met a New York City talent manager

QUADANGLES A quarterly publication of the University of Rhode Island Alumni Association, 73 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881. p: 401.874.2242 e: quadangles@uri.edu Executive Editor

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who agreed to listen to the band if we were ever in New York City. We drove down the next week.

From that audition came a recording contract with RCA Victor and two records in 1965-1966: “I Can’t Stand This Love, Goodbye,” and “Lonely Street.” They were followed by one single with Jubilee records, “Morning,” which featured a flip side song titled “My Friend the Wizard.” The singles have been featured in garage band, rock and psychedelic pop anthologies.

During the school year, we opened for many well-known groups when they came to Rhode Island, including The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Byrds, The Animals, and The Left Banke. We worked summers at a club, Rolling Stone, in New York City.

We all went on to a variety of careers. Pete attended Johns Hopkins University for his master’s in creative writing; he migrated to the Philippines, and unfortunately passed away in 2014. Mike Brand moved to San Francisco, where he became a freelance video producer.

After a few years as a young Army Officer, including a combat tour in Vietnam, Mike Patalano owns his own accounting firm, as well as becoming a colonel in the Army Reserve.

John had a successful career as a business and corporate attorney. Two members who joined later, Bob Angell and Joe Parisi, continued on as musicians in the group Blues Outlet. Bob also became an English professor at CCRI, and Joe went on to a career in sales and marketing.

John Costa was replaced in late 1966 by Bob Johnson, a Brown student, who later traveled to Europe to continue his music. • PHOTOS: COURTESY JIM DESTOUT

Jim DeStout with bandmates from The Others, circa 1964.

Michele A. Nota ’87, M.S. ’06, Executive Director, URI Alumni Relations; Secretary, Alumni Association Executive Board Pippa Jack Kim Robertson Barbara Caron Shane Donaldson ’99 Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87 Todd McLeish Johnson Ma Bo Pickard Verna Thurber Nora Lewis Mena Hall

Editorial Board

Kelly Mahoney ’03, Executive Director, External Relations and Communications Linda A. Acciardo ’77, Director, URI Communications and Marketing Tracey A. Manni, Director of Communications, URI Foundation

URI Alumni Relations Staff

Angela Cardinal, Executive Assistant Robert Ferrell ’07, Assistant Director Kathleen Gianquitti ’71, M.S. ’82, Assistant Director Kate Maccarone ’08, Assistant Director Darthula Mathews ’13, Program Assistant Mary Ann Mazzone, Office Assistant Amy Paulsen, Web/Print Editor Samantha Rodrigues ’11, Program Assistant Karen Sechio ’99, Assistant Director

Alumni Association Executive Board

Alumni Association Councilors-at-Large

Louise H. Thorson M.B.A.’85, President Susan R. Johnson ’82, President-Elect Joseph M. Confessore ’96, Past President Daniel G. Lowney ’75, Vice President Thomas F. Shevlin ’68, Vice President Patrick J. Cronin ’91, Treasurer Laurel L. Bowerman ’77, M.B.A. ’84 Matthew T. Finan ’11 Colleen Gouveia M.B.A.’98 Tyrene A. Jones ’10 Brina R. Masi ’01 Gregory S. Perry ’88 Perry A. Raso ’02, M.S. ’06 Karen E. Regine ’81 Christos S. Xenophontos ’84, M.S.’85

Alumni Association Representatives Business Administration Feinstein Continuing Education Engineering Environment and Life Sciences Human Science & Services Nursing Graduate School of Oceanography Pharmacy URI Foundation Faculty Senate Student Senate Student Alumni Association

Jordan D. Kanter ’99, M.S.’00 Bianca S. Rodriguez-Slater ’10 Anthony J. Rafanelli ’78, M.S.’85, Ph.D. ’95 Catherine Weaver ’82, B.L.A.’96 Christine S. Pelton ’84 Silifat “Laitan” Mustapha ’97 Veronica M. Berounsky Ph.D. ’90 Henrique “Henry” Pedro ’76 Lorne Adrain ’76 Andrea L. Yates ’94, Ph.D.’06 Amanda Rode ’16 Hannah Zawia ’18

The URI Alumni Association informs and engages current and future alumni as committed partners of the University, its mission and traditions.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

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PRESIDENT’SVIEW Thinking big is not a matter of scale.

For example, this year’s Commencement speaker had an innovative idea about something on the molecular level: a gene.

Rudolph Tanzi was a graduate student at Harvard working on Huntington’s disease when he discovered that people with Down syndrome have an extra gene on their 21st chromosome, and by middle age they develop signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Excited to explore the connection between the two, Tanzi did so despite his professors’ efforts to discourage him. A self-described rebel, Tanzi notes that because at the time he was playing in a

Above, the Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences under construction; Rudolph Tanzi, URI’s 2015 Commencement speaker.

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rock band five nights a week, “I didn’t hear so well—I didn’t listen.”

Sometimes it is important to not hear so well.

For example, we did not hear so well when we were discouraged from seeking funding for a new chemistry building. Nor did we hear so well when people said we were foolish to go after a $125 million bond to build a new College of Engineering.

Many of us didn’t hear well when skeptics said URI students would never sign up for J-Term.

To the delight of our faculty, students and the state, our new Chemistry building will open next fall; we are close to putting shovels in the earth for our state-of-the-art Engineering complex, and J-Term is so popular that in its second year, enrollment increased by 50 percent. Students studied in places as far away as Hawaii and Korea and as close as Connecticut and New York. What’s more, by the time you receive this issue of QuadAngles, URI will have hosted Navy Week, an

honor reserved for only 12 sites nationally. Just as URI students and faculty go out into the world, so, too, does the world come to URI. Rudolph Tanzi’s amazing journey started, remarkably enough, in Cranston, Rhode Island.

This Cranston High School East graduate holds an endowed chair in neurology at Harvard Medical School. He oversees laboratories at Mass General investigating the genetic causes of Alzheimer’s and developing novel therapies for the disease.

Time magazine named him one of 2015 “100 Most Influential People in the World.” GQ featured him in its “Rock Stars of Science” issue. The New York Times bestseller, Super Brain, that he wrote with Deepak Chopra, M.D., served as the basis for his PBS series, Super Brain with Rudy Tanzi.

But wait—there’s more!

An accomplished keyboardist, Tanzi has performed and recorded with Joe Perry, Aerosmith, and other major musical artists.

What can we learn from Tanzi and our other extraordinary honorary degree recipients—Shirley Cherry, Rolf-Dieter Schnelle, Angus Taylor, and the late Leo F. DiMaio Jr.—each of whom has made a transformational contribution to the world?

Beyond thinking big, which I believe is now part of our own University genome, the message I hope our graduating seniors will carry with them from Kingston is to always remain curious, to be willing to challenge the status quo, and to understand when it is imperative to not hear so well. When you do encounter life’s inevitable hurdles, remember the words of our rock star scientist: “The brain is like a piano. You can learn how to really play it.”

Congratulations to the wonderful class of 2015!

David M. Dooley PHOTOS: JOE GIBLIN; NORA LEWIS; COURTESY RUDOLPH TANZI

5-MINUTEEXPERT

Lab of the Future Soon, diagnosing disease could be as easy as using a pregnancy test.

A new tool for rapid, inexpensive medical diagnostics could revolutionize an entire industry. The critical innovation: wax valves, embedded in 3-D layers in a small strip of paper not much bigger than the pregnancy tests now common in grocery stores.

Combined with paper’s natural wicking properties, the miniature plumbing allows a small sample of fluid to move through multi-step tests—without the use of expensive lab equipment or trained personnel.

The invention, by a team of URI engineers led by Professor Mohammad Faghri, holds promise for all sorts of conditions, from Lyme disease to HIV, ebola, and malaria.

It could also be used to detect environmental contaminants, and biological or chemical threats.

The implications are vast, from diagnosing disease in humans, to veterinary applications, to fighting bioterrorism at airports— anywhere that rapid diagnoses are needed in the field.

“We’re the only research group in the world to have created fluidic valves on multi-layered paper without the use of external mechanical, electric or magnetic force,” said Fahgri. “When combined with an optical reader, which could even be a conventional smart phone, the lab-on-paper device provides accurate quantitative results.” •

PHOTOS: MICHAEL SALERNO

URI engineering professors Mohammad Faghri (left) and Constantine Anagnostopoulos pose with their lab-on-paper technology for medical diagnostics.

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NEWS&VIEWS Mark Your Calendars Summer School, College Credit

This year, Rhode Island high schoolers will be able to get a leg up on college through a new program: Rhode Island Ready.

Students may choose from eight general introductory courses that will count toward a degree at URI or another college.

Classes start July 13 and run three to five weeks, depending on the course, at the Kingston campus. High school juniors and seniors are eligible, as well as recent high school graduates, as long as they have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average. The cost is $225 per credit for state residents.

Camp Time

It’s not too late to see if there’s space in one of URI’s dozens of summer camps. Whether you’re interested in computer coding, landscape architecture, engineering, sports or music, there are offerings for all ages.

A Dose of Digital Literacy

As Rhode Island seeks to become the first “blended learning” state in the nation, the third Summer Institute on Digital Literacy will bring grade school teachers, librarians, researchers, and advocates together to develop strategies to prepare students for the 21st Century.

The conference will take place July 27-31 at the Feinstein Providence campus.

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Seeing Print Differently URI art student Lucas Hearne ’15 loved printmaking, but there was a problem: it was 2-D. So he found a way to turn prints into delicate sculptures, work so unique that it won a major award from The Print Center, a Philadelphia-based art organization that promotes printmaking throughout the world.

Hearne, of Wakefield, R.I., started drawing as a child, mostly Japanese-style cartoons and graffiti. A skateboarder, he learned carpentry skills building his own ramps and rails. This spring, he was among 11 finalists selected from 460 artists worldwide in the center’s 89th annual international competition.

His work resembles wood sculptures, but is really hollow paper with printed wood grains, painstakingly taken from pieces of Douglas fir. The result: objects that convey beauty, precision and craftmanship.

Hearne says his art “illustrates the relationship between an object and its maker. People in today’s culture are out of touch with creating things. Everything’s manufactured, even meals. My work is not just about the finished piece, but also the process of crafting it.’’

Drive-Through Rescue She’s been on the job a year, but she’s already saved a life. Kristin Von Flatern Pharm.D. ’14 has worked at a Cape Cod pharmacy since she graduated. The day after Christmas, the Sunderland, Mass. native was behind the counter on a quiet day at work. Then, she overheard another staff member talking to a drive-through customer.

“I could hear the urgency in her voice as he told her he was in anaphylactic shock,” Von Flatern recalls.

The customer was asking for an EpiPen, an auto-injector that provides a dose of epinephrine, a medication that treats life-threatening allergic reactions.

EpiPens are not sold over the counter, so she grabbed one, then entered the customer’s name in

the computer to research potential drug interactions. She opened the package, and handed the device out the drive-through window.

“I could see that his skin was red, his lips and face were swollen, and I asked him if he wanted me to administer it to him, and he said yes,” she says. “I could see he was struggling, and then I saw the relief in his face when I told him I would help.”

Von Flatern hopped on the counter and out through the drivethrough window and into the parking lot, since that was the fastest way to get to him. As she administered the EpiPen, a staff member called 911. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he recovered fully.

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS; LUCAS HEARNE; CASEY KELLY OF THE GOOD 5 CENT CIGAR

Vaccines—the Reel Deal If you’re hesitating about whether to vaccinate a child, URI pharmacy students have a message for you.

In videos produced during spring semester, students taking the class Communicating Vaccines tackle questions like vaccines’ effectiveness, their ingredients, their safety records, and explore vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks.

In one video, “We gave examples of common ingredients such as formaldehyde, and explained a person metabolizes more formaldehyde eating a pear than all the vaccines they will receive in their lifetime,” said Jada Taglione ’15 of Westerly, R.I. The videos are being hosted on the Voices for Vaccines YouTube channel, in a collaboration with the nonprofit.

VIDEO | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

Fighting Cancer with Gold Researchers from the University of Rhode Island and Brown University have demonstrated a promising new way to increase the effectiveness of radiation, and it involves the same metal as your wedding ring.

It’s long been known that gold is particularly good at amplifying the effects of radiation, but the trick has been getting it close enough to malignant cells to target the damage. Now, special compounds have been designed to deliver gold nanoparticles close enough to cancer cells that, in lab tests, the cells were 24 percent less likely to survive than those treated with radiation alone.

Mice trials will be next for the new method, but the ultimate goal is to improve radiation’s effectiveness in humans, allowing doctors to reduce radiation doses and their unpleasant side effects.

Surprise New Sentinel URI’s Peckham Farm uses guard donkeys to protect its sheep and goats. The fearless donkeys stand up to coyotes and other predators, adopting the flocks of ruminants as their own.

But this spring, in a surprise development, the farm’s most recently acquired donkey created her own flock. Jenny, who must have been in the very early stages of her year-long pregnancy when she came to URI last year, gave birth to a baby in the early hours of April 24. By press time, no one had been able to get past the protective mom to discover the baby’s sex, so Jenny’s wobbly new offspring has yet to be named.

The animals are part of URI’s animal science and pre-veterinary programs.

VIDEO | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

Betting on Magic Mat Franco ’10 spent weeks in the nation’s living rooms during his winning run on NBC’s America’s Got Talent last fall. Now, the network is doubling down on the inventive Franco, with two primetime TV specials coming this summer. The shows will chronicle Franco’s preparations for an upcoming residency at the LINQ Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where he is set to headline his own live show, Magic Reinvented Nightly, beginning in late June. TV episodes will focus on Franco’s travels across the country, honing his improv- and humor-laced performance style on celebrities, family members, and ordinary Americans.

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Lobsters to Become Scarcer Bad news for lobster lovers: Increasingly acidic oceans, thanks to absorbed CO2 from climate change, make juvenile lobsters grow and molt more slowly. That makes the animals more vulnerable to predation, and means URI researchers are predicting fewer adult lobsters being available for harvest.

URI doctoral student Erin McLean ’16 of Danvers, Mass., presented the findings at the annual meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association in Monterey, Calif., in April.

“I’m not sure yet what the mechanism is that is affecting their growth,” she says, “but it takes energy for them to regulate the increased acidity, which is energy they cannot then put toward growth.”

In Spring, the Ocean Blooms The North Atlantic has its own greening each year, when a massive bloom of microscopic plants— phytoplankton—unfolds from Bermuda to the Arctic.

It’s what makes the ocean able to soak up CO2 from the atmosphere: • Sunlight and carbon dioxide allow phytoplankton to grow and reproduce at the ocean’s surface in a massive display of color known as the North Atlantic Bloom.

• Phytoplankton remove carbon dioxide from seawater during photosynthesis and release oxygen as a by-product. That allows the oceans to absorb additional carbon dioxide from the air.

• Phytoplankton die, and the heavy carbon in their cells sinks to the deep ocean.

• Assistant Professor Melissa Omand and her team have answered an old question: What happens to the lighter particles left over? It turns out that ocean eddies allow them to hitch a ride downward.

• The research has implications for predicting how the oceans will affect atmospheric CO2 and, ultimately, the earth’s climate.

A NASA photo of the Atlantic Bloom.

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Staying Power At the next family gathering, you might want to turn to a grandparent for advice about how to put a spark back in your marriage—or deal with meddlesome in-laws.

Karl A. Pillemer, one of the country’s leading gerontologists, spoke at URI for the annual Thewlis Lecture on Gerontology and Geriatrics in March, using insights based on thousands of interviews he conducted for his latest book, 30 Lessons for Loving.

He spoke with URI: What was the number one tip from long-married couples?

First, that marriage for a lifetime is hard. To stay married for life requires resilience, spirit, and discipline. It also requires an acceptance of predictable stressors and unexpected difficulties. But the good news is, it’s worth it.

A long marriage provides some of the most splendid emotional experiences life offers.

What did older Americans say about the adage “never go to bed angry’’?

Almost everyone used that phrase. There is a deep meaning behind it: that nothing puts out the spark as much as long, simmering anger. This is the kind of insight that comes from being at the finish line, looking back.

You mention that in-laws can have a big impact on a marriage.

Who comes first: spouse or in-laws?

The elders were unequivocal about this one: if there is conflict between your family and your spouse, side with your spouse. Many elders had in-law difficulties, and this rule got them through it.

What did older Americans tell you about keeping the spark alive?

They wanted young people to know that the idea of the “sexless older years” is a myth. Indeed, those married a half-century or more described intimacy as better in some ways than when they were in the midst of jobs, child-rearing, and other stressors. For them, intimacy does broaden to include the pleasure of touch, holding one another, and other forms of closeness.

Green Fleets Two pioneering companies have been recognized for cutting carbon emissions, reducing the use of petroleum, and promoting and utilizing alternative fuels, all while powering a fleet of vehicles to run their businesses.

URI’s Ocean State Clean Cities Coalition recognized Malloy Energy in Cumberland and Newport Biodiesel in Newport, along with Oakhurst Dairy in Maine and New Hampshire, the City of Boston, the City of Nashua, N.H., the University of Vermont, and the Greater Portland Transit District in Portland, Maine.

“Malloy Energy and Newport Biodiesel show what an amazing impact small business can have in our state. Both companies stand out as regional leaders in the alternative fuel industry,” said Wendy Lucht, Ocean State Clean Cities coordinator.

Malloy Energy and Newport Biodiesel were selected because 100 percent of their vehicle fleets run on biodiesel. Malloy’s vehicles used nearly 7,800 gallons of biodiesel fuel instead of diesel in 2014, while Newport Biodiesel vehicles used approximately 7,500 gallons of biodiesel.

PHOTOS: ISTOCKPHOTOS.COM; NASA; MIKE SALERNO

Wendy Lucht (third from left), coordinator of Ocean State Clean Cities Coalition, poses with award winners (l-r) Chris Benzak and Bob Morton of Newport Biodiesel and Tom Malloy Sr., Jim Malloy and Tom Malloy Jr. of Malloy Energy.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

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PRESSBOX The Joy of Ultimate

Bone Marrow Donor Meets Her Match In October 2013, Rhode Island women’s volleyball player Caroline Casey ’15 became the fifth member of the URI Athletics family to complete a bone marrow donation to save the life of a stranger. And now, she and Jennifer Guthro are officially no longer strangers.

Guthro, six months pregnant at the time, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2013. Casey, who registered as a potential donor in the spring of her freshman year under the football team’s annual marrow drive, was a perfect match. The pair underwent operations, but under transplant guidelines, were not able to meet or know each other’s names for a year. That changed this spring at the Annual Andy Talley Bone Marrow Bash at Villanova, which, like URI, partners with the Be The Match Registry.

Casey was also one of 71 student athletes to make Dean’s List both semesters last year, and addressed fellow students at the annual reception honoring successful student athletes.

VIDEO | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

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The URI men’s and women’s Ultimate Frisbee teams want to win, just like every other athletic team. Players prize sportsmanship, friendship and fun—oh, and don’t tell them it isn’t a sport. In a weekendlong tournament, each player sprints about 10 miles a day.

The inclusiveness of the team comes from the Spirit of the Game, part of the official rulebook, which states: “Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect or the basic joy of play.”

Last year, the men’s team tied with Northeastern University for ninth place out of approximately 30 teams in the region. “This year, the goal is to break the top eight in the region,” said men’s co-captain Alex Jenkins of Portsmouth, R.I.

Hurley’s New Deal Third-year men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley, who had been one of the lowest-paid coaches in the Atlantic 10, will stay in Kingston under the terms of an innovative deal designed to guarantee him $1 million a season by 2017–18 without using further state funds.

“We understand the importance of building a championship-caliber men’s basketball program,” Hurley said.

“Rhode Island is a great state to live, raise a family and work. My family and I are proud to call Rhode Island home.”

The restructured contract runs through the 2020–21 season. It leaves his base salary at $300,000, as agreed when he came to URI in 2012; but will add projected gate receipts from ticket sales to make up the remainder, with the URI Foundation pledging to make up any shortfall.

NCAA tournament money would pay the Foundation back.

A buyout provision means Hurley, or any school looking to hire him, would have to come up with $1 million or more for him to break the contract, money URI could use to hire a new coach.

The Rams finished the 2014–15 season with an overall record of 23–10, with 13–15 in league play and a share of second place in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

A Sobering Perspective Chris Herren of Fall River, Mass., dreamed of playing basketball for his hometown team, the Boston Celtics. And he did—until a drug habit stole all his dreams.

URI student-athletes listened as Herren, who is now sober and travels the country warning students not to make his mistakes, told of his aspirations as a Division 1 college athlete at Boston College and Fresno State University. Then someone offered him drugs.

“That girl brought up insecurities that I didn’t even

know I had,” Herren said.

So he said yes. At the time, the moment seemed insignificant; but, he told the crowd, its consequences altered the course of his life.

Herren’s struggles resonated with many. After the talk, women’s volleyball team member Layne Self reflected: “When Chris asked the crowd, ‘Why aren’t you comfortable being you?’ it really hit home because I think that’s something a lot of college kids struggle with.”

—Franki Darnold ’16

PHOTOS: MICHAEL SCOTT; MIKE SALERNO; NORA LEWIS; ALAN HUBBARD

Left to right, URI President David M. Dooley, Stephanie Ulicny-Domin, Mike La Barbera, Tom Drennan, Kellie Cookus, Tom Cataldo, Mark Brockwell and Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn.

New Hall of Famers URI’s Athletic Department inducted six new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame at a March 7 ceremony at Quidnessett Country Club. The newest class inductees included five former student-athletes—Mark Brockwell (football), Tom Cataldo (football), Kellie Cookus (softball), Michael LaBarbera (baseball) and Stephanie Ulicny Domin (cross country/track & field)—as well as longtime golf coach Tom Drennan.

The Hall of Fame was established to recognize and honor the best studentathletes, teams, and friends of Rhode Island Athletics. The class of 2015 is made up of players who have brought recognition, honor, and distinction to the University and their respective athletic programs. Two additional former Rhody greats, Andy Williams (men’s soccer) and Antonio Reynolds-Dean (men’s basketball), were also voted into the URI Athletics Hall of Fame but could not attend this year’s ceremony and will be inducted at a later date.

“It is an honor to induct these fine representatives of University of Rhode Island Athletics into our Hall of Fame,” said Thorr Bjorn, director of athletics.

“It was a special weekend for all of our

inductees, and I congratulate and celebrate all their achievements.”

Brockwell was a three-year standout and key member of the 1984 Rhode Island football team that won the Lambert Cup as the top team in the East and advanced to the NCAA I-AA Playoffs.

Cataldo was a three-year starter on the offensive line at Rhode Island, from 1968-70. A stalwart on the left side of the line, Cataldo served as an offensive captain in 1969 and a game captain in 1970. He earned All-Yankee Conference and All-East honors as a senior.

Cookus finished her URI career as one of the most decorated softball players in program history. A two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, Cookus was honored as the top player in the conference in 1997 and 1998. A threetime First Team All-A-10 selection, Cookus helped guide the Rams to their only program appearance in the A-10 Championship game in 1996.

Drennan served as the highly successful head golf coach at URI for 22 years. During his tenure, the Rams qualified for NCAA Regional Championship play for 16 straight years, from 1992–2007. Drennan, who was

inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of American (GCAA) Hall of Fame in 2008, was a three-time Atlantic 10 and nine-time New England Coach of the Year.

The first-ever Rhode Island baseball player to earn All-America honors, LaBarbera wrapped up his time in Kingston as URI’s career record holder in hits (259), doubles (41), stolen bases (92), assists (495) and runs scored (152).

He also set new single-season marks in both hits (80) and stolen bases (35). A three-time All-New England performer and two-time Atlantic 10 first teamer, LaBarbera finished his senior season with an amazing .404 average, 41 runs, 44 RBI, and 35 stolen bases.

Ulicny was the first Rhode Island cross-country runner to qualify for a NCAA Division I National Championship, doing so in 1993. A three-time captain of the Rams’ track-and-field and crosscountry teams, she earned All-East honors in cross-country in 1993, as well as All-New England and All-Atlantic Ten honors in both sports for all four years of her career. •

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He made a difference as a housing court judge. But the city of Providence will be a much, much tougher test of Jorge Elorza ’98’s abilities to wrangle, reckon, adjudicate, and imagine.

BY MELANIE COON

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QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

ow did the son of Guatemalan immigrants, who barely graduated from high school and was rejected from the University of Rhode Island’s Talent Development Program, go on to become mayor of the state’s capital city? The story of Jorge Elorza is an inspiring example of what is possible when barriers spur motivation. And if Mayor Elorza has his way, many more kids will dream big.

It is less than a two-mile walk as the crow flies from Asa Messer Elementary School to City Hall in Providence, R.I. But when Mayor Jorge Elorza attended Asa Messer as a child growing up on Cranston Street in the urban core, City Hall seemed as far away as the moon.

The mayor, who was sworn in on January 5, grew up in poverty and, while he was an exceptional math student with clear potential to do well, he wasn’t too interested in applying himself. “I went for my Talent Development interview with Leo DiMaio in my senior year at Classical, fully expecting to be accepted to URI,” Elorza recalls. “But Leo could see I was immature and not ready for TDP. The rejection letter arrived the very next day. It was a turning point in my life. I decided I had to get my act together.”

And get it together he did. Elorza tried hard at the Community College of Rhode Island, demonstrating that he was serious about his education. And then he made the leap to URI. He credits DiMaio, Frank and Sharon Foglio, and former Dean of the College of Business Administration Mark Higgins with giving him a tremendous amount of support and encouragement. An accounting major, Elorza graduated at the top of his class.

Academic achievement notwithstanding, many of his memories are focused on the good times he had with friends. “I was on the flag football team,” he says. “And I played a whole lot of pool in Heathman.”

Elorza counts URI classmates, including many he tutored in math, among his lifelong friends: “I’ve been to their weddings, I am an uncle to their kids.” Community service was also a strong thread pulling through his undergraduate years. He spent weekend time mentoring kids through the College Crusade, and served as president of the Latino American Student Association.

Despite successfully landing a position at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in New York, seemingly achieving the pinnacle of the American Dream, Elorza felt unfulfilled in his work. And then came a phone call from his father that reawakened his drive to serve the community where he grew up.

One of his best friends had been murdered.

Returning to Providence, Elorza expected to become a high school teacher or to lead a youthbuilding program. He worked for a time at Outward Bound.

“I never saw myself as a lawyer. But when someone explained public interest law, I was hooked.” After graduating from Harvard in 2003, Elorza could have gone anywhere, but he returned to his hometown and took a position with Rhode Island Legal Services, litigating race discrimination cases and representing both private and public housing tenants. He was appointed to the Providence Housing Court in 2009 and quickly earned a reputation for taking a tough stance with landlords—including major banks—on abandoned properties.

And he continued to teach law students at Roger Williams University, where he founded the Latino Policy Institute, which is focused on providing data-driven analyses of issues relating to Latinos, the fastest growing population in Rhode Island.

Still, Elorza wanted to do more to make a difference. He leapt at the opportunity to run for mayor, citing his passion for making Providence a wonderful place to live, with superb schools, safe streets, and a thriving economy. Elorza also notes how much he enjoys a good challenge. “I always push myself. Once I get to the point where I have achieved an objective, I set my mind on the next one.”

When he was elected last November, Elorza told, “We have it within ourselves to change the course in Providence, and to create opportunities. I am thrilled to be in a position where I can help the city and make this a better society for all of us.”

We caught up with the mayor again in March after a string of brutal winter storms that did nothing to dampen his optimism.

He told us that wherever he goes, people are eager to help: “Out in the community,

PHOTOS: JAMES JONES PHOTOGRAPHY RI; JOANNE DIBELLO

people who did and did not support me say, ‘Let me know how I can be helpful.’ That is very heartening. Even city employees who have been in their jobs for 25 years or more tell me they have never seen this kind of momentum for positive change.”

In fact, despite the difficulties of keeping the streets plowed and repairing the inevitable potholes that follow the snow, Elorza says his biggest challenge so far has been managing his family’s expectations. “They are used to seeing me a lot more than they do now,” he explains. “I made a commitment to the city and to the position, so that is a new reality for them to adjust to.”

The mayor is especially pumped about creating a new position: chief innovation officer. Calling it “an approach, a philosophy, and attitude,” Elorza says that regardless of how well we may be doing our jobs, we can always improve, innovate, and do better. “That is the culture I want to inculcate into every aspect of the city,” he says.

That includes high hopes for the lean management principles that Chief Innovation Officer Nicole Pollock will bring to City Hall; he cites early victories like coordinated responses to constituent concerns. The department of public works and the office of neighborhood services are now well aligned. “A small change but it will have a major impact,” says Elorza.

Of course, there is no shortage of issues to tackle on a daily basis. Schools, innovation, recreation, economic development, boards and commissions—what keeps him up at night? With jam-packed days, he says, “I hit the bed and I fall asleep.”

Elorza is open about the issue he feels is central to the city’s future success: “I want to be remembered as the mayor who turned around the schools.” He’s been emphatic about the need for a school department that works, with strong leadership that

empowers teachers, principals, and teacher leaders with support from the central administration. “Providence can be a shining example of what an urban school district should be,” he says. “With the right attention and focus we can make sure that in every single school and classroom our children are inspired to learn.” He’s visiting two per week, meeting with Superintendent Sue Lusi regularly, and engaging members of the community around this issue. “What is stopping us from being a world class school system is not a shortage of great ideas,” he explains.

“It is the ability to execute the ideas.” One idea already being implemented: full service schools that double as community centers and stay open into the evening. Four schools are currently piloting this model.

Another issue that remains front and center for Elorza is safe and decent housing. He has launched an aggressive initiative for Providence to become the first city in the nation with no abandoned properties, and he is drawing on his experience as a housing court judge to make it happen.

“I find it unacceptable that properties have been vacant for six to eight years,” he says.

“We can do better.”

It is no secret that Rhode Island has not recovered from the Great Recession as quickly as its neighbors in New England.

Elorza speaks about creating a “city of opportunity,” beginning with public education that prepares students for skills they need in the new economy through internships, apprenticeships, and mentorships.

For the city to work, he says, “Everyone has to be a part of the growth.”

Finishing off a sandwich (“I have to keep up my strength”) and preparing to head into another meeting, Elorza reflects on opportunity more personally. If he were giving advice to students just starting out in Talent Development, he says, he would want them to know that: “Success is about experience and experience is often about failure. You learn from your mistakes and that sets you up for success in the future. Always push yourself outside of your comfort zone and become a well-rounded human being, expose yourself to a broad range of experiences. We limit ourselves by being afraid to fail.” •

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QUADANGLES SUMMER 2014

Destination Wine How one man returned to his family’s roots and turned a small family winery into a Napa-worthy place to eat, drink, tour, learn, and make merry.

BY JOHN PANTALONE It took him awhile to get there, but 27 years after he started his senior project in marketing, John Nunes ’88 is finishing it. Maybe not literally, but ideas he had back then have gradually come to fruition over a 20-year period in a much bigger way than he imagined.

As co-owner of Newport Vineyards with his younger brother Paul, John is overseeing the completion of a multi-million dollar expansion of their winemaking business, which sits majestically on his family’s ancestral land in Middletown about 10 minutes from downtown Newport. The brothers have taken a once relatively small operation and turned it into a green tourism destination—not exactly what John had in mind back in the late 1980s, when he carved out a plan for the building on the property owned by his father.

In 1987, the elder John Nunes was looking for a new use for what was once the family’s auto dealership. A retired Navy captain offered to lease the family’s farmland and the building to start a winery. The younger John, who was completing his studies at URI, decided to make the building his senior marketing project. “I thought about what

wasn’t there,” he said, “and laid out plans for a toy store, a restaurant, some other uses. I was thinking about something for everyone.”

He wasn’t thinking then that he would one day own a vineyard there. The farm and the structure had stayed in his family when John saw an opportunity in 1995. He convinced Paul to join him, and 20 years later, they have become the largest grower of wine grapes in New England.

“It was a beautiful place,” John recalls as partial motivation for starting a business venture without much experience in the field. “It needed young energy.

The first three or four years were hard. Everything just goes back into the business.”

Little by little, working with winemaker George Chelf, who had been at the vineyard since John was a URI senior, the brothers learned about growing grapes and making wine, and they developed an admirable reputation in the process. When they started, with John handling the business and marketing and Paul overseeing the agricultural aspect, they were producing about 1,500 cases of wine. Now they’re turning out 20,000 cases a year, in up to 30 varieties, including some that have won prestigious awards.

“Callout ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore.”

Cassandra Earle ‘04, Newport Vineyards marketing director, and co-owner John Nunes ‘88, at the tasting bar that faces the winery’s massive fermentation tanks.

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS

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Top: Diners at a bar table at Brix Restaurant; Bottom: Michael Walton, assistant winemaker, loads local apples into the presses for one of the winery’s new products, hard cider.

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Their reputation has been about more than wine, extending to family history and preservation of agricultural land at a time when farms on Aquidneck Island were under great pressure from development. In 1998, in their first expansion, the brothers acquired the adjacent Perry Farm, which dates to the 1860s. They added it to their family’s farm, which was started in 1917 by their great-grandfather, Azorean immigrant Francisco Nunes. The Perry Farm expansion represented a partnership with the Aquidneck Island Land Trust, the state Division of Agriculture and the Nunes family.

The partners entered into an open space in perpetuity agreement for the farm, and four years later did the same for the family farm when John and Paul bought it from the estate of their grand aunt, Francisco’s daughter-in-law.

“Perry Farm was about to be sold and there was a plan to build 80 house lots adjacent to our vineyard,” John said. “We thought it was important to save the farm, but it was also a lifesaver for us. It gave us property facing East Main Road so people driving by would see us.

“We felt we were doing our part to preserve the agricultural personality of Middletown, which was once covered by farms. Farming was in my family for two generations. Francisco’s sons all had farms.”

Their return to agriculture reflects generational economic trends. John’s grandfather, Joseph Nunes, had the first Chrysler auto dealership in Rhode Island,

which he located off Broadway in Newport.

John’s father and uncle later moved the dealership to the site of John’s senior project in Middletown. Now that building is surrounded by lush fields of grape vines and has become home to a modern form of tourism that combines agriculture and entertainment.

John and Paul have turned Newport Vineyards into a multi-use destination featuring vineyard tours and wine tastings, weekend music concerts, Shakespeare in the vineyard, tours of the expanded winemaking operation and more. Folks are planning weddings and rehearsal dinners there, business events, family gatherings, you name it. They began some of that about 10 years ago, but the newly expanded facility, which has added 12,000 square feet to the original 18,000-square-foot building, allows them to do much more.

In a beautifully planned renovation and addition, visitors can walk through a large tasting room and gift shop, then make a simple connection to a deli/bakery that has been part of the operation for years, but now has much larger and more modern facilities. Heading in the other direction, customers can walk through an enlarged tank room and production facility where events are held, including a weekend farmers market that moves outdoors in the summer months and offers a showcase for local growers.

For good measure, the brothers have jumped into the restaurant business as part of the renovation. Brix Restaurant, named for the unit of measurement of grape ripeness, opened last fall. Elegant and comfortable, it features a long bar and a large fireplace original to the property facing winecolored leather sofas and chairs. The dining room offers carefully crafted dishes and marvelous views—of the vineyard in one direction, and the wine tank room in another. “We wanted to integrate everything,” John said. “I think we’ve done that.”

They’ve also connected the building to the vineyard with an extended outdoor patio where guests can listen to music on weekends or relax with a deli order or some wine.

PHOTOS: COURTESY NEWPORT VINEYARDS; NORA LEWIS

Paul Nunes samples chardonnay grapes at harvest time on the winery’s fields.

Looking back, John is a little amazed at what they have accomplished, especially since they had almost no experience with wine. “We grew up behind the vineyard property,” he said. “I have 52 cousins. A lot of us helped out with the planting when we were kids.”

That was the extent of their knowledge.

Paul, 25 when they took over the business, had traveled and taught English in Chile and spent time snowboarding in Switzerland.

He had law school plans when John called on him. “I intended just to help out to get things started,” Paul remembers. “Within six months I had taken over the farming operation. It was exciting. I was learning something every day. People in this business are willing to share their knowledge.

It’s refreshing.”

John has a similar story. He had enjoyed a successful career with the international business consultants Dun & Bradstreet. It took him to a variety of places including Germany, where he earned a master’s degree. “I met a lot of business owners small and large, and those experiences were valuable,” he said. “I had always wanted to own my own business. I like the challenge and the independence of it.”

So when Newport Vineyards became available and no one else seemed interested in buying it, John hooked Paul into it and teamed with George Chelf on an educational journey. John, Paul and George: They joke sometimes about trying to find a Ringo.

“We work well as a team,” Paul said.

“John does a good job predicting sales, which is essential. You have to know this before you make the wine. It’s hard to predict. He handles the marketing. He is a great finance guy and has a good vision for systems and how to run things.”

Chelf says the brothers had no preconception of how things should run, so they were willing to listen and learn. “It was scary not knowing everything we needed to know at the time,” he said of the early years. “They had energy, and they reassured me that they wanted this to work. We all learned from other people in the business.

Eventually things became sustainable, where we had control over our product from beginning to end.”

Sustainability means not having to buy grapes elsewhere, which many wineries in the Northeast do. Things can still take them by surprise. The 2014 crop, for instance, was about 50 percent larger than average “and we didn’t see it coming,” says Paul.

“There are variables every year, and you have to stay on top of it all the time.”

Now they have more to keep on top of.

They had 25 employees three years ago; they anticipate having 100 by mid-year.

They aren’t just operating a winery anymore. “Retail sales are important,” John notes, “but you can only gross so much in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The event business is lucrative if you have the space.

That’s why we did this.”

John is proud that people who study vineyard operations and winemaking come to Newport Vineyards for seminars and other programs. Where once they relied heavily on experts to help them figure things out, their experience now makes them valuable mentors. “It’s satisfying to think we have created something memorable,” John said. “We know all the neighbors and we maintain walking trails behind the property. We are contributing to the community and the region.”

Not exactly his senior project vision.

It actually turned out much better. •

DIY Winemaking Thinking you might like to try your hand at making your own wine? Here are some tips from Newport Vineyards Head Winemaker George Chelf: Expand Your Palette: Part of the winemaking education process should include an effort to step out of your “wine comfort zone” even before you begin. Expose your palette to new experiences that will contribute to how you craft your own taste. Try new wines; you might be surprised.

Start With a Plan: Preparation is essential, but when you’re working with Mother Nature, outside factors can never be fully predicted and she will always find a way to alter that plan. Be prepared, then take a breath and smile.

Take Notes: Record keeping is essential to becoming consistent, and it’s how you evolve as a winemaker.

Write everything down and refer to your notes frequently.

In Conclusion: Winemaking is a craft and a science combined. You cannot make a consistent product without both. Use all your senses.

For the perfect wine to pair with your clambake, go to URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

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BY ELLEN LIBERMAN

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T

he sun, long hidden by a spate of February storms, had warmed the day to a toasty 28 degrees. A blaze of orange on the edge of South Kingstown’s Potter’s Pond was a knot of oystermen in foul weather gear, bringing in the morning’s harvest: six thousand oysters in mesh bags, nestled in plastic tubs atop the deck of an aluminum barge, bound for the New York and Philly fish markets. About a third of the Eastern oysters pulled from Perry Raso ’02, M.S.’06’s seven-acre farm make a much shorter journey—a right at the top of the gangway into his restaurant, where, splayed on a bed of ice, they tempt diners.

In 2002, Raso was a newly minted graduate of URI’s Aquaculture Program, and an oyster farmer.

One of just 18 in the state, he was growing oysters in the shallows, three years away from producing a market-sized crop.

“I had nothing,” he recalls. “I was digging wild quahogs and steamers to earn a day’s pay.”

Today, he harvests a million oysters annually and employs more than 200 at the season’s height, tending, sending and serving oysters. Six years old, the Matunuck Oyster Bar is still South County’s hot restaurant ticket, making Raso the most visible symbol of Rhode Island’s fastest growing industry.

“Our oysters go all over. You can see Rhode Island oysters on the menu at a restaurant in L.A. and that’s incredibly good for our economy,” Raso says. “There have been growing pains every step of the way. But there’s still room to improve. We have a long way to go.”

Last year, Rhode Island farmers harvested more than $5 million worth of oysters, eclipsing the wild harvest of quahogs. The number of farms has grown to 55 in 2014; another eight lease applications are somewhere in the Coastal Resources Management Council’s (CRMC) pipeline.

PHOTOS: RON COWIE

At left and above, Matunuck Oyster Farm employees harvest, sort and bag oysters in Potter’s Pond.

“You can see Rhode Island oysters on the menu at a restaurant in L.A. and that’s incredibly good for our economy.”

Perry Raso ’02, M.S. ’06

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Oysters are having a moment—thanks to the local food movement and the farm-to-table restaurant trend. Their flavor influenced by the unique environment in which they are cultivated, oysters are tasted for terroir, like fine wines. But oyster aquaculture in Rhode Island owes its success to strong partnerships among growers, state officials and the academic community. URI, many acknowledge, has been key.

Brian Pinsky ‘10, a graduate of URI’s aquaculture program who opened his 401 Oyster Farm last May on three acres of Ninigret Pond, credits the university with “introducing me to a lot of people who are experts. It gave me good connections for people who helped me along the way.”

Faculty research has shaped regulation and husbandry practices. Staff coordinated the creation of the state shellfish management plan and the disbursement of $1.5 million in federal funds to further state aquaculture. URI graduates make up a significant slice of the state’s farmers and they lead the industry trade associations on both coasts.

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“It’s an industry with no downside and significant environmental benefits. Oysters clean the water and create habitat. You can grow oysters with a modest investment and produce sustainable local domestic seafood while working on the water,” says Robert “Skid” Rheault, M.S. ’85 Ph.D.’95, executive director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, who earned his doctorate in biological oceanography and is adjunct faculty at URI. “Oysters are the number one seafood product landed in Rhode Island waters—and we’re doing it on less than 200 acres.

That’s big news.”

Not bad for an industry left for dead in the 1950s. At its height in 1911, oyster farms covered about a third of Narragansett Bay’s bottom, says Michael Rice, aquaculture professor in the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science.

“Those 21,000 acres were controlled by seven companies, and very much like any of the businesses of that era, run like a textile mill town, with occasional company housing and shopping at the PHOTOS: RON COWIE; NORA LEWIS; WIKIPEDIA.ORG

BUILDING A BETTER OYSTER

Left, diners enjoy ocean offerings at the Matunuck Oyster Bar, Matunuck, R.I.; right, Marta Gomez-Chiarri, professor and chair of URI’s Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science, presents oyster research to colleagues.

company store,” says Rice. “Then, a whole series of misfortunes—environmental, political and historical—came together to bring down the industry.

The last of the big oyster farms closed in 1954.”

Rheault was among the pioneers who brought oyster aquaculture back. In the late 1980s, after a brief stint growing scallop seed, Rheault turned to growing oysters in Point Judith Pond.

“The regulations were not conducive,” he recalls. “It took me two-and-a-half years to get a three-acre lease. There were 600 letters of objections in my file. A rational person would have moved on…I used to say that the future of aquaculture in Rhode Island is in Connecticut.”

But Rheault’s troubles marked a turn-around.

The Ocean State Aquaculture Association was formed to educate policymakers about the regulatory obstacles. Their efforts caught the attention of State Representative, and then-CRMC member, Eileen S. Naughton, who led the General Assembly to streamline regulations in 1996. URI is still heavily involved in crafting shellfish aquaculture policy.

Farmers have relied on vaccines to protect their livestock from disease since 1881, when Louis Pasteur inoculated 70 sheep with an attenuated form of the anthrax bacillus in a public demonstration of his new virus vaccines. But oyster farmers need to take an even older approach to herd immunity.

“Oysters do not have immune systems like those present in vertebrates. Shellfish don’t have the ability to recognize a pathogen that they encountered long ago and respond faster,” explains Marta Gomez-Chiarri, professor and chair of URI’s Department of Fisheries, Animal & Veterinary Science. “With oysters and shellfish, you need to use other tools like selective breeding.”

Gomez-Chiarri, who came to URI in 1997 as a shellfish pathologist, studies disease resistance in oysters, searching for the unique genetic signature that boosts the survival rate, despite pathogenic threats.

The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is susceptible to four major diseases: Juvenile Oyster Disease, caused by a bacterium, and Dermo, MSX and SSO, all caused by parasites.

In a bad year, any one of them can devastate the wild or cultured population. Gomez-Chiarri has assumed the exacting task of following the trail of genes an oyster expresses when exposed to a pathogen. Without the aid of genetic science it would take many years, and many generations to develop the most diseaseresistant oyster lines.

“By knowing the mechanism, you can selectively breed faster and in a more targeted way,” she says. “How do you find the resistance genes? That’s a lot of work. One of the approaches that you can use is looking at every gene expressed in response to pathogens in both resistant and non-resistant populations.

By comparing the two, you have a long list of genes that you try to narrow to those that are really responsible.”

Disease-resistant lines can help a shellfish restoration succeed, or a farmer turn a profit. And while Gomez-Chiarri tries to break the code of disease resistance, oyster farmers bring in their ailing stock for diagnosis, and she sends them off with suggestions on different lines to try out.

“We work closely together and share data,” she says. “They recognize that the knowledge helps and I learn from them as much as they learn from me.” • UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

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Watch Hill Oysters growing in Winnapaug Pond.

Under the guidance of URI’s Coastal Resources Center and Rhode Island Sea Grant, the state completed its first shellfish management plan. In November, the Department of Environmental Management and the CRMC signed an agreement to cooperate on shellfish management strategies.

“The first version is done and we’ve already implemented many of the actions,” says Jennifer McCann M.S.’94, the Coastal Resources Center director for U.S. Coastal Programs. “But we’re continuing to work on aquaculture regulation, and the plan will be constantly updated as we have new research and recommendations.”

Oystering’s resurgence has also created conflicts. Established farmers like John and Cindy West ‘95, URI graduates who bought Moonstone Oysters from Rheault in 2007, worry that a new breed of aquaculture hobbyists—lessees with other full-time professions—will not take the kind of care necessary to protect their harvest from Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium that can infect raw oysters and cause serious illness.

“Everybody thinks you’re printing money and it looks really neat,” says John West. “But it’s selfpoliced and if someone doesn’t follow the guidelines, they can shut everyone else down.”

Elsewhere, aspiring lease-holders are meeting resistance from other fishermen and coastal property owners who argue that aquaculture interferes with other uses. Under current regulations, up to 5 percent of each coastal pond can be put into production. No pond is close to that cap.

A Brief History of Oystering in Narragansett Bay 1643

Roger Williams notes that the Narragansett Indians were shellfishermen in his treatise on their language.

1700

Oysters first harvested exclusively as a raw material for lime production.

Adapted from A Brief History of Oyster Aquaculture in Rhode Island Michael A. Rice, University of Rhode Island.

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1734

Colonial Assembly outlaws the practice as an unacceptable waste of oyster meat.

1766

Colonial Assembly passes first law to prevent oyster overfishing.

1798

Law mandating a seasonal closure of the oyster beds is enacted; first lease granted.

PHOTOS: RON COWIE; COURTESY MICHAEL RICE; AND CRMC/JEFF GARDNER

“The 2009 regulation was based on the best science available at that time,” says Dave Beutel ‘92, the CRMC’s aquaculture coordinator. “It was an ecological capacity. But, that was much too low of a cap, so the limit is not an environmental limit. It’s a social limit.”

Recently, for example, there were numerous objectors to three lease applications in Quonochontaug Pond.

“We support aquaculture, as long as it’s properly cited and properly operated,” says Art Ganz, M.S.’74, president of the Salt Pond Coalition, which opposed them. “We’re trying to strike a compromise for multiple uses within the salt ponds.”

These disputes have become common in Washington state, where, despite a long history of oyster aquaculture, new permits are now rare.

Margaret Pilaro Barrette ’92, M.S.’97, executive director of the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, says that her undergraduate and master’s degrees in marine affairs has amply prepared her.

“Marine affairs, and the real-world experiences I had at URI, gave me the ability to recognize the potential for conflict but more importantly taught me how to navigate toward the best outcome,” she says.

To farm is to do battle—with pests, the government, the elements, and sometimes the

neighbors. The future of Rhode Island aquaculture may be out in the bay.

“There’s a good reason why everyone’s not a farmer. It’s a challenging industry—the uncertainty from season to season,” says Cindy West. “You have to have the stamina to carry on. But I love it. It’s working on the earth and nature and it gives you an appreciation for when things are going well.”

This winter was tough, with brutal lows encasing the ponds in thick crusts of ice. But the market doesn’t much care; it still wants its oysters.

Graham Brawley ‘02, manager of the Ocean State Shellfish Cooperative, waited dockside to escort this harvest into the box truck idling in the parking lot of the Matunuck Oyster Bar. Founded in 2007, with six farms covering 50 acres, the cooperative is comprised of farmers who got at least some of their formal aquaculture schooling at URI. “Cooperative is a bad word in the state of the independent man,” Brawley says. “But in the end, we came together—a group of guys with a common goal, to distinguish ourselves regionally as growing the best shellfish on the planet.”

Come spring, when all six of the farms are cranking, they’ll see harvests of 30,000 oysters in a single morning. But today, a few thousand will have to do. Each worker grabs one end of a gray tub and, man-to-man, they form a line to unload the oysters from the barge to the truck, like links in a chain of Rhode Island tradition. •

1920s

Effects of pollution evident.

1938

Great Hurricane destroys oyster infrastructure, accelerating a decline begun in the Great Depression. Many oyster companies never reopen.

1843

New state constitution sets the people’s right to “enjoy and freely exercise all the rights of fishery, and the privileges of the shore.”

1844

Oyster Act enhances oyster production and establishes leasing protocols.

1850s

General Assembly passes laws to encourage shellfish aquaculture, including allowing private lessees to harvest oysters from public beds for seed stock.

1896

Industrial pollution causes population to decrease as production increases. First marine laboratory established in Jerusalem to determine why.

1905

Two lease holders sue Providence Gas Company for polluting beds with coal tar discharges.

1911

Peak production of oysters with 1,394,983 bushels landed.

1954

Warren Oyster Company closes, the last of two oyster companies.

1996

1976

Legislation streamlines permitting process. Establishes CRMC as the coordinating agency.

1988

Aquaculture grows to $744,319 industry. Farms increase from six in 1995 to 24.

Luther Blount tries to revive family oyster business with two oyster ponds off Prudence Island.

Moonstone Oysters applies for lease in Point Judith Pond.

Approved in 1990 after 14 hearings. Cumbersome process proves to be an impediment to revival.

2005

2013

Fifty-two oyster farms. Now a $4.4 million industry.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

23

Insights from the wild career of one of Iceland’s foremost scholars

BY PIPPA JACK

Eyjolfur Gudmundsson became the first Ph.D. holder ever hired to monitor the economy of a massive multiplayer online game.

24

QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

He has moved from the ivory towers of academia to the fishing boats of Galilee to the starships of fantasy gameplay—and back—but when you talk to Eyjolfur Gudmundsson Ph.D. ‘02, his sensibilities are firmly rooted on earth.

Gudmundsson—under Icelandic naming convention, he goes by Eyjo, or Dr. EyjoG, for short—is famous, in certain circles, for being the world’s first virtual economist, managing the millions of dollars that flow annually through the online fantasy world of Eve Online.

Last year, he left Eve’s 8,000 star systems to become president of the University of Akureyri in Iceland. At 46, he’s remarkably young to lead a university, but he’s propelled by his urgent conviction that universities must do a better job preparing students for the job markets that will exist in ten, twenty, and thirty years.

But let’s back up. Eyjo grew up in Iceland, and followed his interest in economics to a post-grad research job there. Then, in what he says is a life-

long pattern—”I seem to fall into things”—a planned move to Norway took a last-minute swerve to URI, thanks to ties between the research-economics professors he admired, and his abiding interest in fisheries economics.

He found kindred souls here, where the fishing boats that run out of Galilee and New Bedford struggle with the same issues as their counterparts to the far north. In fact, fishing is so tied up with Iceland’s history and financial stability—it represents about a third of the country’s exports— that he says best-practices discussion is practically a national pastime there. His doctorate at URI was devoted to market information and fisheries management, with links to a sustainable seafood labeling system. The idea—that consumers would pay a premium for responsibly harvested seafood—is now recognized as a success.

But staying in the U.S. wasn’t an option—he’d made a deal with his physical therapist wife that the family would go home after five years. So he

took an assistant professorship at Akureyri, a small school in the rural northeast of Iceland, where half the student body learns remotely through onlineonly classes. Within a few years he was a dean. “I thought I was set for life on academics,” he recalls.

But “this strange little company” came calling, and its pull proved irresistible.

Dr. EyjoG first encountered the founders of CCP games at an experimental economics seminar attended by URI faculty as well as Nobel laureate Vernon Smith; they passionately urged the gathered academics to help the company manage its virtual currency, saying it would be a perfect arena for serious economic study. “As I was listening,” Eyjo recalls, “I thought, they’ve got it right—it would mimic a real economy.”

A year later, 150,000 people were playing CCP’s Eve Online, and they advertised for an economist. Eyjo applied, and in 2007 became the first Ph.D. holder ever hired to monitor the economy of a massive multiplayer online game (MMO for short).

During his tenure, Eve attracted millions of players, with up to 65,000 people from all around the globe interacting within it at any one moment.

Like other MMOs, it quickly became a target for “gold farmers”—people seeking to siphon money out of the game, usually by selling virtual goods for real money. Eyjo’s mandate was to allow the escapist play to flourish without permitting Eve to violate international tax codes or money laundering restrictions.

Eyjo’s solutions, including a popular move that allowed players to buy game time for others, helped stop the cash leaking from Western living rooms to Chinese cybercafes. Or at least, mostly.

“There will always be some people with more time than money, and the reverse,” he reflects. “If there is demand, there’s no stopping it; you just fight to keep it to a minimum.”

Meanwhile Iceland’s hard-hit economy was emerging from the global meltdown, and Dr. EyjoG PHOTOS: COURTESY EYJOLFUR GUDMUNDSSON; EVE ONLINE; ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

felt an itch to apply some of the lessons he’d learned at Eve to the world of higher ed. So when Akureyri advertised for a new president in 2014, he once more found himself jumping industries.

His year at the helm has proved challenging.

“It’s a public university, so we don’t charge tuition,” he explains, “and we’re working within a very tight budget. We educate people all over the island, trying to keep our smallcommunity feel, while providing the education needed to succeed on a national and global level.”

He has a vision, forged in the crucible of Eve: a global techno-economy, he insists, is right around the corner.

“What it taught me is that it doesn’t matter where you live in the world, as long as you have the right education,” he says. “You can do whatever you want, where you want, because the Internet will keep you connected to your market.”

He describes a librarian who, 15 years ago, built a website about paper dolls. “It turns out a lot of people are interested in this,” he says, “and when Google advertising started, her site took off.

Now, she’s living in a remote area of Iceland, with something close to $1.5 million a year in revenue.”

Another lesson: the line between virtual and real worlds is ever more blurred. For instance, Dr. EyjoG believes we are only a few years away from widely available software that will translate on the fly. As technology becomes an ever more intimate part of our lives, online relationships between different-language speakers may become as immediate and vital as face-to-face meetings. The trick, he says, will be learning how to navigate all these different communities. Just as an individual once moved between the overlapping social spheres of family, school and work, people now add the worlds of social media, videoconferencing, and shared work, financial and entertainment platforms.

Perhaps it will be impossible for anyone reading this now to be truly successful in this new world, he suggests: “The generation that is coming after us may be the first to do this successfully, creating powerful online communities that will be more capable of adapting to the rapid change we face.”

But then again, he points out, it’s hard to know how old anyone is on the Internet. “If you are elderly but can be online as a 20 year old, then are you old or are you young?”

Perhaps it makes more sense to ask: Is there opportunity outside your physical door, or should you go online to seek it? After all, he says, “Here I am, sitting just under the Arctic Circle, speculating about all this. Sometimes it’s our very isolation that forces us to innovate.” •

To Bitcoin Or Not to Bitcoin The virtual currency is internationally accepted and getting larger and larger. Dr. EyjoG says it can be a useful tool, but proceed with caution: THE GOOD It’s not governed by any country. That removes the temptation to print money when the country is in financial trouble or for other political reasons.

THE BAD That lack of real-world backing allows bitcoin’s value to fluctuate wildly, making it a risky investment.

THE UGLY What is behind it, asks Eyjo, other than some fancy coding? And all code, he points out, will eventually be broken.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

25

A Life in Words Paul Petrie died listening to his poems. At the hospice in Providence, his wife, Sylvia, and their children took turns reading aloud at his bedside.

Groggy from morphine to numb the cancer, the poet and former University of Rhode Island professor could still hear the song of his verse.

Paul Petrie taught at URI for 30 years.

26

QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Always the hilltops take me, and always I go— over the slight green rise at the end of fields, over ridges of blue distance—and on—where to—none know.

The end came on Nov. 9, 2012, at the age of 84 and a short two months after he had been diagnosed. Sylvia wondered how she would go on, her world so entwined with Paul’s they had moved as one through 58 years of marriage.

The book, she says, saved her. She spent a year helping to edit his poems, which he had arranged just as he wished them published before he knew he was dying. The fruit of her devotion

Poet and URI professor Paul Petrie was a writer of boundless energy.

BY ELIZABETH RAU

is The Collected Poems, a vast and beautiful 754-page love letter to life.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Levine called the poems astonishing, and Paul a writer of boundless energy: “Considering how little attention the poetry reading public—if there is such a thing—gave his work, his 70-year commitment was both miraculous and heroic.’’ And the poet Guy Owen, referring to one of Petrie’s earlier books, praised the poems’ sheer music: “The phrases that go on ringing and singing in the ear!

My God!’’ The collection also tells the story of the Petries’ journey, from their courtship as young students in Iowa and travels in Spain, to Paul’s three decades of teaching at URI and happy family life in South Kingstown, where Sylvia still lives. “We were lucky,’’ she says. “We were so close.’’

He grew up in a blue-collar family in Detroit.

His father worked in the press room of a newspaper and was an alcoholic with “eyes puffed and

drinkshot,’’ which weighed heavily on the young boy. To make money, Paul delivered papers on his bike and worked in car factories, “Filing in through the low-arched gates/past the long vast looming buildings—/Spare Parts, Assembly, the gaunt/ Foundry’s mouth—and on/to Pressed Steel.’’

As a teenager, he dabbled in poetry writing, but he didn’t start to write in earnest until he arrived at Wayne State. Eventually, he landed at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he studied with Robert Lowell, among others, and earned his doctorate in creative writing.

They met at a table of graduate students in the cafeteria—Sylvia, a lively brown-eyed artist fresh out of Wooster College in Ohio, and Paul, a tall, lanky thinker with blue eyes and a mop of black hair. The poet asked the painter to go to a classical music concert. They fell in love quickly—and deeply. There were long walks by the river, Rogers and Hart in the music building, kisses in her room.

Six months later, they were married: Moon through the window look more lightly upon my dear love’s breast.

Touch her with silver fingers, moon, caressing and caressed.

The young couple and their cat, Goya, spent a year in Spain, then returned to America in time for the birth of their first child, Phil. They settled in Nebraska in a town called Peru, where Paul taught writing and celebrated the pleasures of fatherhood: “Like birds that tumble on the October air/ we roll upon the floor, unraveling joy/ like balls of colored twine. Against my face/ his face is soft and warm.’’

Paul joined URI in 1959, and although he enjoyed teaching, his shyness sometimes made it challenging: “Dry-mouthed, quick-beating heart/ I stand at the dark threshold/ of eyes/ and, smiling/ turn the knob.’’ His reward was sharing the “music, music, music’’ of Keats, Shelley, Wordsworth.

Two more children came along—Emily and Lisa—and days in the orange-doored Peace Dale house by the woods were filled with laughter, Bach and Brahms, and readings of Paul’s poems. On Sundays, he’d watch his beloved New England Patriots. Sylvia pursued her painting and printmaking, even collaborating with her husband on two hand-printed books.

“I was a slow poke,’’ she says. “He was the worker.’’ On writing days, he rose early, ate a bowl of cereal and drank a glass of milk, put on his down jacket for extra warmth and went back to bed. He wrote, usually in a spiral notebook, until noon. He always wrote lying down.

PHOTOS: COURTESY SYLVIA AND PAUL PETRIE

He was haunted by the march of time and death, the only certainty.

Yet he didn’t let it wear down his enthusiasm, his sense of awe at being alive. Death, in Paul’s words, purified all living things: the “wintry theatricals” of branches, “half-shut buds of flowers,’’ the crow as “one black, heroic period in a world of flow.’’

The goldfinches outside his door were fed well.

His family was a source of inspiration. In his poem “The Outsider’’ he watches from afar through “black-limbed trees” to the lighted windows of his house. Sylvia is setting the plates; the children are darting in and out at some unruly game; the dog is prancing behind.

At left, “Not Seeing is Believing”

by Sylvia Petrie is featured on the front cover of The Collected Poems. Above, Sylvia and Paul.

I shall run to those yellow windows and hidden peer in— I shall wrap them in silken handkerchiefs like dolls— I shall sit all night in the moon, weeping— weeping for the past.

He retired from URI in 1991, but that didn’t slow him down. He was as productive as ever, adding to his canon of ten volumes of poetry and more than 400 poems in 100 literary journals, including The New Yorker and Poetry.

His illness was swift. A stabbing pain in his side brought him to the doctor. There were X-rays, and straight talk. Nothing could be done. The cancer had spread too far.

The night he died Sylvia read her favorites aloud, and then it was time to sleep. She lay down beside him. The room was dark. There was no gasping for air, no thrashing. His passing was peaceful.

“He was a wonderful man,” she says. “I think he felt almost a calling to praise life by ‘sounding the illicit heresies of joy.’ ’’ As expected, that philosophy surfaces in his work, “Poem for Joy.’’ “Page 649 in the book, stanza 5,’’ says Sylvia.

He was a boy, singing as he rode his bike—hands free!—in the rain. Neighbors stared. The earth groaned. He sang louder, “both loud and clear,’’ until, through sheer force of will, he soared, “and the sea shrank back as he made the world.’’ •

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

27

A Closer Look at Carbs

BY CHRISTOPHER BARRETT ’08 M.P.A.’14

CARBS: Onions, legumes, whole grains, and artichokes contain fermentable carbohydrates.

Brittany Navrkal M.S. ’15

studies indigestible, fermentable carbohydrates that may be important for the beneficial bacteria that live in our guts.

Standard intakes for these carbohydrates have never been quantified in a U.S. population, let alone their potential connections to health, but her research indicates even low levels of consumption may bring benefits.

Many people count calories in search of better health. The University of Rhode Island’s Kathleen Melanson and her students count carbohydrates—specific kinds of them.

The nutrition and food sciences associate professor and her students are studying how many carbohydrates college students eat. By also asking about health status, the study promises to unearth relationships between the intake levels of specific carbohydrates and the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.

“It’s a very novel area,” Melanson says.

“We’re breaking into new research here because most of the previous research has been done in animals.”

The study focuses on carbohydrate subtypes that behave differently in the body.

Most people are familiar with the three main types: sugars, starches and fiber. But in reality, there are hundreds more formed by different combinations of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Some lead to health benefits, others health issues.

To study all this, graduate nutrition students Eric Nelson and Brittany Navrkal are administrating a 297-item questionnaire to some 400 URI nutrition students. The survey asks detailed questions about what students eat and how often they eat it. The two, from New Jersey and Nebraska respectively, started administering the questionnaire in fall 2013.

Australian researchers developed the questionnaire as a tool for doctors during patient evaluations. Melanson saw it as a way to identify the amount and specific types of carbohydrates students consume.

Most students probably cannot report how much fermentable carbohydrates they ate.

But they can report if they ate beans, brown rice or bananas—all of which contain fermentable carbohydrates.

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS; ISTOCK.COM

It’s a complex world of sugars and starches.

URI is using research on students to help us all navigate a path to health.

Nelson and Navrkal pore over the results seeking to quantify consumption of specific carbs. No one—to the best of their knowledge—has ever sought to analyze carbohydrate intake by specific type in such a large population. The largest study on fermentable carbohydrates involved fewer than 100 participants, Navrkal says.

Armed with the first batch of results, Nelson and Navrkal are looking for possible connections between carbohydrate consumption and disease risks. Preliminary analysis found interesting information, chiefly that URI college students consume a lot of sugar: about 32 teaspoons a day. The American Heart Association recommends six teaspoons per day for women and nine teaspoons per day for men.

Both presented individually at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston in March. The conference, which drew some 14,000 scientists, selects only a fraction of requests to speak. Organizers also picked Nelson to participate in the Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Research competition, along with fellow URI nutrition student Michael MacArthur of New Hampshire.

Nelson says the true reward was the chance to tell researchers about his work.

“A lot of the major causes of death are related to nutrition,” he says.

While it could take some time for the URI data to work through the medical field, the results already went to the nutrition students who completed the questionnaire.

Nelson and Navrkal shared individualized results with each respondent, providing a tailored analysis of nutrition intake.

“The exciting thing for the students is they get feedback from the questionnaire,” Navrkal says. “Not only can they relate the results to what they learned in class, but they can use it to improve their diet.”

Students—and the public—may find carbs in surprising places. Nelson and a team of undergraduate students went

For more tips on carbs and diet, go to URI.EDU/QUADANGLES

through two supermarket aisles and scoured the websites of national restaurant chains. They found sugars hiding in breads, yogurt, salad dressings and condiments.

And Nelson himself knows that reducing sugar intake can lead to a healthier life. He lowered his sugar intake, improved the types of carbs he ate and, along with exercise, lost more than 100 pounds.

The URI team wants to build on the survey results to create intervention tools for medical professionals. Those tools may come in the form of guidelines for limiting intake of specific types of carbs while promoting others. Or they might provide information for food scientists developing healthier products. These tools could also support public health policies such as requiring food labels to list carbohydrates by subtype rather than lumped together.

“Carbohydrates are such a complex body of molecules that do different things,” Melanson says.

“You can’t just say carbohydrate and mean one thing.” • Eric Nelson M.S. ’16

examines a crucial, but unexplored, relationship: how added sugars such as corn syrup and dextrose relate to total sugar intake to effect health. Surprisingly, there’s little data about the question—currently, total sugars are listed on food labels, but there are no guidelines for intakes of total sugars. There are guidelines for intakes of added sugars, but added sugars are not listed on food labels.

FATS: Added sugars, like ultra-sweet fructose, overwhelm our natural ability to process carbs, leading to weight gain.

(Shown here, Nelson holds one pound of fat.)

CLASSACTS Congratulations to our 2014–2015

ALUMNI OF THE GAME

City of Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza ’98 was honored for his dedication and loyalty to the University at the March 7 Saint Joseph vs. URI game.

The Alumni of the Game program, held at every A–10 men’s basketball home game, recognizes URI alumni who demonstrate the best of what our graduates are all about—successful careers combined with service to their communities and to the University.

HONOREES William Babcock ’68 Scott Campbell ’77 Norman A. Campbell ’57 Paul Croce ’62 Jorge Elorza ’98 Lawrence and Susan Ginsberg ’80 Deborah Imondi ’83 Jane Stich ’62 Norman G. Tashash ’77 Louise Thorson M.B.A. ’85 Al Verrecchia ’67, M.B.A. ’72

30

QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Keep us up to date on your news!

Submit your class note at alumni.uri.edu/note ’60

’73

Charles H. Dress of Warwick, R.I., writes: “I was selected as the 2014 recipient of the Ethel Percy Andrews Award by AARP Rhode Island for Outstanding Community Service. In 2014, I co-founded the AARP Community Group in Warwick, R.I.”

Timothy Straw of Narragansett, R.I., has been selected as winner of the National Defense Industrial Association Bronze Medal for 2014. The NDIA Bronze Medal is an annual award that recognizes outstanding individual achievement in science or engineering in the field of undersea warfare.

Straw is an electrical engineer with 41 years of experience at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I., that has focused on the development of and in-service support for hull-mounted and deployed sonar transducers and arrays. He has built a reputation as a prolific inventor and is recognized as a dedicated and skilled manager, leader and mentor.

‘63 The late Carolyn Healey Peterson of Barrington, R.I., had an asteroid named in her honor in January 2015.

Her husband, Herbert “Pete” Peterson ‘64 writes: “6534 Carriepeterson is a main-belt minor planet discovered by Dr. Timothy Spahr through the Catalina Sky Survey on February 24,1995. It has an orbital period of 5.6 years and is inclined 22° from the ecliptic. Carrie was a long-time member of the Astronomical Society of New England along with her husband Herbert “Pete” Peterson. Pete has recovered a couple of asteroids and submitted thousands of observations to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Spahr has generously renamed one of his finds to honor Carrie’s memory. Pete’s work tracking and searching for new new-earth asteroids is ongoing at the Wishing Star Observatory. If you would like to contact Pete, you can email him at pete@petersonengineering.com

’66 Gail Logan M.A. ’68 of Macon, Ga., has published a third novel, A Matter of Loyalty. Gail is an award winning poet, first place winner of the “World Poetry Movement’s Best Poets of 2012” award, and author of The Sundisk and Time is of the Essence.

She wrote book reviews for nine years for a major Georgia newspaper while working in business. A Matter of Loyalty is available as an ebook or for purchase at bookstores, including Barnes and Noble.

‘70 Marc Seifer of Saunderstown, R.I., writes: “I am happy to announce that my new book Framed! Murder, Corruption & A Death Sentence In Florida by Marc J. Seifer with Stephen Rosati was just reviewed in the Sunday section of the Providence Journal. Framed! has also received a 5 star review on Amazon by Midwest Book Review.”

’74 Carol Cioe Klyman of Springfield, Mass., has been selected to the prestigious Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers lists. Carol is an attorney with the Springfield, Mass., firm of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. Joanne C. Sulima of Westerly, R.I., has been appointed special assets officer for the Washington Trust Company, where she handles operations, processing and lending for the special assets department. Joanne joined the bank in 1986 as a loan operations clerk. In 2007 she was transferred to the commercial lending division, where she worked as a credit associate.

’77 Robert Fay of Bristol, R.I., has joined American Business Lending as a vice president and will be responsible for providing Small Business Association guaranteed loans throughout the Northeast. Robert has 31 years of banking experience.

’78 Dr. Gary Mattson, AICP, of Independence, Ky., was reappointed in July 2014 by Kentucky Governor to the Bank/Licking River Watershed Council, which acquires environmentally sensitive land and reviews the impact that publicly sponsored development projects have on the watershed. In April 2014, Dr. Mattson was invited by the Bank of Cleveland Federal Reserve as a conference participant on fair lending housing finance policies in the district. Dr. Mattson actively consults with Midwest towns in economic development and finance issues.

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Weekend 2015 Thank you to everyone who attended Big Chill Weekend 2015–the events of the weekend were a huge success!

We raised more than $120,000 for student scholarships.

The University of Rhode Island Alumni Association and the 2015 Big Chill Weekend Committee express sincere appreciation to honorary chairs Mike and Maryann Brandmeier and GOLD SPONSOR: Toray Plastics (America) BRONZE SPONSORS: Bank of America Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust The Washington Trust Company A special thanks to Rhode Island Monthly, as well as our other generous sponsors and auction/raffle donors.

From top: Honorary Chairs Maryann and Mike Brandmeier (center) had a wonderful time at the Blue Tie Wine Pairing Dinner at the Providence Public Library. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, and URI President David M. Dooley were also on hand, showing tremendous Rhody Spirit!

Attendees raised their cards with enthusiasm during Bid for a Cause, made tough decisions in the silent auction room, and kicked up their heels on the dance floor.

See more photos at: alumni.uri.edu/bigchill

IT’S ALL ABOUT SCHOLARSHIPS. UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

31

Not a member of the Alumni Association? How

puzzling!

HUNDREDS OF EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS Enjoy discounts on alumni event registrations like Homecoming Weekend, as well as on car rentals, hotels, and much more.

James Farrell of Palm Coast, Fla., has published a novel, Brooklyn Boy, as well as a collection of short stories, Kiss Me, Kate and Other Stories in 2014. Kiss me, Kate was recommended by Bill Reynolds in October 2014 in his Saturday column in the Providence Journal. Jim is publishing his second novel, The Extraordinary Banana Tree this spring.

PARTNERSHIP PERKS Our partnership with Working Advantage provides members with discounts on

’86

gift certificates, movie tickets, and entertainment and sporting events nationwide.

Jennifer Fairbank, of East Greenwich, R.I., has been elected chair of the Rhode Island Heath Care Association’s board of directors. Jennifer is the executive director of the South County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Kingstown. Under her supervision South County Nursing was selected as one of the top 100 facilities in the country by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Membership has so many rewards—here is just a small sampling of what you’re missing: INVITATIONS TO SPECIAL MEMBERS-ONLY EVENTS Come to one of our backstage theater experiences or catch up with fellow alumni at a sports pregame party.

MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK Discounts at Mews Tavern, Bellevue Wine & Spirits, Brooks Brothers,

Alpine Ski & Snowboard, URI Bookstore, W. Alton Jones Campus Summer Camps, and Whispering Pines Conference Center.

Now do you see why we’re puzzled? You are the missing piece! Don’t go another day without benefiting from all these great perks. Your membership helps us to support over 65 programs and services for alumni, students, and the University itself.

Join today! alumni.uri.edu/membership

Now it’s our turn to puzzle you!

RHODY PRIDE PUZZLE

URI ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

See if you can solve our crossword.

’89 William E. Culton, Jr., Esq., CBA, of Barrington, R.I., has been selected as a 2015 In-House Leader in the Law honoree by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly and New England In-House.

William (Bill) is the General Counsel of East Greenwich, R.I. The Leaders in the Law awards event took place on March 5, 2015, at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, with 500 legal industry professionals in attendance. Of the 25 New England in-house lawyers honored, Bill was the sole honoree representing a Rhode Island company.

‘91 Robert Roccio Jr., of Cranston, R.I., has been awarded the 2015 Autism Educator of the Year by the Certificate of Graduate Studies and the Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College. Rocchio has been a clinical school social worker in Johnston for over 17 years and is currently working at both Sarah Dyer Barnes and Brown Avenue elementary schools.

DOWN

ACROSS

1. This is code for heading off campus. (three words)

4. The URI radio station’s call letters

2. 20th Head Coach of URI Football (two words)

5. The name of the student-run newspaper is The Good Five Cent _______.

3. URI alumni magazine

7. 2010 URI alum who won the big prize last fall on America’s Got Talent. (two words) 11. ________ Hall is where URI played basketball before Keaney Gym.

5. Academic subject taught by Coach Frank Keaney 6. URI basketball guard Ernie _________ made the famous 62-foot game-tying “shot heard round the world” in the 1946 National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

12. Location of URI’s Bay Campus

8. Former Ram Geoff _______ made it to the 2014 World Cup, playing for the US Men’s National Team.

13. URI’s W. _____ Jones Campus is located in West Greenwich.

9. Name of the Alumni Association’s annual winter student scholarship fundraiser. (two words)

14. Graduates of the University of Rhode Island

10. The other state university that has a Ram mascot and wears a shade of blue identical to “Keaney Blue”

Find the solution at alumni.uri.edu/membership

32

’81

QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

’92 Kendall Smith, of Ridgewood, N.J., writes that Percussion Publishing will be releasing his new thriller, Vault 21-12, in June of this year. The novel will be available via Amazon, Kindle, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook division.

‘95 Dr. Jennifer Saltzman of Menlo Park, C.A. has been honored as a ‘mentor of mentors’. The Association for Women in Science, Northern California Chapter, has selected Saltzman, director of outreach education at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, to receive the organization’s 2015 Sherrie Wilkins award. Saltzman was nominated for PHOTO: NORA LEWIS

CLOSEUP

Food scientist and nutritionist Demetrios Kazantzis, Del’s Lemonade’s VP of research and Development, with one of the trucks that signal summer.

Things That Make You Go “Mmmm” Since arriving in Rhode Island just in time for the Blizzard of ’78, food scientist Demetrios Kazantzis Ph.D. ’82 has never left. “It’s like where I grew up in Northern Greece, close on the water,” he says. “It’s my adopted state.”

Kazantzis has developed more than 100 foods currently on sale, including Tito’s salsas and Buono’s breads. But he’s centered his creativity at Del’s Lemonade, where he first consulted in 1986 and is now head of research and development. The opening challenge: a diet version of its frozen lemonade that didn’t freeze the machines solid, like everything else had. He couldn’t, but he did create a low-cal version, then nine more frozen flavors, bottled drinks, and the company’s best-selling dry mixes.

And finally, a new sweetener came on the market— and he made that soft frozen diet lemonade. “It took me only 25 years,” he laughs, “but I did it.”

Along the way, his tiny lab at Del’s Cranston headquarters has served as a career stepping stone for URI graduates. He’s proud of their accomplishments, although surely none are more on-trend than he. For instance, in collaboration with Narragansett Beer, his next Del’s creation sounds like the hit of the summer: dark cherry shandy.

—Pippa Jack

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

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her instrumental role in creating the History of Life internship program in collaboration with her research group. She will be honored at a recognition banquet in San Francisco.

’96

OCEAN STATE SUMMER WRITING CONFERENCE JUNE 18–20, 2015 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

TRACY K. SMITH 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry

ANTONYA NELSON New York Times Notable Author

ALSO FEATURING: Betsy Andrews, Ifa Bayeza, Adam Braver, Karen Brennan, Tina Chang, Rob Cohen, Ru Freeman, Richard Hoffman, Robert Leuci, Brian Leung, Jody Lisberger, Derek Nikitas, Gregory Pardlo, Valerie Tutson, Padma Venkatraman URI FACULTY: Mary Cappello, Peter Covino, Derek Nikitas, Josie Sigler-Sibara Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry, and Screenwriting Workshops Craft Sessions, Publishing Sessions One-on-one Consultations Saturday Festival for all ages!

Learn more about the Ocean State Review, a journal of literary arts.

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uri.edu/summerwriting

QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Kathy Bailey of Portland, Maine, has started Bailey Softball and Kathy Bailey Coaching and Consulting, LLC. After working as a high school guidance counselor for eight years, she decided to change her career path and start a company. where she would be able to help young people from different communities improve their athletic, academic, and life skills.

Russell Newman of New Milford, Conn., writes: “I assumed the role of Program Director for the Saint Clare’s Hospital Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine in 2012.

After building a team of RN’s and recruiting a multi-specialty Physician Panel to serve the outpatient Wound Care Center, we earned a Center of Distinction award for FY 2014. The distinction was only earned in 172 out of 506 eligible Wound Care Centers in the United States. I plan to continue to achieve superior healing rates and reduce the incidence of Amputations in Northern New Jersey.”

Greg Silva of Cranston, R.I., vice president, senior financial consultant for Webster Investment Services, recently appeared in Rhode Island Monthly magazine. Greg earned the Five Star Wealth Manager designation from Five Star Professional for the second consecutive year. This prestigious honor was awarded to less than eight percent of all wealth managers in the state of Rhode Island. An award based on exceptional service, the Five Star program is the largest and most widely published financial services award program in North America.

’98

will be responsible for strategic partnerships in the United States and Canada.

’08 Anthony J. Nunes of Charlestown, R.I., has been appointed social media and public relations officer for Washington Trust. He joined the bank in February 2014 as social media marketing coordinator. In his role within the marketing department, he manages the corporate brand by expanding the bank’s presence on social and traditional media.

’09 Mark Clifford of Warwick, R.I., was a graduate of the 123rd class of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy. The ceremony. took place in December at the Community College of Rhode Island campus before being sworn in at the Cranston ceremony.

Sarah S. Crosby of Riverside, Conn., was appointed as the new director of Harbor Watch, the water quality monitoring and research program.

Sarah is a marine ecologist with training in conservation science and has extensive research experience with coastal and marine ecosystems.

While attending URI, Sarah’s research highlighted a salt marsh that was under consideration for restoration, and she focused on the marsh fish community and the human impact on the landscape. In her doctoral research she investigated the resilience of coastal ecosystems to both human and climatic impacts.

’11 Carissa Schneider of Warwick, R.I., earned her Certified Public Accountant designation in January. Carissa is a Senior Assistant Accountant for Sansiveri, Kimball & Co, L.L.P., where she has been for two years. She also serves on the Rhode Island Young Accountants Network Committee.

Misty Martin of La Grange, Ill., has been promoted from associate to shareholder of Segal McCambridge.

Misty has represented companies in general and complex litigation across the country for more than a decade.

She has successfully defended client interests in state and federal courts.

Misty also works with companies across the country to proactively mitigate their risk through consultations and contractual agreements.

’13

’99

Catherine Rumschlag and Kevin M. O’Brian ’88, on October 3, 2014.

Daniel Sullivan IV of Lincoln, R.I., has been named vice president of sales for the Rhode Island-based international tour operator Colette Tours. He will oversee the North American strategies sales field and

Brett C. Lonergan of East Greenwich, R.I., has been named managed asset and risk management officer for Washington Trust. He joined the bank in February 2013 as an accounting intern and later joined the risk management team as a risk management/special assets trainee.

WEDDINGS

Richard K. Tiffany ‘91 to Heidi A. Skiptunas on May 4th, 2014.

Christopher Santos ‘94 to Heather Blaser on November 11, 2014.

PHOTOS: MIKE DOOLEY; SARAH DEL BUONO OF MADE IN MARCH (WEDDING PHOTO); NORA LEWIS

Heather Hewitt ’98 and Arya Chowdhury, on August 30, 2014.

Kevin Eansor ‘03 and Lindsay M MacKinnon ’07, on Jan 3, 2015.

Heather R. Zartarian ’03 and Kevin P. Caswell ’03, on July 5, 2014.

Amy L. Bishop and Steven R. Merluzzo ’05, on May 31, 2014.

Kaitlin E. Lambert ’07 and Adam S. Donahue, on November 20, 2014.

Jennifer Bragger ‘10 to Nicholas Evans on May 28, 2014.

Elizabeth Ameno ’13 and Michael Portal ’11, on September 28, 2014.

Emily J. Patry ’14 and Jared Giordano, on July 25.

BIRTHS Heather Hewitt ’98 and Arya Chowdhury, a son, Reza Hiram, on May 14, 2014.

Scott Gullett ’99 and Sarah Gullett ’00, a daughter, Savannah Grace, on February 6, 2015.

Laurie S. Ontso ’99 and Christopher Ontso, a daughter, Eleanor Louisa Ontse, on April 20, 2012.

Daniel J. Petrilli ‘07 and Kristina M. Petrilli ‘07, a son, Christopher John, on October 9, 2014.

IN MEMORIAM William W. Ferris Jr. ’31 of Warwick, R.I., on March 19, 2015.

Jane C. Ebbs ’35 of Sarasota, Fla., on December 24, 2014.

J. Albert Newton ’35 of Providence, R.I., on December 24, 2014.

Ralph Hedberg ’39 of Kingston, R.I., on January 7, 2015.

Dr. Paul F. Bliss ‘40 of Wakefield, R.I., on December 2, 2014.

Roma Bourassa ‘40 of Ann Arbor, Mich., on January 9, 2015.

Maurice Connors ‘40 of Andover, Mass., on January 14, 2015.

Alfred I. Green ‘41 of Wynnewood, Pa., on November 28, 2014.

Kevin Eansor ’03 and Lindsay MacKinnon ’07

Hit a Home Run for Your Family: URI Night with the PawSox! August 7, 2015 McCoy Stadium Don’t miss our annual family night with the PawSox! There’ll be plenty of pregame fun, boatloads of BBQ, and a raffle for great Rhody prizes. Afterwards, watch the PawSox take on the Syracuse Chiefs.

alumni.uri.edu/pawsox Presented by the URI Alumni Association. For more information, please contact Kate Maccarone at 401.874.4679 or kemaccarone@uri.edu

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

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William J. Kayatta, Sr. ‘55 of Portland, ME, on March 27, 2015 Donald R. Salvas ‘55 of West Warwick, R.I., on March 8, 2015.

Legacy Leave a

SET

in STONE

Order your brick today!

alumni.uri.edu/centurywalk

Samuel L. Torman ‘55 of Cranston, R.I., on April 12, 2014.

Leroy Grinnell ‘56 of Charlestown, R.I., on December 12, 2014.

Richard Cunningham ‘56 of The Villages, Fla., on March 7, 2015.

Carol Rawson Lillis ‘56 of Providence, R.I., on March 8, 2015 Edmund J. Renehan ‘56 of East Greenwich, RI, on March 22, 2015.

Harry R. Keffe Jr. ‘57 of Lompoc, Calif., on December 31, 2014.

Glenna Paine ‘57 of Cranston, R.I., on January 7, 2015.

David Richardson ‘57 of East Greenwich, R.I., on January 20, 2015.

Edward B. Dupuis ‘58 Blufton Sun City, S.C., on January 26, 2015.

Personalized Century Walk bricks line the paths of the Quad, the heart of campus. You can have your own brick, inscribed any way you like—with your name, class year, sorority, fraternity, club, athletic affiliation, or anything else that’s meaningful to you. Your brick will serve as a steppingstone for the future while keeping your URI roots alive forever!

Cynthia F. Grinnell ’58 of Avon, Conn., on February 9, 2015.

Blaine E. Herald ‘58 of Coventry, Conn., on December 9, 2014.

Kathleen F. Hicks ‘58 of Narragansett, R.I., on December 18, 2014.

Ian L. McKechnie ‘58 ‘60 of Rockaway, White Meadow, N.J., on March 8, 2015

Raymond H. Bliss ‘42 of Wakefield, R.I., on February 19, 2015.

David L. Campbell ‘50 of Jefferson, Maine, on December 16, 2014.

Theodore Wolanski ‘51 of Coventry, R.I., on January 2, 2015.

Glenn Smith ‘58 of West Warwick, R.I., on December 30, 2014.

Joan S. Banfield ‘43 of Colorado Springs, Colo., on March 15, 2015.

Louis A. LaPere ‘50 of Westerly, R.I., on March 17, 2015.

Roland Ferland ‘52 of Riverside, R.I., on December 11, 2014.

Willard L. Menconi ‘59 of St. Cloud, Fla., on December 10, 2014.

Donald M. Dwyer ‘43 of Providence, R.I., on December 22, 2014.

Jack Moore ‘50 of Morro Bay, Calif., on March 11, 2015.

Robert H. Gledhill ‘52, ‘54 of Decatur, IN, on March 18, 2015.

Joan Irvine Barlow ‘44 of Plymouth, Mass., on December 4, 2014.

Michael DeMarco ‘50 of Middletown, R.I., on December 27, 2014.

Erivan G. Hagopian ‘52 of Deerfield Beach, Fla., on January 22, 2015.

Claire Chaves Skrzypczak ‘59 of Marlborough, Mass., on December 8, 2014.

Isabel Killam ‘44 of Seekonk, Mass., on June 26, 2014.

Theodore F. Masse ‘50 of Charlestown, R.I., on February 16, 2015.

Donald M. Leys ’52 of Bradenton, Fla., on October 29, 2014.

Elise Medeiros Herden ‘45 of Webster, N.Y., on February 23, 2015.

John S. Morrison ‘50 of Barrington, R.I., on February 25, 2015.

Bernard L. Matthews ‘52 of Daytona Beach, Fla., on June 1, 2014.

Robert F. Shea ‘46 Hingham, Mass., on January 27, 2015

Barbara Nagel ‘50 of East Greenwich, R.I., on January 29, 2015.

Marcus Rand ‘52 of Narragansett, R.I., on December 2, 2014.

Marjorie E. Wheeler ‘46 of Harrisville, R.I., on November 23, 2014

Richard Perkins ’50 of Wilton, Conn., on March 10, 2015.

Harold Bernstein ‘53 of McAllen, Tex., on June 14, 2014

Mary Allen Coffey ‘47 of West Chester, Pa., on November 29, 2014.

Barbara Rose ‘50 of Randolph, N.J., January 24, 2015.

Doris Ingeborg Gallimore ‘53 of Brookline, Mass. on February 6, 2015

Donald R. Rose ‘48 of Saint Louis, Mo., on February 6, 2015.

Robert E. Aubin ‘51 of Cranston, R.I., on February 25, 2015.

Harry D. Hanchett ‘54 of Molokai, Hawaii, on June 1, 2013.

Barbara Browning Weibel ‘48 of Wakefield, R.I., on February 17, 2015.

Ruth Mary Norwood Bennett ‘51 of East Greenwich, R.I., on February 22, 2015.

John Prata ‘54 of North Kingstown, R.I., on December 15, 2014.

Mina Koning Becker ‘49 of Naples, Fla., on February 9, 2011.

Richard C. Spinney ‘49 of Warwick, R.I., on January 26, 2015.

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QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Lewis J. Pucci ‘51 of North Providence, R.I., On January 10, 2015.

Lillian A. Snashall ‘51 of Fremont, Calif., on February 8, 2015.

Anne Waterman Bowen ‘55 of Wakefield R.I., on December 2, 2014 Donald J. Costello ‘55 of Lakeland, Fla., on December 11, 2014.

Norma C. Smith ‘59 of Houston, Texas, on December 12, 2014.

Karl H. Layer ‘60 of Columbus, Ohio, on December 20, 2014.

Wilfred L. Savard ‘60 of Barrington, R.I., on January 6, 2015.

Robert M. Bennett ‘61 of Yonkers, N.Y., on February 18, 2015.

Stephen O. Coldwell ‘61 of Southborough, Mass., on March 13, 2015.

Ila R. Fullerton ‘62 of Swansea, Mass., on March 16, 2015.

Ron Stenhouse ‘62 of Saunderstown, R.I., on March 29, 2015.

Edward R. Czerwinski ‘62 of Boston, Mass., on December 10, 2013.

Joseph Roberts ‘62 of Berlin, Mass., on January 14, 2015.

Alan G. Arbuse ‘63 of Delray Beach, Fla., on January 30, 2014.

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS; BRITA MENG OUTZEN

CLOSEUP

Man’s World She doesn’t like the spotlight, and she likes the reason she’s in it even less.

Raquel Ferreira ‘92 is one of only three women to attain VP status in major league baseball operations, a promotion she earned after 17 years at the Red Sox. “This is a male dominated industry,” says the Cumberland native.

“You have to constantly prove you belong.”

It’s been quite a journey, from a child obsessed with baseball, to a college graduate accepting a secretarial job just to get a foot in the door, to years being the first point of contact for excited—but often bewildered—players. And let’s not forget that along with those players (many of them teenagers, some also recent immigrants and their family’s breadwinner) have come their anxious parents.

Ferreira, whose role as off-field fixer keeps expanding, handles it all with empathy and vast practicality—traits she learned from her own immigrant parents. “Everybody has a story,” she says, “and I’ve always had a soft spot for hearing it.” That’s doubtless part of why she belongs, even though—or maybe, because—she’s the only woman in the room.

Her advice for anyone wanting to follow her path: “No job is too small. And even if it’s grunt work, never, ever act like it’s something you don’t want to do.”

—Pippa Jack

Raquel Ferreira, Red Sox vice president of baseball administration, speaks with Sox player Xander Bogaerts.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

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Paul T. Faulkner ‘63 of Las Vegas, Nev., on February 22, 2015.

David Delnero ‘72 of Cranston, R.I., on January 4, 2015.

Karen B. Geller ‘63 of East Norwich, N.Y., on October 20, 2014.

Gerald P. Timoney ‘72 of St. Augustine, Fla., on March 3, 2015

Richard A. Stansfield ‘63 of Wayne, N.J., February 26, 2015.

Mark Ahmadjian ‘73 of Cambridge, Mass., December 24, 2014.

Robert Amiss ‘65 of Bristol, R.I., on January 15, 2015.

Richard L. Hawthorne ‘74 of West Palm Beach, Fla., on February 27, 2015

Howard Hallberg ‘65 of Charlestown, R.I., on August 22, 2014.

Robert W. Kenny, Jr. ‘65 of Providence, R.I., on January 2, 2004.

CAREER ADVICE TO OUR 2015 GRADUATES Your graduation from URI is a wonderful accomplishment! Your job search may be challenging, however, so you need to use all the tools available to succeed in your search.

The key message URI alumni have for recent graduates is this: Managing your career is an on-going process.

We recommend you integrate the following important career action items into your work life, starting right now: ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙

Expand Your Professional Network Educate Yourself on Industries and Jobs Track Your Accomplishments Maintain Contact with Fellow URI Alumni

Members of the Class of 2015 are eligible to receive free career advising. The URI Alumni Association provides all URI alumni with assistance from our two career advisors.

In partnership with URI’s Center for Career and Experiential Education, the advisors are dedicated to working with alumni who are conducting a job search or considering a career change.

Alumni may call Alumni Career Services at 401.874.9404 or email Alumni Career Advisor Karen Rubano at krubano@uri.edu.

Read more I alumni.uri.edu/careerservices

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QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Kathryn McCune Long ‘65 of Signal Mountain, Tenn., on August 16, 2013.

Robert J. Richard ‘65 of Hudson, Fla., on August 31, 2013.

Gary Stenhouse ’65, MPA ’67 of Rochester, N.H. on March 12, 2015.

David C. Beebe ‘66 of St Louis, Mo., on March 27, 2015.

Peter R. Groome ‘66 of Franklin, Mass., on December 27, 2014.

Kenneth E. Karspeck ‘67 of Glocester, R.I., on March 18, 2015.

Robert Nault ‘66 of East Providence, R.I., on February 5, 2015.

Michael J. DiGioia ‘67 of Belfast, Maine, on December 24, 2014.

Sandra L. Deckett ‘68 of West Warwick, R.I., on April 12, 2015 Gerald Fitta ‘68 of West Warwick, R.I., on January 26, 2015.

Richard Manson ‘68 of Cranston, R.I., on December 11, 2014.

John A. Amaral ‘69 of Powhatan, Va., on February 13, 2015.

Louise L. Behan ‘69 of East Greenwich, R.I., on January 28, 2015.

Carl H. Benker II ‘69 of Groton, Conn., on December 27, 2014.

David W. Coates ‘69 of Weatherford, Okla., on December 6, 2014.

Cynthia E. Morris ‘69 of Warwick, R.I., on March 26, 2015.

Steven M. Leibowitz ‘74 of Virginia Beach, Va., on March 26, 2015.

Carol DeMers ‘75 of East Ryegate, Vt., on December 20, 2014.

Judy A. De Obaldia ‘74, ‘75 of Moorestown, NJ, on March 19, 2015.

Eleanor Paquet (O’Hare) ‘74 of Fall River, Mass., on March 28, 2015.

William F. Fiore ‘75 of Warwick, RI, on March 9, 2015.

Joseph D. Considine ‘76 of Greenland, N.H., on February 21, 2015.

Peter M. O’Hern ‘76 of Lancaster, Pa., on February 19, 2015.

Paul Seddon ‘76 of Portsmouth, R.I., on January 3, 2015.

Ellen Dudascik Chopyak ‘77 of Shavertown, Pa., on March 8, 2015.

Carol Deignan Healy ‘77 of Chepachet, R.I., on January 19, 2015.

Edward Jusczyk ‘77 of East Greenwich, R.I., on January 4, 2015.

Milton Mannix ‘77 of Boston, Mass., on January 18, 2015.

Joseph McGovern ‘77 of Narragansett, R.I., on January 7, 2015.

Robin Grasing Harvey ‘78 of Nantucket, Mass., on February 3, 2015.

Charlotte I. Mastors ‘78 of North Hollywood, Calif., on March 14, 2015.

Helen Flynn ‘79 of Middletown, R.I., on December 26, 2014.

Beatrice Caniglia Gaudio ‘79 of Manchester, N.H., on February 26, 2015.

Betty Salomon ‘69 of Narragansett, R.I., on November 26, 2014.

Charlene L. Bensted ‘70 of Cranston, R.I., on October 29, 2012.

Dale Brook ‘70 of Plantation, Fla., on December 10, 2014.

Richard L. Porri ‘70, of Kennesaw, Georgia, on November 28, 2014.

Mildred Watson Perry ‘71 of Mystic, Conn., on December 18, 2014.

Gregory Squillante ‘71 of Somerset, Mass., on December 8, 2014.

Daniel J. Petrilli ‘07 and Kristina M. Petrilli ‘07, a son, Christopher John, on October 9, 2014.

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS; JENNIFER LEATHERWOOD

William H. Morgan ‘79 of Rutland Town, Vt., on December 22, 2014.

Patricia L. Parker ‘79 of Cotuit, Mass., on January 18, 2015.

Henry Cataldo ‘80 of Narragansett, R.I., on January 27, 2015.

Gary A. Dobson ‘80 of Westerly, R.I., on February 28, 2015.

Howard W. Hall ‘80 of Ayer, Mass., on January 28, 2015.

Marc Langevin ‘80 of Cranston, R.I., on December 18, 2014.

Robert J. Andrade ‘81 of Bristol, R.I., on February 9, 2014.

Judith H. Carlson ‘81 West Warwick, R.I., on January 22, 2015.

James A. Williamson ‘83 of West Warwick, R.I., on March 18, 2015.

AnthoN.Y. J. DiMaio ‘84 of Woodbury, Conn., on January 22, 2015.

ALUMNISCENE February 21, 2015 Big Thinkers Series: Los Angeles “I think events like this are extremely important, especially out on the west coast. I’m lucky to get home once a year, let alone back to campus.

Any time I can connect with URI people, it’s cool.

I was able to chat with President Dooley. It was sort of like a smaller round-table session where everyone could be heard. I liked that decision makers were there—and that you could talk to them.”

—Brett Freitas ’99

Charles J. Davey, Jr. ‘85 of Bristol, R.I., on December 7, 2014.

Axel R. Palmason ‘88 of New York, N.Y., on July 10, 2014.

March 17, 2015 Iona vs. URI NIT First-Round Game

Dean M. Papandrea ‘88 of Meriden, Conn., on March 19, 2015.

“It was a great audience—people were very much into the game. There was a lot of spirit and a lot of cheering going on. There was buzz about URI and Rhody basketball that hasn’t been there in a long time. We were winning this year, with a lot of games. We were at the top of our league. It was a good feeling!”

Millie Wicklund ‘89 of Johnston, R.I., on November 15, 2014.

Virginia E. Lovaas ‘90 of Narragansett, R.I., on February 11, 2015.

Isabel Russell Crabb ‘91 of Wakefield, R.I., on January 24, 2015.

Ryan G. Egan ‘92 of Newport, R.I., on November 27, 2014.

—Gail Frechette ’72

Melissa A. Gilheeney ‘92 of Johnston, R.I., on December 23, 2014.

Lorin K. Toepper, Ph.D. ‘92 of Highland, Wis., on January 3, 2014.

Mark C. Roman ‘93 of Safety Harbor, Fla., on May 8, 2014.

Christopher M. Douton ‘96 of Myrtle Beach, S.C., on January 12, 2013.

Seth Gillis ‘98 of Richmond, R.I., on December 23, 2014.

Dawid Badecki ‘07 of Narragansett, R.I., on January 12, 2015.

Laura J. Mulley ‘09 of Norwich, Vt., on March 1, 2015.

Wajih Mazloum ‘10 of Barrington, R.I., on February 1, 2015.

Katherine Zullo ‘14 of North Kingstown, R.I., on January 8, 2015.

March 26, 2015 Alumni of Color Network Panel “This was my first time attending a URI Alumni of Color Network event, and I must say I am very happy that I did. The panelists’ feedback and stories were uplifting. These alumni are now professionals and it put me, as a student, in the mind of knowing that I am capable too.”

—Sashalee Martinez ’18

IN MEMORIAM FACULTY Angarai G. Sadasiv of Kingston, R.I., on February 22, 2015. Professor emeritus of electrical, computer, and biomedical engineering.

If you attended a URI alumni event and would like to share a photo and a reminiscence, we’d love to hear from you! Please write to us at alumni@uri.edu.

Learn more I alumni.uri.edu UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

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BACKPAGE

Farm to Food Bank School years were devised back when students had to work on family farms. Now, that means a mismatch between the growing season and school dining halls.

That’s good news for the Rhode Island Food Bank and Peace Dale, R.I.’s Jonnycake Center.

On the menu this summer: cantaloupe, grown by Environment and Life Sciences students and researchers trying to combat its deadly foe, the cucumber beetle.

Other trials mean sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, butternut squash, parsnips, potatoes and watermelons. Associate Professor Rebecca Brown guesses they’ll send eight tons to the Food Bank—that partnership has been going for almost ten years—and ten bushels a week to Jonnycake. “A lot of the more perishable stuff goes to Jonnycake,” Brown says, “and they distribute the veggies to clients within hours.”

—Pippa Jack

PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS

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QUADANGLES SUMMER 2015

Your Gift Matters.

Students and orientation leaders, summer 2014.

Students benefit significantly from your gift to the Fund for URI—the University’s annual giving program.

Whether supporting students, faculty or colleges and departments across campus, these funds make a meaningful impact and enhance the academic experience for all. Gifts to the Fund for URI provide immediate and flexible funding and help us take advantage of new and emerging opportunities.

Your gift might help purchase books, fund a student’s participation in a conference or support student-centered programming.

No matter the size, your gift matters!

Make your gift by June 30, 2015

to be counted in the current fiscal year.

For more information or to make your online gift, visit urifoundation.org.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

41

Alumni Center 73 Upper College Road Kingston, RI 02881 USA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Alumni Association University of Rhode Island

HOMECOMING IS WHERE THE HEART IS. COME BACK TO KINGSTON. October 18 & 19, 2015 alumni.uri.edu/homecoming