Preamble/
Introduction

New Initiatives

• URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences is working with CCRI on joint programs in Applied Environmental Sciences.

• URI faculty in the health focus area have talked with pertinent CCRI faculty and administrators about a 2+2 baccalaureate completion program in health.

• URI has held initial discussions with RIC on the Master’s in Accounting Program.

• URI and RIC are exploring having the University take responsibility for the current Labor Studies bachelor’s program currently based at RIC.

• The University, Rhode Island College, CCRI and the Office of Higher Education are collaborating on the acquisition and implementation of PeopleSoft enterprise software.

• URI and RIC are developing a collaborative arrangement for Women’s Studies similar to that of African and African-American Studies in order that faculty can augment opportunities in Women’s Studies for students at both institutions.

• CCRI's Dental Assisting Program is being offered on the URI campus using our dental hygiene clinic facilities. The first three students enrolled in the dual-admission CCRI/URI Dental Hygiene Program have completed their first year at URI and will spend the next two at CCRI completing their dental hygiene clinical education program and return to URI for the final year of their B.S. degree.

• URI is developing a joint proposal with CCRI to develop Web-based engineering courses the incentive fund for excellence in technology.

• URI’s College of Nursing is partnering with Mt. Pleasant High School, the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and Brown University to submit a proposal to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation aimed at helping middle-school students from diverse cultures prepare for college careers that relate to health.

• URI is the first successful competitor for the establishment of a new Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit of the National Park Service/National Biological Survey which links the University with two historically black colleges, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Clark Atlanta University.

• The University Libraries are developing and expanding consortial arrangements with other libraries both within the State and within the region to coordinate resource acquisition and share materials through borrowing networks; and to prepare for the creation of a virtual library, composed of a variety of multi-type libraries throughout New England. The cooperation of HELIN, CRIARL, and the NECOP/NELGU institutions is a step toward this broad objective of inter-institutional coordination.

• In cooperation with the HELIN consortium, the University Libraries are exploring possible use of Web publishing among the six participating institutions.

• The Director of University Libraries is working with local and State consortia in order to widen resource sharing across the State, and facilitate access to information on the part of the public school children in Rhode Island. In particular, work is continuing with HELIN, CRIARL, RILA and the R.I. Office of Library and Information Services.

• A strategic plan for the URI/PACE (Partnership for Access to College and Employment) Charter School is being developed. The mission of the proposed school is to serve Providence high school students who desire an intensive college preparatory curriculum.

• The National Center on Public Education and Social Policy works in collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Education to produce Information Works! and the SALT survey data, both part of Rhode Island's school information and accountability program. The work produced by URI recently won two national awards at the American Educational Research Association.

• The School of Education has partnered with the Rhode Island Middle Level Educators to develop professional partnership schools for the preparation of middle level teachers.

• Rhode Island Teachers in Technology Initiative (RITTI) is a partnership among the Rhode Island Foundation, the University of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) to provide laptop computers, training, and support to one-quarter of Rhode Island K-12 educators.

• URI is a partner with RIDE, the Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island College, the R.I. National Education Association and the R.I. American Federation of Teachers to support teachers preparing for certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

• URI’s Department of Communicative Disorders is working in partnership with the Providence schools to identify and support Spanish-speaking bilingual teachers who can become prepared as speech-language pathologists. Support for the students will be provided by the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Providence School Department.

• The College of Nursing is partnering with Mt. Pleasant High School, the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and Brown to submit a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Proposal also aimed at helping middle-school students from diverse cultures to prepare academically for college careers that relate to health.

• The University offers summer camps as enrichment experiences which provide strong linkages with students in elementary, middle, and high schools. Camps include the Rhode Island Math Explorers, the Experiential Summer Program for Young Musicians, and Computer Science "URI Computer 99" camps for students aged 8-17.

• The University’s Master’s of Public Health will have an active partnership with the Department of Health (BOG approval date: March 18, 1999)

• The University’s College of Pharmacy has formalized its joint program with the Coastal Medical Physician’s Group.

• The University’s Libraries are participating in a distance-learning initiative between the Rhode Island Department of Mental Health and Trinity (VT) College by offering access to library services and resources, beginning in May 2000.

• The Libraries are expanding access to databases and implementing electronic reserves, both for enhancements to the University population and to facilitate information retrieval for distance learners.

• The University’s externally funded partnerships with Slater Hospital provide clinical faculty members working at both institutions in Physical Therapy and in Communicative Disorders and graduate assistantships in Communicative Disorders and in Psychology.

• The College of Nursing was invited to join the nursing officials in Connecticut in their efforts to bring nursing education and nursing service efforts together. Connecticut has funding for this project.

• The College of Nursing established partnerships with the Primary Care Practice at Brown University to submit an Area Health Education Center (AHEC) grant, which will allow medicine, nursing, and other health professionals to work together to recruit students of diverse cultures from Rhode Island into careers in health.