KINGSTON, R.I. — September 6, 2019 — Richard J. Harrington ’73, Hon. ’02 and Jean Harrington have pledged $4 million to the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island. This raises the Harringtons’ cumulative support for the Harrington School to more than $12 million, driving a decade of rapid growth.

The gift will further the renovation of the second, third and fourth floors of Ranger Hall, which is home to the Harrington School and a landmark on the Kingston Campus. The College of Arts and Sciences and the University will supplement the effort with an additional $2 million.

According to Harrington School Director and Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences Adam Roth, “This additional commitment from the Harringtons and the further renovation of Ranger Hall will support transformational experiences for our students and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for their classes. Combined with our exceptional faculty, we are on our way to becoming one of America’s leading schools of communication and media.”

Established in 2009, the Harrington School comprises programs in digital media, communication studies, film/media, multimedia journalism, library and information studies, public relations, sports media and communication, and writing and rhetoric.

The School’s growing prominence is evident in rising enrollment numbers and through the support of such prominent media figures as Christiane Amanpour ’83 and John King ’85 of CNN, Vladimir Duthiers ’91 and Adam Wiener ’87 of CBS, and Meredith Vieira of NBC Universal. All are members of the School’s advisory board.

“Jean and I are committed to supporting the University of Rhode Island’s vision for the future and are pleased to invest in innovation and the expansion of the Harrington Hub,” Dick Harrington said. “We remain confident in the faculty and leadership in the Harrington School of Communication and Media and are honored that our commitment will support the future leaders and professionals in communication and media.”

An information-media industry leader, Harrington is chairman emeritus of the Boston-based venture capital firm Cue Ball. He was formerly president and CEO of the Thomson Reuters Corporation, where he led the transformation of the company into the leading global provider of digital information—the tenth largest media company in the world. He serves on the boards of directors for several companies and holds two degrees from URI, a B.S. from the College of Business and an Honorary Doctor of Laws.