We are shaped by our rich oceanographic heritage, our dynamic global spirit, and our shared values and vision. These themes will carry URI into new chapters in our extraordinary history.
In the past decade, URI has continuously challenged the notion that universities are slow to change, as we keep thinking big about our future, even while honoring our proud past. With the recent merger of the URI Alumni Association and the URI Foundation, we have taken the logical next step in our amazing institutional trajectory. As URI has advanced—with record enrollment, expanded faculty, and a renewed focus on research—these two great organizations have united around their shared vision and values.
The merger could not be happening at a more auspicious time. The effort was led by Tom Ryan ’75, Hon. ’99, chairman of the URI Foundation Board of Directors, and Dan Lowney ’75, former president of the URI Alumni Association Executive Board. Going forward, alumni will experience the dynamism that URI has to offer in new and meaningful ways.
That dynamism is palpable in this issue of the University of Rhode Island Magazine.
The winning photo in our annual Research and Scholarship Photo Contest, “The Endless Bond Between Mother and Child,” depicts a baby macaque clinging to its mother at the local watering hole in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Geological oceanography undergraduate student Matthew Palasciano ’20 was there to study the destructive effects of deforestation and illegal logging. Matt’s travels epitomize our global approach to education, underscored in “The Internationalists,” which highlights the phenomenal growth of our language and culture programs, now among the largest in the nation. The story features more remarkable student photography from around the globe.
Even as we globalize, we remain true to our evolving mission as a land and sea grant institution. So it makes sense that we’re taking a deep dive—pun intended—into our cover story, “Blue Minds,” which will introduce you to a group of URI scientists whose work and play keeps them deeply connected and committed to the ocean. Alexandra Moen ’15 earned her undergraduate degree from URI in marine biology. Now, as a dive instructor here, she is keenly aware that she is teaching future environmental stewards. Experiencing the ocean environment firsthand is key. “It’s one of the greatest perks about my job that I can break that disassociation that we have—that what we do to the environment doesn’t matter.”
Earlier this spring, URI legend Robert Ballard was named lead investigator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ocean exploration institute, which URI was selected to host. This honor comes with a $94 million grant over five years. Surveying 3 billion acres of U.S. ocean territory, the institute will play a crucial role in improving understanding of the deep sea and will strengthen the “blue economy,” which is expected to more than double its contribution to the U.S. economy and employ 40 million people by 2030.
The NOAA grant announcement was well timed, as we were just laying the keel of the R/V Resolution, a new $125 million research ship that will have a home at our Narragansett Bay Campus as of 2022. The keel-laying ceremony, celebrating the start of construction of the Resolution, took place in May 2019 at Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana. I was honored to participate in the ceremony, along with Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education Chair Timothy DelGiudice, Graduate School of Oceanography Dean Bruce Corliss, and members of URI’s research vessel crew.
These two exciting developments herald a new chapter in the rich history of oceanographic research and education at URI, building on a legacy of excellence.
Speaking of a legacy of excellence, in our fall issue, we’ll sit down with Tom Ryan to talk about his life, work, values, and what’s next for the renowned businessman and philanthropist. And we can’t wait to give you a first look at our impressive new engineering complex.
Until then,
David M. Dooley
President, University of Rhode Island