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URI introduces new employee recognition program, celebrating milestone anniversaries

New program will recognize faculty and staff with 5 to 50 years of consecutive service

COMMUNITY: URI is introducing a new employee recognition program, celebrating milestone anniversaries. The new program will recognize faculty and staff with 5 to 50 years of consecutive service in 2023. (URI photos by Nora Lewis)

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 28, 2024 – As University of Rhode Island seniors begin to prepare for the milestone of graduation, the URI community is starting a new tradition this spring—celebrating employees for milestones of service at several points of tenure.

The University will recognize these employees during a special breakfast in the Memorial Union Ballroom on Thursday, April 11 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. The new ceremony will honor faculty and staff for their commitment and work in the URI community, building their careers and tenures here. 

President Marc Parlange and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Wolfe will join employees at the breakfast, recognizing the shared contributions of staff and faculty who have been employed at URI consecutively and achieved five-year milestones in the year 2023. A continental breakfast will be served, and there will be a short speaking program accompanying the awards presentation.

Memorial Union Photo
The University will recognize employees celebrating milestone anniversaries with a special breakfast in the Memorial Union Ballroom on April 11.

The new event comes as Parlange and URI’s office of Human Resource Administration aim to foster an inclusive, people-centered culture at URI and will serve to celebrate employees as they reach incremental milestones every five years at the University. Coming out of a global pandemic, Parlange and other executive leaders at URI say they want to offer more opportunities to bring employees together, to promote collaboration and fellowship, reward excellence, and express gratitude for commitment to URI. They also hope to promote the University as a place to work and grow professionally.

“We want to attract, recognize and retain outstanding staff and faculty,” says Anne Marie Coleman, assistant vice president for human resources administration, “and celebrating the community we have here is a great way to start doing that.”

The University recognizes lifetime service of 40 years or more with awards in December and long-serving employees have been recognized by their individual departments or colleges. The new event, according to Coleman, will bring attention to committed community members serving at URI at several points in their careers and give them a chance to celebrate with one another, including newer employees with five years of service and one community member who passed the 50-year mark last year. 

Employees who are celebrating a milestone service anniversary will receive an invitation via email to the special breakfast event. 

Registration is required by April 4.

Please contact Ann Marie Smiley, Office of University Events, at asmiley@uri.edu, with any questions.