URI Faculty, Staff Honored with 2024 Excellence Awards

KINGSTON, RI – June 7, 2024 – The University of Rhode Island Foundation & Alumni Engagement (URIFAE) recently presented the 2024 Excellence Awards, to two URI faculty and two staff members in recognition of their distinguished achievements and service.

Representing four distinct categories, the Excellence Award honorees are:

Mary-Jane Kanaczet, M.A.’13, director, healthcare workforce development, College of Pharmacy, received the Administrative Excellence Award. Kanaczet lives in Narragansett.

Rod Mather, Ph.D., professor; director of history, archaeology and anthropology M.A. program; and advisor, underwater archaeology minor, College of Arts and Sciences, received the Scholarly Excellence Award. Mather lives in Kingston.

James Byrnes, tech III, mechanical, industrial, and systems engineering, College of Engineering, received the Staff Excellence Award. Byrnes lives in Peace Dale.

Jacqueline F. Webb, Ph.D., professor; George and Barbara Young chair in biology; and director, URI marine biology program, College of the Environment and Life Sciences, received the Teaching Excellence Award. Webb lives in Wakefield.

URI President Marc Parlange, URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement President Lil Breul O’Rourke, and Colleen Gouveia Moulton, M.B.A.’98, chair of the Excellence Awards Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the URIFAE Board of Directors, presented a formal citation, certificate, and honorarium to each of the recipients before an audience of University officials, faculty, staff, family, and friends at the URI Alumni Center.

The Excellence Awards honor University members whose hard work and dedication consistently elevate their departments and colleges. Established in 1970, more than 200 faculty and staff have been recognized for outstanding academic and administrative accomplishments.