KINGSTON, R.I. – Sept. 8, 2025 – Earl Smith ’89 was all about connection—across campus, Rhode Island, and beyond.

This summer a program in his name celebrated the former University of Rhode Island assistant dean’s contributions and commitment with an excursion to Smith’s ancestral homeland, renewing a program he started there a decade ago to teach students about service and the larger transatlantic context for URI’s Rhode Island home.

The program also honors Smith’s history in the URI Talent Development program, which includes many students of Cabo Verde heritage in its ranks. Rhode Island is home to one of the largest populations of Cape Verdean Americans in the U.S., and many have found a second home at URI.

Now, Smith’s commitment to social justice and improving human understanding are celebrated in a study abroad program honoring his legacy at URI. Inspired by the former assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the program exemplifies the values and philosophies Smith brought to URI, as a mentor, educator, and advocate.

Eleven URI students traveled to Cabo Verde this summer as part of this year’s inaugural Earl N. Smith III Cabo Verde Study Abroad Program, a collaboration between the Africana Studies department, Talent Development and the URI Global Initiatives Office.

“This was a powerful and meaningful experience for all involved,” says TD Director Gerald Williams. “President Parlange has been a tremendous supporter of TD’s initiative to expand study abroad opportunities, and this trip marked our first international program since the passing of Earl.”

The program was co-led by Talent Development Associate Director Kristina Moyet ’09, who says the program was more than a study abroad experience — “it’s a living legacy.”

For senior Taylor Isom of Providence, a psychology major, visiting Cabo Verde was the realization of a long-held dream since she learned that she had roots there.

“Going was a dream come true,” she says.

She appreciated learning about the role women play in Cabo Verdean culture.

“The women of Cabo Verde are the front runners of the country,” Isom says. “Cabo Verdean women are on the frontlines of any movement.”

Kate Gibson ’28, a communications and public relations major from Barrington, was struck by the beauty of the country and its people. She felt an instant connection to the Cabo Verdean love of human connection and the values she discovered in the people there and says she returned from the experience with a sense of gratitude.

Offered through Africana Studies, the three-credit course, which will be offered again next summer, explores gender, political economy and development, human experience, sustainability, and climate justice in Cabo Verde. Attendees learn about the country’s history, politics, and economics, and its role in European and American colonial systems. Students gained firsthand insight into Cabo Verdean approaches to liberation, self-sufficiency and growth, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous knowledge.

Half of the students who went were from URI’s Talent Development program, attending via a scholarship in Smith’s name. Others went to expand their horizons and learn more about the island nation and the legacy of a URI community member they never met.

Louisa Dice ’27, a wildlife and conservation biology major from Northampton, Mass., says the students on the trip felt Smith’s legacy with them.

“Earl Smith’s message of curiosity and passion guided our journey as we traveled,” Dice says.

“Over our two weeks, I expanded my understanding not just through place, but through connection — with my classmates, many of whom call Cape Verde home. I not only learned about the history of the country and the challenges it still faces to this day, but also the meaningful work many of the communities on the coastline are doing to combat climate change and utilize renewable energy.”

Marine Affairs’ Amelia Moore co-led the trip with Moyet; she met Smith when she first arrived at URI and says co-leading the trip in his name was bittersweet, but also a promise fulfilled.

“Sharing the experience with Kristina and our student scholars made the trip particularly meaningful,” she says. “This was a program of mutual learning, creative and critical thinking, and continues URI’s deep relationship to the archipelago.”

Moore met Smith soon after she arrived at URI as a junior faculty member in 2015. He was interested in recruiting her to help with the Cabo Verde program, but she was new and busy, and the opportunity inadvertently moved down on her list before she had the opportunity to take him up on his offer. After Smith passed in 2022, Moore regretted that the timing hadn’t been right when he first approached her about the program.

“It almost felt like fate when Catherine John [Africana Studies department chair] asked me if I would be interested in co-leading this return to Cabo Verde with students,” Moore says. “I was honored to have the opportunity to travel and learn with Kristina and this exceptional team of students. This trip is transformative. I hope it will persist for many years to come.”

While she and others miss Smith and his impact and presence at URI, Moyet feels like he’d approve of the trip in his name: “Earl wanted students to see that the world is both complicated and full of possibility, that healing can coexist with struggle, that community is built across borders and global community is possible.”

She says Smith would be proud of the students who traveled to Cabo Verde in his name.

“These students not only honored Earl’s memory,” she says, “they showed up. As we return to campus this fall, we do so with renewed purpose. For these students, I hope it is the beginning of how they live and lead at URI: with awareness, empathy, and courage to shape a better world.”

Note: Cabo Verde has long been called Cape Verde in English-speaking countries. In 2013, its government requested that the official Portuguese name Cabo Verde no longer be translated between languages. Because URI’s long-running Cape Verdean student group uses the prior wording, and many in the URI and Rhode Island community also use Cape Verde and Cape Verdean colloquially, both wordings are used here.