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URI to honor veterans with ceremony, events on campus

Captain Michael McCarten, USN (ret.), to speak on his experience as an active-duty Navy physician

URI is slated to host a Veterans Day Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at noon at the Hope Room inside the Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center. (URI)

KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 28, 2026 – The University of Rhode Island community will come together to honor the country’s veterans and military members with multiple events on campus. A Veterans Day Ceremony recognizing those who have served will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at noon at the Hope Room inside the Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center.

This year’s ceremony will feature guest speaker Captain Mike McCarten, USN (ret.). McCarten served as an active-duty Navy physician for 30 years. A Cranston native, McCarten earned a master of science in pharmacology and toxicology from URI in 1979 and went on to earn his medical degree in 1983 from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. 

Captain Mike McCarten
This year’s ceremony will feature guest speaker Captain Mike McCarten, USN (ret.) who served as an active-duty Navy physician for 30 years.

Over his 30-year career with the Navy, McCarten traveled to 24 countries on five different continents and served as commander of the NATO trauma hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he oversaw some 500 U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force and NATO medical personnel. McCarten retired from the Navy in 2013 at the rank of captain. He now lives in Charlestown and attends to the justice involved population of Rhode Island.

All members of the community as well as members of the general public are welcome to attend the free event, hosted by URI’s Center for Military and Veteran Education and the Student Veterans Organization. URI’s Center for Military and Veteran Education supports URI’s student veterans and their families, providing comprehensive resources, advocacy, and guidance to help students ensure a seamless transition and success in their academic life and career advancement.  

Dan Fahey
MAVE will also hold a special Walking with Weights event on Wednesday, Nov. 4 with Dan Fahey. (Dan Fahey)

“URI certainly has a significant veteran presence and population among students, faculty and staff and is a place that honors our service members —especially those who’ve suffered hardships because of their service,” MAVE Director Bob Flynn, a U.S. Navy veteran. “We do an exceptional job supporting our military connected students and their families. This ceremony is a way of showing our support as a university and thanking them for their service.”

URI enrolls more than 600 military-connected students, which includes active and veteran service men and women, as well as over 200 military dependents. In addition, more than 60 members of the faculty and staff at URI are affiliated with at least one branch of the military.

URI was named #17 of 357 of the top universities for military veterans by the Military Times last December and will be featured in U.S. Veterans Magazine this November as a Top Veteran School. The University has also consistently been recognized as a Gold Military Friendly University and as a Military Friendly Spouse School.

Following McCarten’s remarks, refreshments will be served. Parking is available behind the Higgins Welcome Center, 45 Upper College Road, Kingston. Those interested in attending are encouraged to register by visiting  the event’s registration portal.

Walking with a veteran event

The Center for Military and Veteran Education will also hold a special Walking with Weights event, known as “Rucking,” on Wednesday, Nov. 4. During the day there will be two sessions; one at 10 a.m. and the other at noon with Dan Fahey, a U.S. Army veteran and certified National Academy of Sports Medicine coach. There will be a 1 hour workshop followed by an optional 30 minute practical. Beginners are welcome!

Fahey founded Gritty Soldier Fitness in 2020, which focuses on providing experience-based fitness programs to those looking to improve military and hybrid athleticism. He is also a certified personal trainer, certified nutrition specialist and certified behavioral change specialist. 

Fahey is a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient who served 20 years in the U.S. Army with multiple combat deployments. He has completed survival training and tactical techniques, among others, and is a U.S. Army Ranger School graduate. Fahey has also completed many endurance-based challenges including the Army’s Best Ranger Competition, the Kauai 50 mile Hawaii Island Race and an Ironman. 

The live interactive workshop with Fahey is sponsored by the Center for Military and Veteran Education in conjunction with Campus Recreation and URI ROTC. It is open to the public and will be held in Room 123 inside the Tootell Aquatic Center. Anyone interested is encouraged to register via the event’s registration portal.