Key Dates
Sept. 1-2 Freshmen move-in days
Sept. 2 First Night activities
Sept. 3-4 Upper class move-in
Sept. 18 China Rising
Sept. 25-29 Diversity Week
Sept. 28 IEP House II Opens
Oct. 13 Capital Campaign Kick-off
Oct. 12-14 Homecoming
Nov. 2-4 Family Weekend with Bill Cosby
About the Students*
• The University’s Office of Admission received and reviewed more than 14,000 applications for enrollment, which represented a 6 percent increase from last year. Transfer applications for admission (1,659) increased by 11 percent this year.
• About 3,170 freshmen have paid deposits for enrollment at the University this fall. This will be the University’s largest freshman class ever. In addition, 614 transfer students have paid deposits.
• About 47 percent (1,490) of the freshman class are from Rhode Island. Consistent with trends nationwide, 57 percent of the class are women and 43 percent are men.
• URI freshmen come from 29 states. After Rhode Island, the top states represented in the freshman class are Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
• In total, about 12,395 undergraduates (including pharmacy and other professional degree-seeking students) and about 3,000 part- and full-time graduate students are attending URI this year.
• About 4,300 undergraduate students, including 2,700 freshmen, live in the 23 residence halls on campus and in on-campus apartments. Nearly 750 students live in the 17 sororities, fraternities and specialty houses on campus.
*Figures are as of August 31, 2007. Final enrollment numbers will be available in late October.
Academically Speaking
Starting this fall, there are several new opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Below are some highlights:
• In the College of Arts and Sciences, to respond to the high level of student interest in forensic science and the University’s growing international expertise in this area, students may now choose to enroll in a new bachelor of science in chemistry and forensic chemistry. The new major is, at its core, the traditional chemistry curriculum with alternative courses that address the use of chemistry in forensics.
• Students double-up with French: URI pharmacy students as well as textiles, fashion merchandising, and design students now have the opportunity to follow French Professor Alain-Philippe Durand�s advice: “The BA in French, Don�t Leave URI Without it.” Students in both of these programs are now able to simultaneously earn degrees in French.
• The College of Business Administration has redefined its operations management major to focus specifically on supply chain management. There is also a major in entrepreneurship management. This major will be available as an undergraduate specialty for entering juniors.
• Students interested in careers in the biopharmaceutical industry have a unique new educational option. The University now offers one of the first undergraduate programs in pharmaceutical engineering that is an option for chemical engineering majors. Also in engineering, there is a new option for master of science and/or doctoral students to earn dual degrees from both URI and Technische Universit�t Braunschweig in Germany.
Fall Highlights
• September 18 Honors Colloquium Opens: This year, the University will explore China’s dramatic transformation over the past three decades, a transformation that has returned it to the leading role it has played throughout most of world history. The first lecture features Jonathan Spence, Yale University, presenting “History as Guide to China’s Current Options” and opening greetings by Zheng Zeguang, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of China. A complete schedule of the lectures, panel discussions and more can be found online at www.uri.edu/hc
• September 28. The International Engineering Program celebrates its 20th year with a dedication of the Heidi Kirk Duffy Center for International Engineering Education, the Texas Instruments House, and the Max Kade German Language Learning Community. Based on its success and increased demand, the International Engineering Program has expanded next door to what was the last fraternity on Upper College Road. After a $1.85 million renovation, the new house will serve 75 students. The IEP now offers language and engineering dual degrees in German, French, and Spanish. A similar program with business and engineering in Chinese is in the works.
• September 24-28. The 11th Annual Diversity Week will be held on the Kingston Campus to celebrate the importance of diversity and identity in higher education, the workplace, the community and the world. The week is brimming with arts, music, dance, film and other activities and features such crowd-pleasing favorites as the poetry slam, the diversity video and film festival, the Pangaea Roots Music Series, dozens of workshops and more. Most events are free and open to the public. For a complete schedule visit www.uri.edu/mcc.
• October 12-14. Homecoming 2007. The homecoming tradition continues with alcohol-free festivities at the University’s Kingston Campus that include reunions, college- and department-based gatherings, a 5K race to benefit URI student scholarships, music, food, entertainment and more. The URI v. James Madison University game starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13 at Meade Stadium. That evening, the 2nd annual URI Distinguished Achievement Award Celebration will be held in conjunction with the Making a Difference campaign (see below). www.advance.uri.edu/alumni.
• October 13. The University will kick off the $100 million “Making a Difference Campaign” and celebrate the URI Distinguished Achievement Award winners. This event celebrates the campaign kickoff marking the end of the leadership gift phase and the beginning of the public phase. At the event, the University will honor alumni who are making a difference in our world: the four alumni who will receive the University’s 2007 Distinguished Achievement Awards and the 26 alumni and friends who have been named to our 2007 Dean’s List. http://advance.uri.edu/alumni/awards/default.htm
• Meeting the University this Fall. Thousands of high school seniors and their families will attend one of the University’s Open Houses that will be held Oct. 20, Oct. 27, and Nov. 9. The programs provide potential students with a chance to learn about the admission process, financial aid, scholarships and more. Visitors can register for the program at www.uri.edu/admissions.
• October 27. Confucius Institute opening. The University will celebrate the opening of a Confucius Institute at URI by bringing the dazzling Ningbo Yue Opera troupe to Rhode Island. The University will house one of 20 Confucius Institutes in the United States and one of 150 in the world. The opera will perform Butterfly Lovers, at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence as part of the China Rising honors colloquium. More details will be available later in September.
• November 2-4, Family Weekend. This annual program brings thousands to the South County area each fall. This year, comedian Bill Cosby will perform at the event for families and community members. Families of undergraduate students have the chance to participate in numerous activities including attending classes with their student, tours of area hot spots, learning about programs on the Kingston and Narragansett Bay campuses, attending a football game and more. For more information visit www.uri.edu/student_life/family_weekend/
Construction Zone
• New dining dimensions- Hope Commons: In August, the University celebrated completion of almost $100 million in new construction with the opening of Hope Commons Dining Hall and the dedication of its three new residence halls. The new 43,000 sq. ft. dining hall features a 600-seat main hall, a 110-seat coffee/pizza/ice cream shop with a four-sided gas fireplace, and a mini-market all in a state-of-the-art complex that provides full wireless access to the Internet. This new facility replaced the original Hope and Roger Williams dining halls.
• Welcome Home: The first new residence halls built on campus since 1971 were dedicated this summer in honor of five individuals who distinguished themselves through their work in elective office, higher education, the judicial system and community activism. One of the two new apartment-style residence halls in the North Woods complex was dedicated in honor of former Rhode Island Governor J. Joseph Garrahy, and the second was named in honor of Alton W. Wiley Sr., the first African-American judge appointed to the state Superior Court; his sister, Beverly Wiley, a national coaching leader in women’s softball and community activist and his brother, the late George Wiley, a chemist and noted Civil Rights leader. The third residence hall, a suite-style complex, was named in honor of the late Edward D. Eddy, the ninth president of the University, who served from 1983 to 1991. Combined, the residences provide about 800 beds.
• Health Sciences Quadrangle: Construction is now under way on the University’s Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences. Located in the North District of the Kingston Campus on Flagg Road between the Cancer Prevention Research Center and the Coastal Institute, the 140,000 square-foot facility is the focal point of a statewide effort to build a new, knowledge-based economy for Rhode Island. The Center will be the hub of cutting-edge research, imaginative undergraduate and graduate education, and modern workforce development and economic growth in the state’s biotechnology, health, and life sciences sectors and serve as a platform for statewide innovation and institutional collaboration.
• Pell Library/Ocean Exploration and Research Center. Construction will soon be underway for this project at the Narragansett Bay Campus. This facility will integrate key resources and services of the Graduate School of Oceanography, including the archaeological oceanography program and what is known as the Inner Space Center used by scientists to provide a direct satellite link between the Graduate School’s research activities at sea in remote areas and the Bay Campus.