URI- R.I.'s Most Undervalued Resource

Recent news:

New School of Communcation being formed. "Major donors have expressed considerable interest in the school," said Brownell [Dean], noting that the naming of the school as well as endowments for the directorship, professorships, programs, undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships are being discussed. This new school will be formed (within different bldgs. for the present) in the Dept. of Arts & Sciences. The units are the College Writing Program, Department of Communication Studies, Department of Journalism, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, and the Program in Film Media.

The School will continue to offer two graduate degrees: a master of library science (my degree) and a master of arts in communication studies—and five bachelor of arts undergraduate degrees: in communication studies, film media, journalism, public relations, and writing and rhetoric.. Currently there are about 1,200 undergraduate and about 300 graduate students majoring in the programs.

Keykavous Parang, an associate professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy, has been awarded more than $1.2 million during the last year for his promising cell- and chemistry-based research on two of the world’s major killers---cancer and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The American Cancer Society has awarded Parang a four-year, $627,000 grant to continue his studies on Src, a cell protein linked closely to the development of breast, colon, lung, ovarian, gastric and pancreatic cancers. Gongqin Sun, an associate professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, is the co-principal investigator for both grants.

Today, URI joins more than 1,550 universities and other institutions on Jan. 31 in the nation’s largest teach-in in history. The event, called Focus the Nation, is a non-partisan educational initiative designed to engage educators and the public in developing solutions to global warming.

URI's Making A Difference Campaign seeks $100 million to recruit and retain outstanding faculty, enhance the student-centered campus experience, provide undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, and fund cutting-edge academic and research initiatives. “... URI students will have a chance to participate in teaching, research, and outreach programs that work toward achieving peace in the world. With our nation engaged in war and facing violence every day in our cities and countryside, now is the most critical time to invest in peace and nonviolence. We can make a difference here and throughout the world.”

The Champlin Foundations has awarded the University of Rhode Island $560,860 for six advanced technology projects in the areas of film studies, journalism and film media, underwater and coastal archaeology, environment and life sciences, physical therapy, and the honors program. The 2007 grant awards mark the 25th consecutive year that URI and its students have benefited from The Champlin Foundations’ generosity.

Thanks to the grant writers, including Ignacio Perez-Ibanez of Newport, senior information technologist in Information and Instructional Technology Services.

URI- a better investment than film tax credits!