Thankful

During the last several days I had the opportunity to attend two events – which I anticipated to be useful – but which turned out to be, somewhat to my surprise, both productive and inspiring. These were the annual Providence Business News awards for business excellence and the annual meeting of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.

Why inspiring? Because both events attracted a large group of Rhode Islanders who are working hard to build businesses, create jobs, serve the people of the state, and make our communities better. We, certainly I, sometimes forget, amidst all the bad news and disappointments, just how many bright, hard-working, and committed people we have here. These are people who see the opportunities among the challenges, and who are dedicated to doing all that they can to build a brighter future for our state and those who call it home. The University of Rhode Island is the “home” of thousands of faculty, staff, and students who are also dedicated to solving the problems we face and creating a better future. I am very thankful to be a part of the URI community and of the larger community of Rhode Island.

We should not forget those of our friends and neighbors who are facing very real and difficult challenges at this time. These folks need all that we can do to provide assistance now and to create a stronger economy, a more mutually supportive community, and a better society. Let’s keep our eye on those goals.

Best wishes for Thanksgiving.

Thank You for Yes on 2

I would like to personally thank the people of Rhode Island – those who supported and endorsed Question 2 on November 2, and all those who voted for it. We understand very well the difficult and challenging financial climate for the state and for all of us who live here. One thing is clear: we can succeed in creating a new, vibrant, and sustainable economy for Rhode Island only if we work together. The broad coalition of those who worked on behalf of the new building for the Chemical and Forensic Sciences at URI is a great example of how Rhode Islanders can work together. Business and labor organizations, law enforcement groups, faculty, students, staff, alumni, and many others across the state came together to promote a “yes” vote on Question 2. The University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and higher education officials collaborated very effectively to make the case for investment in a new chemistry building for URI and the renovation of a building for the arts at RIC.

But more importantly, the people of Rhode Island understood the importance of investing in the critical infrastructure required to be competitive in the 21^st century. Education in the central disciplines of science and technology, and advanced, innovative research in the chemical sciences is essential to create the knowledge-based economy that is important now and into the foreseeable future. The University of Rhode Island is fully committed to capitalizing on this investment by the people of the state in order to expand the scope and impact of both basic and applied research and development to the benefit of the state.

One aspect of these new facilities warrants particular mention. Providing more opportunities for undergraduate students to become engaged in research, scholarship, and creative work is one of URI’s highest priorities. I am convinced that the learning environment and outcomes provided by student participation in research and creative work is essential to the success and competitiveness of our students in the 21^st century. The laboratories and facilities in the new Center for the Chemical and Forensic Sciences will provide outstanding opportunities for students in this regard. Our Chemistry Department has a strong and consistent record of engaging undergraduates in research, and this new building will enable the Department to significantly expand and improve the students’ research experience.

Celebrating Agnes Doody and the Faculty of URI

On Friday afternoon, the University of Rhode Island dedicated the Agnes Doody Auditorium in Swan Hall. The ceremonies were capped by an inspiring “first lecture” by Dr. Doody herself, which kept everyone’s rapt attention while sharing the incredible rewards of teaching at URI, as well as illustrating once again the amazing impact and enduring influence of Dr. Doody. Few people have the pioneering spirit, the drive, the devotion to excellence, and the unfailing commitment to helping others that so epitomizes Dr. Doody’s career. In case you missed it, the Providence Journal ran a nice story on the event; see the link below:

(http://www.projo.com/ri/southkingstown/content/AGNES_DOODY_AUDITORIUM_10-30-10).

The University of Rhode Island has a long tradition of outstanding teaching and dedicated engagement with students, which is well exemplified by our current faculty. I am especially pleased by the commitment of the faculty to involve undergraduates, as well as graduate students, in their scholarship, research, and creative work. Of the many, many examples that I could provide, I’d like to share four with you in this post.

Dr. Cheryl Foster is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at URI. Known for her outstanding contributions as a teacher, scholar, and citizen, Cheryl was awarded the URI Foundation Teaching Excellence Award in 1997. She served as Associate Director of the Honors Program, encouraging top URI students to compete successfully for some of the most prestigious national and international scholarship and fellowship awards. She conceived the idea of creating special spaces outside classrooms where students could interact and exchange ideas with each other and faculty that helped inform the renovation of Lippitt Hall where Honors is now located. In 2009, she was the awarded the College of Arts and Sciences award for Undergraduate Student Advising. She was a member of an interdisciplinary IGERT team including Judith Swift, Peter August and others that received a large grant to integrate the humanities with the sciences in graduate education. A strong advocate for the value of a liberal arts education, Cheryl brings philosophy into the marketplace and the community to help people solve complex problems via her civic engagement and outreach. A brilliant thinker and speaker, she is often invited to address audiences on a variety of subjects.

The Institute for Immunology and Informatics (I'Cubed) was recently established under the leadership of Annie De Groot, M.D., as part of the University of Rhode Island's emerging Biotechnology Program. The Institute maintains offices at URI's main Kingston, RI campus and occupies lab and office space in the historic Shephard building as part of URI's Biotechnology Center in Providence's Jewelry District. The Institute applies cutting edge bioinformatic tools to accelerate the development of treatments and cures for diseases like HIV and tuberculosis. The Institute also aims to quickly make these tools available to the global research community for the development of vaccines for tropical diseases and other infectious diseases. Professor De Groot makes it a priority to engage URI students in the cutting-edge research in I'Cubed, involving them directly in research that is critical to improving human health, I’Cubed supports a wide variety of education and training efforts that will provide opportunities to teach the next generation of students the tools for effective vaccine design.

In the College of Nursing, Dr. Mary Sullivan, a dedicated teacher, scholar and the director of graduate studies, has taught highly-regarded undergraduate courses in childbearing and reproductive health and graduate courses in research methods and concept development and directs a variety of student projects. She serves as a research scientist at Women & Infants Hospital, and is an adjunct professor of pediatrics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. In June 2010, Dr. Sullivan received an invitation to serve as a member of the NIH Nursing Science: Children and Families Study Section, Center for Scientific Review from July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2014. Dr. Sullivan’s selection was based on her demonstrated competence and achievement in her scientific discipline, which included the quality of her research accomplishments, publications and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors. Dr.Sullivan received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Rhode Island.

Dr. He "Helen" Huang is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering. She joined the URI faculty in Fall 2008, after completing her PhD degree from Arizona State University and a post-doc at the Neural Engineering Center for Artificial Limbs (NECAL) at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Dr. Huang's primary research areas are Neural Engineering and Rehabilitation Engineering. Three graduate students and five undergraduates are currently working with Dr. Huang on highly innovative research projects in areas such as the neural control of prosthesis for arms or legs, development of intelligent and adaptive control systems for therapeutic devices, modeling and analysis of neuromuscular control of movement, and understanding how spinal cord stimulation can help recovery of patients with spinal cord injuries. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate classes in biomedical engineering at URI, she is the Director of the URI Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Laboratory (NREL), whose goal is to improve the quality of life of persons with motor disabilities. She has received research awards from Delsys,Inc., the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council, the US Department of Defense, and the US Department of Education.

As Agnes demonstrated so consistently and elegantly throughout her time at the University of Rhode Island, great teaching involves far more that eloquence in the classroom. Engaging students fully in the life of the mind, in the scholarship and creative work that is at the heart of a research university, is essential to preparing our students for success. Thanks Agnes, for your great example. And thanks to all our faculty who devote themselves to our students, to excellence in teaching and in scholarship, and who make the University of Rhode Island such a special place.

2010 URI Diversity Week

Last week the University of Rhode Island celebrated Diversity Week. This has become an extremely important event in the life of our community because all the events celebrate and advance of our core values and highest priorities: building a community here that seeks unity in the midst of diversity and that welcomes, affirms, and supports all of its members. I especially appreciate, as I think we all should, the efforts of so many individuals, offices, and organizations that make Diversity Week happen, as well all of those who sponsor and support their dedicated and valuable work. I specifically want to thank the Co-Chairs of this year’s planning committee: Dr. Judy Van Wyk, Melvin Wade, Dr. Paul Bueno de Mesquita, and Dr. Mailee Kue. I would also like to thank our key sponsors, the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, Lifespan, and MetLife Auto and Home. In addition, the URI Departments of Psychology and Sociology, the Honors Program, and URI 101 all contributed to a special week.

The diversity of the events during Diversity Week was striking. Ranging from the two keynote lectures, by Dr. Dana Fullwiley and Dr. Esteban Gonzalez Burchard, which shared new insights from genomics to issues of race and identity, to the Seven Continents Culture Show (coordinated by Brandford Davis), which featured 20 student organizations, URI experienced quite a week.

I especially enjoyed the “Out of Diversity: We Speak” forum organized by Professor Jody Lisberger, the Director of Women’s Studies at URI. Every speaker’s voice was eloquent, thoughtful, and inspiring. Each speaker presented a unique and illuminating perspective on diversity, grounded in their life and experiences. Two comments during the presentations really struck home with me. The first comment, made by Alycia Mosley Austin was: “Many people view diversity as a threat to excellence, but I know I’m not alone in the belief that diversity is a requirement for excellence.” I think Alycia is right. The second comment, made by Danielle Henderson was: “It is not the things that happen to us that define us, it is the things that happen because of us.”

A lot of things happen to us, as individuals, as a community, and as an institution. Let’s not let those things define us. We can facilitate or create many great things for our community, our state, and our nation. Let’s resolve to have those things define who we are and what the University of Rhode Island stands for.

Helen Mederer (Professor, Sociology); Stephanie Lavallee (senior, physical therapy major; WMS minor); Alycia Mosley Austin (Director, Graduate Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives); Danielle Henderson (senior, WMS and English double major); Zuleika Toribio (junior, Psychology and WMS double major); Ian Reyes (Assistant Professor, Communication Studies); Adeyemi Ogunade (graduate student in economics from Nigeria, Schmidt Labor and Research Center)

Welcome Back! (Summer in Rhode Island, Part 4)

Last week was another exciting and rewarding time for the University of Rhode Island – move-in weekend and First Night were great successes and a new academic year began on a high note. However, there is one additional, and important, outcome of the intense level of this summer’s activities at URI that I would like to share.

Over the summer, in just about three months, state-of-the-art instructional technology was installed in fifty-two (52!) classrooms that previously had no modern teaching technology at all. Every one of these classrooms received the latest digital media technology, including HD projectors, blu-ray players, and digital switching controls. Assisted-listening devices were installed in classrooms for 50 or more students. The electronics in each room are networked to a central server that monitors the status, enables projector lamps to be replaced prior to failure, and provides a means to remotely assist an instructor. New whiteboards have been installed, walls and ceilings repaired, and many other improvements were made. Fifteen additional classrooms received major technology upgrades, again to a state-of-the-art level. These dramatic improvements place the University of Rhode Island among the leaders in our region and will substantially improve the learning environment for our students.

But that is not all. A major expansion of the campus wireless network was completed, and the conversion to a new IP based telephone system began. Collectively, these innovative, rapid, cost-effective improvements demonstrate what we can achieve.

What makes these remarkable achievements even more satisfying is the tremendous dedication and teamwork of several departments at URI and our private-sector partners. Joe Fuscaldo and Kathy D’Aguanno led the URI team. The Media and Technology Services Department (directed by David Porter), especially the Network Facilities and Operations group, the Classroom Media Assistance group, and the Network Service group, did exceptional work throughout the project. Many other URI departments made important contributions: Purchasing, Enrollment Services, Facility Services, Custodial Services, the Paint Shop, the Electrical Shop, Access Control Office, Safety and Risk Management, Capital Planning and Design, Capital Projects, and the Property Office. Most of the time our employees in these departments and offices work behind the scenes – they deserve our thanks and appreciation. So do our partners – HB Communications, Creston, Energy Electric, and Legacy General Contracting – who worked extremely well together and with our URI team.

We are working hard to facilitate the innovative use of the new technology. Several training sessions for faculty have been held, and others will be scheduled. The Instructional Technology Center in Chafee will be upgraded with funds provided by the Champlin Foundation (another critical partner for URI) and brought online in October.

Our efforts to improve the environment for teaching and learning at the University of Rhode Island will continue and grow, on many fronts. The work of this past summer will make an enormous difference to our students and faculty for years to come.

Welcome back, everyone. URI is a better university than when we completed the last academic year in May.

Summer in Rhode Island, Part 3

One of the emerging priorities for the University of Rhode Island is building a strong, vibrant, and supportive community that views diversity as a strength and where equity is a core value. This is reflected many places, including the Academic Plan, in URI’s “Cornerstones”, and in my inaugural remarks. Two events occurred this summer that reinforced my conviction that building a community where all our members are valued and supported is critical to the future of the University.

The first was a gathering of GLBT students, along with members of the faculty, staff, administration, and the local community at my house on a Friday evening in August. The meeting was partly in response to a highly regrettable incident in which someone driving through our campus yelled “faggots” at a group of our students who were doing nothing more than walking and holding hands. Our students made it clear that such experiences were, all too frequently, a part of their lives at URI and that the response of the university to these incidents was, for whatever reason, all too frequently inadequate. This is simply unacceptable. That any of our students should have to live with harassment and fear should be intolerable to all of us. No one would want to endure what some of our GLBT students have endured, and no one should have to, at least while at URI. It’s that simple, I think.

Consequently, I have asked several members of the senior leadership team, as well as others, to work with our students to develop and implement strategies to improve the experience of our GLBT students at URI. A key element will be to find a way to provide a new home for our GLBT Center that substantially improves its functionality while providing a safe and welcoming environment for students who wish to go there.

It is important to note that these actions are a central component of URI’s renewed emphasis on promoting community, equity, and diversity. The Equity Council will play a central role in this effort. A very productive retreat at the end of August among members of the Equity Council and the administration generated a number of goals and specific actions for the coming year in the following areas: (1) curriculum and teaching; (2) faculty and staff diversity and development; (3) student diversity and development; (4) administration of diversity efforts; and (5) communications concerning diversity, equity, and community.

There is a lot to do. It seems to me that, despite missteps and setbacks, the University of Rhode Island has a tradition of dedication to diversity, equity, and community on which to build. We have a growing commitment to building a strong and diverse community among students, staff, faculty, and the administration. I think it is also important for us to pursue this goal, as well as our others, in an open and transparent fashion. One cannot solve problems while trying to ignore or hide them. It will take time and a lot of effort, but I am confident we can succeed at URI.

Summer in Rhode Island, Part 2

One of the great treasures at the University of Rhode Island, as well as for the state and the nation, is the Graduate School of Oceanography. Not surprisingly, the GSO had a very busy and productive summer. I would like to highlight a couple of its activities.

URI scientists at the GSO have contributed in multiple ways to understanding the impacts of the BP/Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill – from predicting the spread of the oil (Dr. Malcolm Spaulding had a prominent role in this) to assessing strategies for mitigation.

In June, our research ship (the R/V Endeavor) was quickly outfitted in order to make critical measurements of subsurface oil in the Gulf. Dr. Christopher Reddy (URI 1997 Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from GSO) was a key member of the scientific team. Their characterization of a continuous plume of oil that was over 50 miles long, at a depth of greater than 3,000 feet, was published in the August issue of the prestigious journal Science.

Their findings have numerous important implications for understanding the consequences of the massive spill, and also are relevant to understanding the ultimate prospects for degradation of the oil by microorganisms. The results of the research have garnered worldwide coverage; Dr. Reddy and R/V Endeavor have certainly received (and earned) far more than 15 minutes of fame!

This has also been a hectic but enormously productive summer for URI/GSO scientist and explorer Dr. Bob Ballard, who is very familiar with the bright lights. Using the cutting-edge facilities of the Inner Space Center at the GSO, as well as command consoles located around the world, scientists, students, and kids of all ages can participate in ocean exploration – live and in real time. The capabilities are simply amazing! I had the benefit of a demonstration from Bob himself at the recent “Friends of the Graduate School of Oceanography” reception in the Ocean Science and Exploration Center. You can check this out yourself at http://www.nautilislive.org/. Note that a lot of URI faculty and graduate students are part of the scientific research and exploration associated with this voyage of the E/V Nautilus (owned and operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust).

As the GSO looks forward to its 50th anniversary, it can look back with a great sense of accomplishment on a stellar record of achievement. Given the talent, dedication, and energy of the URI/GSO faculty, students, and staff, we can readily anticipate an even brighter future.