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Commencement Speaker Matt Gallant ‘86, the popular host of the TV show “The Planet’s Funniest Animals,” was the speaker at the University’s 118th Commencement on May 23, 2004. Since his show airs daily on the Animal Planet cable channel and is shown around the world, Gallant—who was the cover feature in the spring issue of QUAD ANGLES—has achieved celebrity status, particularly with children. Honorary Degree Recipients Alfred J. Verrecchia ’67, M.B.A. ‘72, president and CEO of Hasbro, Inc., joined Hasbro in 1965, two years before earning his accounting degree. Five years later, while working full-time at Hasbro, he earned his M.B.A. in finance. While Hasbro expanded its line and acquired companies to become an international leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of games and toys, Verrecchia held increasingly senior executive positions. Verrecchia is a former president and current board member of URI’s College of Business Administration Advisory Council. The Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro, Inc., Leadership Chair in Business was established in 1997. U.S. Army Gen. Leon J. LaPorte ’68 earned the highest rank in the Army—four star general—in 2002 after 34 years of military service. He is commander of United Nations and combined Republic of Korea and U.S. forces in the Republic of Korea. When he was a URI undergraduate majoring in secondary education, LaPorte joined the ROTC program and found his calling. As a young officer, he served as a combat aviator in Vietnam. He later served as chief of staff for the 1st Cavalry Division during Operation Desert Storm. The general is a soldier’s soldier, never asking the men and women who serve under him to do anything he would not be willing do. Stephanie Danforth Chafee, a nurse and health care manager, has quietly dedicated her life to working with the medically under-served. While her last name gains immediate recognition because her husband is a U. S. senator, Stephanie Chafee has had an impact on health care in Rhode Island. She co-founded the Rhode Island Free Clinic in 1998 in Providence, which offers free medical care to the working poor without health insurance. She has served on task forces and advisory committees and worked with Rhode Island Project AIDS to deliver care to HIV positive patients. Herbert Leon MacDonell, M.S ’56, relies on bloodstains, bullets, and fingerprints to tell him “whodunit.” He has testified or consulted for both the prosecution and the defense in hundreds of homicides, including such high- profile cases as the assassination of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the trial of O. J. Simpson. One of MacDonell’s patented inventions, the MAGNA Brush, is so sensitive that it can detect fingerprints on Kleenex and is used by crime solvers all around the world. He also co-authored the definitive text on bloodstain analysis. MacDonell was honored at Graduate Commencement on May 22. Deborah Smith is the director of external affairs for Gov. Donald Carcieri. She served on the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education for 10 years. As chair of the Student Affairs Committee, Smith was instrumental in establishing a “student voice” on the board. She is the former senior vice president for civic and community affairs for Old Stone Bank, past director of Leadership Rhode Island, and past president of the board of the Urban League of Rhode Island, and holds leadership roles on numerous non-profits.
Return to the Titanic Nearly 20 years after finding the sunken remains of the R.M.S. Titanic, Robert Ballard, professor of oceanography and director of the Institute for Archaeological Oceanography, has returned to the site to help NOAA study the ship’s rapid deterioration. Ballard and his partners announced the expedition on April 12, the 92nd anniversary of the ship’s sinking. Ballard and scientists from NOAA, Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, and other institutions are spending 11 days at the site, mapping the ship and conducting scientific analyses of its deterioration. Funded by the National Geographic and NOAA and working aboard the NOAA research vessel Ronald H. Brown, the expedition is using Ballard’s remotely operated vehicles to conduct a sophisticated documentation of the state of Titanic. For accounts of the expedition and links to partner Web sites, visit www.returntotitanic.com.
President Carothers receives national award for alcohol abuse policies and programs President Carothers’ wide-ranging efforts to curb alcohol use at URI, in the state, and in the nation were recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on March 10 when he was cited for imposing some of the toughest alcohol abuse policies in the country. He received one of two President’s Leadership Group Awards from the Education Development Center. National Science Foundation Grant URI and Brown University have teamed up to secure a major federal grant through the National Science Foundation that will stimulate life science research at the state’s 11 institutions of higher education by promoting life science-based economic development in Rhode Island. A $198,835 National Science Foundation planning grant is the first step in making Rhode Island’s colleges and universities eligible for up to $4.5 million in annual research infrastructure funding. The grant will also make it easier for researchers in the state to qualify for additional NSF research funding.
Building fraternity around philanthropy Zeta Beta Tau, URI’s largest fraternity, is forging a new legacy. Founding president Cory Bousquet says, “My goal in taking part in the founding of the Rho Iota Chapter was to return the fraternity ideal to its roots and change the climate of Greek life from the inside out.” Holding the title for the best fraternity grade point average for the past five semesters, ZBT has received multiple awards from the Interfraternity Council for excellence in academics and service. The chapter won URI Philanthropy Week for 2003. ZBT brother and Truman scholar Greg Hughes ’04 recently became the first URI student to receive a $200,000 Gates Scholarship to Cambridge University. Naming rights Robert M. Beagle, vice president for University Advancement, served as a faculty member at the CASE “Athletics and Advancement” conference that took place in New Orleans in May. The vice president gave a speech entitled “Competing Interests” that was based on an article he wrote for CASE Currents (fall 2003). He led a workshop entitled “What’s in a Name?” that examines naming opportunities, naming rights, and related naming issues within both higher education and professional sports facilities. And he joined the vice president of the University of Georgia in a two-person panel that examined the impact of intercollegiate athletics on an institution’s image, alumni relations, and fundraising.
Updates on Alumni Norah Pollard, M.A. ’68, came to campus on February 12, 2004, to give a reading from her poetry collection, Leaning In, to an enthusiastic audience in the Hoffman Room in Independence Hall. Pollard is the daughter of Red Pollard, the jockey who rode Seabiscuit, and a number of her poems offer an in-depth portrait of her father. The reading was followed by a lively Q and A, and a number of students in Mary Cappello’s English 205 Poetry Writing class wrote critical analyses of Pollard’s poems and of the reading. The event was supported by funding from the Center for the Humanities and was organized by the URI Writers Collective.
From Your Alumni Association President Dear Fellow Alumni, As I reach the end of my first year in office, I’ve had a chance to reflect on the year just past. It’s funny, people always ask me if my role as president of the Alumni Association takes up a lot of my time, and they wonder how I’m able to handle those responsibilities as well as my career and family roles. I answer that question in two ways. First and most obvious, without the support of a great staff in the Alumni Office, a supportive management team at Coastway Credit Union, and an understanding family, it would be much more difficult to balance the three. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each one of them for giving me the opportunity to get involved and make a difference. Second, it’s really a lot of fun! I get to meet interesting people, recognize our alumni achievements, and attend fun and inspiring events. If you’ve been thinking about getting involved but you’re not sure about the time commitment, jump in and give it a try. Speaking of volunteers, I would like to acknowledge Anne and Dick Beaupre ’62, Hon. ’03, who have accepted the role of honorary chairs of the 2005 Alumni Association Winter Gala, our largest fundraising event of the year. Since the event’s inception in 1981, it has generated more than $80,000 for student scholarships. The Beaupres will be joining former chairs Mark ’64 and Donna Ross, Hon. ’02, and Deb ’85, M.P.A. ’96, and Rich O’Brien ’86, M.B.A. ’00 in continuing the tradition of husband and wife serving as co-chairs for the gala. The Alumni Association would like to thank Dick, Ann, Mark, Donna, Deb, and Rich for accepting this important commitment. Dick Beaupre has been very supportive of the University. Most recently, Dick and Ann pledged $1million to kick off the University’s endowment campaign. As the University gets ready to embark on a challenging endowment campaign, our success will be dependent on our ability to mobilize our alumni and our state government to meet that challenge. Recently, Sen. John Revens and Rep. Ken Carter introduced legislation in support of a matching grant program for higher education. This legislation would help all three public institutions of higher learning in the state maximize their private fund raising efforts. For URI, the maximum contribution from the state could be $5 million depending on the level of qualifying contributions. While I realize that this is a year of challenge for the state budget, this legislation is a good first step in raising awareness for a program of this type. In states that offer a similar matching grant program, evidence indicates that the program helps not only to leverage private giving levels but also to stimulate growth. The Alumni Association will keep you apprised of efforts to help this program become a reality. Sincerely, Kathy Goulding ’77 Beaupre Gift Supports Arts & Sciences Richard Beaupre ’62, Hon. ’03, founder and CEO of ChemArt, a multi-million dollar company in Lincoln, R.I., has donated the first $500,000 of a $1 million pledge to his alma mater. Beaupre’s gift provides funds for the College of Arts & Sciences’ Hope and Heritage Fund, which was established in 1999 by Dean Winifred Brownell. The fund, which has been renamed in Beaupre’s honor, provides travel and lodging expenses for Arts & Sciences students to attend conferences, present papers, exhibit work, or perform in concerts. The fund also provides support for faculty presentations. Beaupre has pledged an additional $500,000 to the endowment within the next few years. The gift signals the start of the University’s upcoming capital campaign which will focus on building the University’s endowment. “When we did our first capital campaign nearly 12 years ago, Dick Beaupre was one of those important alums who had not really been engaged by the University. But, we approached him anyway. He was flattered to have his alma mater come see him, and he was quick to make a significant contribution to establish an endowed scholarship,” said Robert Beagle, vice president for University Advancement. Beaupre founded ChemArt in 1976. Today the company, which employs 100, is a leader in the design and manufacture of metal ornaments and collectibles. Beaupre, who had previously established an endowed scholarship fund for married students with children, sponsors a variety of arts events at URI and has supported the Humanities Campaign with a named fellowship for faculty and student research. He is a founding member of the External Advisory Council for the College of Arts & Sciences and a trustee of the URI Foundation. Beaupre and his wife, Anne, are honorary chairs of the 2005 Winter Gala. Letters to the Editor: Thank you for your kindness and thoughtfulness in sending us copies of the QUAD ANGLES featuring the Back Page article on Matt’s conservatory [Matthew J. Horridge Conservatory, spring 2004]. It is truly a continuous comfort and joy to bear witness to the impact Matt had on so many. The greenhouse was a Learning Landscape project for extra credit intended to be completed in stages over the semester (spring ’03). However it was perfectly and with minute detail and creativity completed in five weeks. The conservatory creators worked tirelessly for long days and into the nights to meet their self-imposed deadline. It was a tremendous labor of love and a productive avenue for their grief. We are still overwhelmed by their continued dedication, and we know they will treasure the conservatory, be proud of it, and oversee it long after they graduate. We envision them visiting the conservatory with their children and explaining their involvement and how they were motivated to this accomplishment because of their love for a friend. We will carry these guys forever in our hearts with admiration and love! Sincerely, Maureen and George Horridge Although Matt Horridge’s friends are graduating this year, the conservatory will be well cared for. According to Professor Brian Maynard, students enrolled in Plant Science 491 Special Projects help maintain the Horridge Conservatory as part of their coursework. In addition, Christopher Zay ’04 has been acting as curator. In September Charles Silvia, a student in environmental horticulture and turf grass management, begins an internship as curator. |
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