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the university of rhode island foundation annual report 2015

Urif fy 2015 annual report online

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This report demonstrates the impact of philanthropy at the University of Rhode Island. It is produced by the URI Foundation annually.

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the university of rhode island foundation

annual report 2015

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Dear friends:

The University of Rhode Island is unique and extraor-dinary for many reasons, not the least of which is the strength of the partnerships started here. These partner-ships take many forms and involve our alumni, friends, students, faculty, corporations and others. And, they don’t just enhance our success, they are our success.

We have been fortunate to have flourished in finding com-mon ground and common cause with all of our partners, and our mutually beneficial relationships have become increasingly more valuable in enabling us to advance URI. We are collectively stronger than the sum of our parts, and, as URI continues to work and succeed at solv-ing some of the more pressing problems confronting our community and society in general, it is these partnerships that will be relied upon even more if we hope to achieve our ambitious goals for the future.

Your support is a significant part of this equation and we are grateful for your continued involvement and gener-osity. Together, we can continue to make extraordinary things happen at URI, for the benefit of our students, our community, our state and beyond. Together, We Are URI.

Sincerely,

David M. Dooley, Ph.D. President University of Rhode Island

“We are collectively stronger than the sum of our parts . . . together, we can continue to make extraordinary things happen at URI . . . together, We Are URI.

Message from the University President

the university of rhode island

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Message from the Foundation Leadership

we are: committed to supporting uri

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Dear friends:

In 1957, a small group of founding members became the fi rst trustees of the newly formed URI Foundation. These trustees were dedicated partners and were committed to ensuring the long term support of the University of Rhode Island.

Over the years, the Foundation partnership with the University has deepened as our role expanded beyond fund management to all fundraising operations. As our responsibilities on the University’s behalf have grown, so too has our commitment to our mission of inspiring and stewarding philanthropic support benefi ting URI.

Our success relies heavily on our ability to create mean-ingful and rewarding partnerships and relationships — whether with donors, alumni, friends, corporations, or foundations. These partnerships, including those with alumni like dick beaupre, cynthia sculco and Janet munroe, and businesses like amgen, all featured in this report, generate great rewards for the University. Whether rooted in fi nancial support, professional expertise, volun-teer commitments, or other types of relationships, all are immensely valued and recognized as being critical to the future success of our University.

Many thanks to you, our partners, who made supporting URI in the last fi scal year a priority. We strive to ensure that our relationship with you is mutually benefi cial and that you fi nd URI worthy of your continued support.

Sincerely,

Lorne A. Adrain ’76 James A. Hopkins ’62Executive Board Chair Interim PresidentURI Foundation URI Foundation

Message from the Foundation Leadership

“our success relies heavily on our ability to create meaningful and rewarding partnerships and relationships.”

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A love of research, a lifelong calling to improve the physical world, and an interest in behavior combined to inspire carrie gill ’17 to pursue a doctorate in environmental and natural resource economics. But Gill, one of URI’s fi rst Blue MBA graduates, is the fi rst to admit that being a graduate student is a lifestyle choice. And it comes at a price.

“Not all graduate students have funding and it adds stress and they feel they need to fi nish their studies as soon as possible,” she said. “In reality, it’s better to take the time to do research and become an expert in your area and you really can’t rush that.”

Gill, who is from the Baltimore area and lives in Newport, is grate-ful to be the recipient of nearly $9,000 from the professor John m. gates memorial fund, which provides funding that enables her to spend the time she needs to conduct her research. Slated to graduate in 2017, she has her sights set on becoming a professor and she has nothing but gratitude for the Gates family.

And Gill wants her donors to know how grateful she is. “Oh my God, thank you! I think funding education is so important because it could help so many people make a huge leap forward. It allows a graduate student, like me, to breathe a little bit.”

Gill is active on campus as a member of the facilities and operations subcommittee of the URI President’s Council on Sustainability, working on a climate action plan for URI to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The action plan fi ts nicely with her doctorate, which focuses on household energy behaviors and the eff ectiveness of programs to reduce energy usage.

“Research is like solving a puzzle or fi nding a secret that you get to tell everyone. You’re the only one doing it and no one else knows. It’s very exciting,” said Gill.

Breathing Room for Grad Students

we are: innovating for the future

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“ . . . it’s better to take the time to do research and become an expert in your area and you really can’t rush that.”

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Former Scholarship Recipient Supports Future Nurses

we are: making education possible

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Scholarships helped put cynthia davis sculco ’65 through URI’s College of Nursing. She went on to earn her masters and doctorate in education from Columbia University Teachers College and embarked on a truly remarkable career.

“It probably wouldn’t have happened without scholarships, if I didn’t get that support,” said Sculco, who lives in Westerly, Rhode Island, and New York City. “It changed the course of my life. . . and started me on my career, which I love and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I felt very grateful when I got scholarship support from URI. It’s only right now to give back so others can have the same opportunity.”

Sculco believes in people and supporting their potential. In 2007 she launched a $150,000 challenge to encourage potential donors to create new scholarships to benefit nursing students at URI. the sculco challenge resulted in the creation of seven scholarship endowments that will benefit countless nursing students for generations.

Her own impressive nursing and teaching career includes work with Presbyterian Hospital, New York University, Cornell University, and Hunter College, where she was the coordinator of the graduate medical-surgical nursing program. She’s a past president of the Nurses Educational Funds, a national organization that provides scholarships for nurses in graduate programs.

Sculco credits URI alumnus Tom Ryan ’75 and his wife Cathy for inspiring her, several years back, with their $500,000 challenge, which resulted in 24 new endowed scholar-ships at URI’s College of Pharmacy.

“I believe strongly in scholarships,” she said, noting that not everyone has the ability to attend college and many students face financial challenges and end up carrying enormous loan debt. “Scholarship money makes a big difference to those who need it.”

Former Scholarship Recipient Supports Future Nurses

“I felt very grateful when I got scholarship support from URI. It’s only right now to give back so others can have the same opportunity.”

we are: making education possible

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East Meets West in Global Approach to Pharmacy Research

“these graduate students come to rhode island from all over

the world. you mentor and train them and then they become your

ambassadors. it’s realizing the globalization of uri.”

we are: supporting faculty with gifts from around the world

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East and West have always converged in the bioactive botanical research lab of uri college of pharmacy professor navindra seeram. But a new gift with roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine has brought these culturally diff erent approaches to treating disease and pain even closer.

hang ma, who completed his Ph.D. with Seeram and works in the lab, grew up in a family of doctors. They used natural products to relieve the suff ering of patients in contrast to the traditional Western pharmaceutical approach to medicine.

“Hang is the fi rst of his family to come to the United States and pursue his education,” said Seeram, who can relate as he is from Guyana on South America’s northern tip. “It’s the next generation of children moving forward and getting a Western education while revisiting some of the traditional approaches.”

Seeram knows plants have healing powers and he oversees 700 plants at the College’s 40,000-square-foot heber w. youngken Jr. medicinal garden. He and his students study the anti-cancer agents in native New England berries for possible applications in the treatment of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases. He’s identifi ed dozens of compounds in pure maple syrup and is applying these to his diabetes research. Likewise, Ma’s dissertation was based on the Rhode Island state tree, the red maple. He found evidence that Native Americans used the red maple, which is only found in North America, as part of their traditional medicine. He isolated benefi cial compounds from the red maple and URI is fi ling patents on his work.

Ma’s uncle, dr. Zhongli duan, sees vast potential in the lab’s research and donated $50,000 to help support it. With declining federal funding, Seeram said private support for faculty — both in research and in direct faculty support to attract and retain high level researchers — is essential. He has often received donations from people he doesn’t know who fervently support his research. Without such generous donors, Seeram wouldn’t be able to train brilliant young scientists like Ma in pharmacognosy, the discovery of drugs from natural sources.

“These graduate students come to Rhode Island from all over the world. You mentor and train them and then they become your ambassadors. It’s realizing the globalization of URI,” said Seeram.

East Meets West in Global Approach to Pharmacy Research

we are: supporting faculty with gifts from around the world

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we are: poised to unravel the mysteries of the brain

“i have to thank thomas ryan for his passion, for his vision,

and for really taking his personal family tragedy and turning it

into something hopeful and positive for other families and

for future generations.”

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Best known for her pioneering research into the role blood vessels and inflammation play in the development of diseases, including Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, paula grammas is the recently announced inaugural director of the george & anne ryan institute for neuroscience at the University of Rhode Island. She will also hold the thomas m. ryan professorship in neuroscience at URI.

Grammas comes to Kingston from the Garrison Institute on Aging at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where she was executive director and held the Mildred and Shirley Garrison Chair in Aging at the Texas Tech School of Medicine. URI President David M. Dooley described her appointment as marking a new era at URI.

“We’re confident that we have the right person here to build the Ryan Institute for Neuroscience to become the world-class institute that we all envision,” said Dooley.

Grammas has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on more than $24 million in research grants and she knows that people in the neurodegenerative world have limited options.

“We know that nerve cells die in ALS and in Parkinson’s but how that comes about, why that comes about and what we could do to intervene, we’re still in the very early stages. As a neuroscientist, as someone who works in the nervous system and the brain, I can tell you that we’re on the precipice now I think of a really exciting period in this work,” she said.

Former CVS Health Chairman and Chief Executive Officer thomas m. ryan ’75 and his wife cathy ryan established the Institute in 2013 with a $15 million gift, the largest private donation in URI history. “Dr. Grammas is a renowned scientist and recognized leader in Alzheimer’s research,” Thomas Ryan said. “Her demonstrated ability to collaborate across multiple organizations and bring in a variety of perspectives is critical to finding a cure for these devastating diseases.”

The issue is personal for those involved. Ryan’s father George died from a stroke and resulting Alzheimer’s disease and the health of his late mother Anne declined while caring for George. Dooley’s mother died at age 55 of early onset Alzheimer’s and ALS. Grammas’ mother is living with ALS.

“I have to thank Thomas Ryan for his passion, for his vision, and for really taking his personal family tragedy and turning it into something hopeful and positive for other families and for future generations,” said Grammas.

URI’s First Neuroscience Director Takes the Helm

we are: poised to unravel the mysteries of the brain

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J-Term: When January Equals Opportunity

“my education at uri set me up to succeed in my career, which took me abroad, and

i believed i could make a difference by giving back to

students in this way.”

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J, what? J-term! The three-week winter session program for students looking for immersive and global opportunities took URI students to Cuba and allowed others to join Je suis Charlie marchers in Paris and dive coral reefs in Bonaire last year.

For experienced scuba diver kayla nitzberg ’17, Bonaire was the trip of a lifetime. “The fi sh were just vibrant and they were not afraid of people,” she said of their twice-daily dives and a spectacular night dive. “It was amazing.”

Launched in the winter of 2014, J-Term experienced enormous growth this last year, more than doubling its eight travel course off erings to 18. For January 2016, 25 travel courses are planned to far-fl ung locations like Belize, Indonesia, and Korea. For economics and political science double major mike gilligan ’16, Cuba was his dream destination.

“It was a pretty incredible opportunity to even think about going to Cuba as we made plans before the travel ban was lifted,” he said. “It changed my outlook and I am defi nitely more apt to travel now, broaden my horizons, and experience more of the world.”

Jim hopkins ’62 saw the benefi t of the program right away. A retired business executive who travelled extensively, he recognized the impact this opportunity could have on students and became one of the fi rst donors to support J-Term. “The experience of travelling abroad and getting to know another culture can really be life changing. My education at URI set me up to succeed in my career, which took me abroad, and I believed I could make a diff erence by giving back to students in this way.”

With 600 students participating in a diversity of courses in Kingston and across the globe, J-Term coordinator John olerio is determined to keep January Term fresh.

“I don’t want it to get stale. These are transformational experiences, no doubt about it,” Olerio said, noting that for some students it’s not just their fi rst time traveling internationally; it’s their fi rst time on a plane.

J-Term: When January Equals Opportunity

we are: circling the globe

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The Right Chemistry Opens Doors to 21st Century Learning Environment

“when i was in my senior year at uri, i was in tough shape, financially — i had no money. uri helped me

out and i never forgot that.”

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It’s all about chemistry.

The relationship between URI and richard beaupre ’62 has always been powerful with the ChemArt CEO donating several million in gifts to help students and faculty. Now the relationship is taking on new meaning with Beaupre, who was a scholarship recipient as a URI student, making his largest gift to date, a gift that will help thousands of students and faculty each year. He recently committed $2.5 million to URI’s new center for chemical and forensic sciences, which will be named in his honor.

Slated to open in the fall of 2016, the center will join two recently completed facilities — the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences and the College of Pharmacy building — to complete the Health and Life Sciences District on the Kingston campus. The 135,000-square-foot center will serve more than 7,000 chemistry students each year. It will be a key component in further strengthening the University’s leadership in health and life sciences and in supporting the state’s knowledge economy.

“Dick clearly understands that to move Rhode Island forward, we need the latest in scientific facilities to prepare our students, to provide faculty with the very best research tools and to lay a foundation for economic development in Rhode Island,” said uri president david dooley. “As the founder of one of Rhode Island’s important design and manufacturing companies, Dick understands what the University and the state as a whole need to thrive in the 21st century.”

The successful entrepreneur, who took his URI chemistry degree and went on to establish a breakthrough technology and the multimillion-dollar ChemArt, was once a struggling student with a wife and young children at home.

“When I was in my senior year at URI, I was in tough shape, financially — I had no money. URI helped me out and I never forgot that. I paid back URI in spades and it was a great honor for me to do that,” Beaupre said.

The Right Chemistry Opens Doors to 21st Century Learning Environment

we are: giving back

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Finances have always been a struggle for Richard Minot Scholarship recipient Christiana Guertin ’16. “I remember in high school, we would have no idea what we are going to do tomorrow because we couldn’t pay for things today,” she said. “Money sometimes really is a determining factor in the things we are able to do and it’s really hard for people who have to struggle.”

An education was never a given for this ambitious accounting major from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, who has excelled at URI and beyond. Travelling abroad was even more unlikely. But after interning at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) in Boston for three summers, Guertin has already accepted a position with the professional services world leader.

A serious student, she traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil for a semester to study macro- economics for emerging markets. Before she left, she’d started to learn Portuguese and decided to challenge herself by enrolling in two courses taught in the language. The entire experience was life changing.

Extraordinary Opportunity to Think and Learn Globally

we are: SuppoRtinG the Student expeRienCe

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Extraordinary Opportunity to Think and Learn Globally“Going to Brazil really opened my mind to learning new things and now I really want

to learn another language and travel more. In my work field, I talked to so many different international students from all around the world — it gave me a more worldly perspective. You never know, PwC could have an office in Lisbon where I can continue learning Portuguese!” She jokes because she knows PwC has a Lisbon office.

A resident assistant who went through URI’s Talent Development Program, Guertin chose Brazil because of the Brazilian students she’d become friends with in Kingston. When she went to their homeland, she fell in love with the culture. “It was my first time out of the country and it was absolutely a wonderful experience for me,” said Guertin, who traveled and volunteered to teach English to low income children while in the country.

The first member of her family to attend college, Guertin’s grateful to the many donors, including Richard Minot, who help make college an option for students. “It’s so rewarding to know that there are people who are willing to help and give back. It really makes all the difference for me.”

“Money sometimes really is a determining factor in the things we are able to do and it’s really hard for people who have to struggle.”

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The TeleTremor Team includes, from left, Trevor Bernier; Joseph Tudino, URI Assistant Professor of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering;

Kunal Mankodiya; Akintoye Onikoyi, and lab technician Tanya Wang. Dr. Lars Wahlberg (not pictured), Chief Executive Officer of NsGene Inc., and a neurosurgeon at Rhode Island Hospital, provided clinical guidance.

URI Students Showcased on International Platform for Parkinson’s Invention

we are: inventing ways to help those around us

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With the goal of helping people with Parkinson’s disease lead better lives, a team of URI engineering students that included two scholarship recipients invented a smart wristband, which uses motion sensors to detect tremors and movement difficulties. TeleTremor attracted global attention in March when it was named one of 23 finalists at the international undergraduate global health technologies design competition at Houston’s Rice University.

Wearable technology is a growing field and TeleTremor is part of it, gathering and sending information to doctors over a secure internet connection pretty much anywhere in the world. It’s designed to enable neurologists and others to make more informed decisions by measuring the effect of prescribed medications and the progress of the disease, all because patients wore it on their wrists.

“Soon we will have computers in our shirts and in our shoes tracking our fitness, and cameras attached to our shirts. Wearables are the future and I feel like our twist to it is helping Parkinson’s patients,” said electrical engineering major akintoye onikoyi ’16 of Providence. Recipient of the harry amaral golf scholarship, Onikoyi brought his 3D animation skills to the partnership.

Joseph tudino ’17 of Scituate, Rhode Island, recipient of the John e. gray ’43 engineering scholarship, used his programming skills to collect data from the sensors and get it into a useable format by writing computer software. He hopes TeleTremor will become part of standard Parkinson’s treatment. Tudino has a longtime family friend with Parkinson’s and that personal connection provided extra motivation to create an innovative product.

Donors also contributed to making this opportunity to present their work in Texas a reality for these talented students. “Private support is allowing extraordinary students to participate in extraordinary opportunities and we are very grateful to our donors for that,” said Jim hopkins, interim president of the URI Foundation.

URI Students Showcased on International Platform for Parkinson’s Invention

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if you want to see donor support in action, look no further than the

400 plus dedicated student athletes making the most of the Ryan Family

Student-Athlete Complex, which shows what is possible when donors join forces to support uri athletics.

the $2.5 million complex is home to the Eleanor Carlson Strength &

Conditioning Center, the Anthony J. Rose Athletic Training Room &

Sports Medicine Center, the Katie DeCubellis Memorial Foundation

Student-Athlete Academic Commons & Advising Center, and

the Winter Family Foundation & Wicks Family Champions Gallery. Mark Murphy (right), uri football

defensive end, makes good use of the carlson strength &

conditioning center.

Student Athletes Benefit from Donor-Supported Facilities

we are: committed to achieving success

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Student Athletes Benefit from Donor-Supported Facilities

“the unbelievable support of our donors matches the intensity and desire our student-athletes put forth on a daily basis. without both, uri would not be the amazing institution it is today.”

thorr bjorn, athletic director

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“I want to help students, especially girls as you don’t see a lot of girls in the sciences, and let them know that this is a viable option.”

Science Inspires Students Through Amgen Biotech Project with URI

we are: creating vital corporate partnerships

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angie marcks, 20, decided to major in Medical Laboratory Science at URI and set her sights on a career in science because as a high school junior she participated in the amgen biotech experience — a program created by Amgen, the biotech leader with an office in Rhode Island, and run by URI.

“That was basically my first exposure to biotechnology and that is what made me choose my major and decide where I wanted to go to school,” said Marcks, who remembered the science experiment at Warwick Veterans High School where she got to grow E. coli then genetically modify it.

The Amgen Biotech Experience trains secondary school teachers who then bring what they’ve learned into high school classrooms across Rhode Island. Educators train on a sophisticated suite of biotechnology instruments on URI’s Providence campus and are then loaned kits, each valued at $25,000 and provided by Amgen, to teach a three-week module on biotechnology. To date, more than 60 teachers at 40 schools have participated in the free training and educated 4,000 students.

Would these students have received any biotech education without this opportunity? “The bottom line is most of them would not,” said uri professor of cell and molecular biology gregory paquette, principal investigator for the Amgen Foundation grant. “That is the beauty of the grant from the Amgen Foundation. It provides a significant level of STEM education and biotech experience that wouldn’t be in Rhode Island otherwise.”

Since the program was launched in the state in 2007, the amgen foundation has contributed $850,000 and it has renewed funding through 2017. The world’s largest biotechnology company, Amgen has a partnership agreement with URI and is a generous donor. Amgen employs more than 100 URI alums and countless interns.

Marcks, who is scheduled to graduate a semester early in the fall of 2016, now works at the Amgen Biotech Experience. Just like the experiment that spurred her interest in STEM, she wants students to know they have choices when it comes to a career and many doors are open to them. “I feel very passionately about that,” she said. “I want to help students, especially girls as you don’t see a lot of girls in the sciences, and let them know that this is a viable option.”

Science Inspires Students Through Amgen Biotech Project with URI

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“with the charitable gift annuity, we can

do something for uri while also receiving

something.”

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To Janet keegan munroe ’46, who was a student at URI in the early 40s, Keaney and Tootell aren’t just building names; they’re men she knew.

Her father was a professor and she worked on campus, operating a mimeo-graph machine and doing other offi ce work. Munroe was a student with her late husband Kenneth ’43, who passed away just shy of their 60th wedding anniversary.

“I’ve always been extremely interested in URI and I want to support it,” said Munroe, 90, who can sing what she emphasizes as the original URI alma mater. “It was a wonderful place to grow up.”

Munroe, who has four children, has established a personal legacy to URI. She and her late husband had long supported the Annual Fund, various building campaigns and the kenneth e. and Janet k. munroe endowed scholarship, while also establishing a charitable gift annuity (CGA) some years ago. Janet, herself, set up a second CGA in 2014.

“The idea of education is very, very important,” said Munroe, who lives in Narragansett. “And with the charitable gift annuity, we can do something for URI while also receiving something.”

One of the country’s oldest and most popular gift arrangements, a charitable gift annuity is considered a win-win situation for donors because it benefi ts charities with a donation while providing the donor with a guaranteed life income stream. CGAs off er multiple tax advantages.

“A charitable gift annuity is mutually benefi cial because it allows a person to make a gift and receive payments, while ultimately benefi ting the University,” said Rita A. Verespy, director of planned giving at the URI Foundation. “We are happy to help show our alumni and friends the benefi ts, given their fi nancial circumstances and what they hope to accomplish.”

A Couple’s Wish to Support URI Results in a Legacy of Giving

we are: planning for the future

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In order to advance its mission and continue providing funding for students, faculty and programs, the University of Rhode Island counts on the support of its dedicated and generous alumni and friends. Your gifts help provide scholarships and fellowships for the bright and deserving, attract scholars to our classrooms and laboratories, support vital research and innovation, and contribute to the overall enhancement of our facilities across all campuses.

In addition to outright gifts of cash, securities or other property, the gift pledge option allows you to make a gift over a period of time (generally up to five years). Matching gifts, memorial and honorary gifts, and endowed gifts also make a significant impact at URI. You may give through a donor-advised fund, or on behalf of a corporation or private foundation. It is also possible to secure a lifetime income through a number of planned gift options.

As your generosity benefits others, it can benefit you as well. Depending upon your individual situation, you may receive a charitable income tax deduction and elim-inate or reduce capital gains taxes by mak-ing a gift to URI.

We invite you to consider becoming a member of the University’s legacy society, the 1892 Society, by making a provision for URI in your estate plans. Whether made through a bequest, retirement or life insur-ance assets, or gift annuity or charitable remainder trusts, your planned gift makes you eligible to join a group of very special donors who have committed to supporting URI in this way.

For assistance or more information, please contact the Foundation at 401.874.7900 or email [email protected].

Ways to Give to URI

make a difference

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President’s Circle Donors

platinumHenry H. Anderson Jr.Gussie W. BaxtRichard E. Beaupre ’62William J. Flynn ’75Richard J. Harrington ’73Kenneth J. Hylander ’80Virginia F. Hylander ’78John J. Murray III ’70Theodore A. Napora ’53*Estate of Lucile NewmanCarolyn A. Rafaelian ’89Sandra B. Rosen ’75William M. Rosen goldA. L. BallardDianne K. Card ’69Wesley R. Card ’70Eileen CekalaShannon E. Chandley ’83Margo L. Cook ’86Joel A. DainSteven E. Elterich ’72Estate of Marsha G. Metcalf ’85Benjamin W. Navarro ’84Kelly NavarroAnthony J. Rose Jr. ’54Thomas J. Silvia ’83J. Craig Swanson ’76Joan H. Virgadamo ’66Philip P. Virgadamo ’64 silverWilliam AchtmeyerRobert J. Alvine ’88Geraldine M. Barber ’70Gregory P. BarberDea T. Belazi ’01Arthur S. Bobrow ’64Sandra S. Bobrow ’66Mark P. Charron ’77William J. Cummings ’71Laura H. Cunningham ’77Stephen M. Cunningham ’76John E. DeCubellis Jr. ’82Danielle DefeoDonald B. Dinger ’58David A. DuffyAntonio W. Faella ’51Elizabeth P. Faella ’67Pamela Farnsworth

Elizabeth C. FascitelliMichael D. Fascitelli ’78Howard S. Frank ’62Mary FrankJames A. Hopkins ’62Deborah A. Imondi ’83Stephen Jonas ’64Heidi Kirk DuffyLouis J. KirschenbaumSusan S. Kirschenbaum ’76John A. Knauss ’82Karl M. Knauss ’86William A. KnaussDomenic J. Mainelli ’48Nancy McKinstry ’80Joan PattonJoseph F. Patton ’65Cathy H. RyanThomas M. Ryan ’75Cynthia D. Sculco ’65Thomas P. SculcoAlan R. Spachman ’69Florence M. SpachmanMalcolm L. Spaulding ’69Peter L. Tancredi ’68Susan L. TancrediKenneth G. Taylor ’43*Pamela M. ThyeSalvatore J. Torregrossa Jr.Thomas A. Turano ’71Richard G. Vangermeersch ’64Charles H. Wharton ’67Joy H. Wharton ’74Claire WilcoxGregory WilcoxBret D. Williams ’93David R. Worthen ’89Bruce G. Zimmerman ’51 bronzeEstate of Mae B. Adams ’42Barbara AllinsonWayne C. Allinson ’47Christiane M. Amanpour ’83Lorraine G. Anthony ’68Joseph F. Army ’86Kimberly D. ArmyEdward AvedisianLauren Baker-Hart ’81Robert D. Ballard ’75Banice C. Bazar ’51Beverly Bazar

Estate of Carl H. BeckmanEstate of Madelyn D. BellJohn W. Belviso ’78David A. Bengtson ’74Karen E. Blakeley ’83Robert B. Blakeley ’82Thomas P. Blaszkowski ’69Steven A. Bouley ’80Carol C. Bradley ’59Kenneth A. Bradley ’81Jeffrey R. CammansThomas D. Cerio III ’76Donald L. Champagne ’66Mabel ChampagneDoreen ClappinJames P. Clappin ’80Margaret D. Clark ’71Noah G. Clark ’72Karen S. CofoniPaul M. Cofoni ’70John D. Conforti ’77Douglas E. Cote ’82Jennifer L. CoteDavid V. CrockerDeborah Ann Crocker ’78Annie S. DeGrootSteve N. DeJongCynthia M. Deysher ’78Anthony J. DiMaggio ’86Robert A. DiMuccioThomas J. Drury ’74William H. Eigen III ’90Albert W. Emery ’50*Alfredo R. EsparzaDiana R. EsparzaWilliam J. FalkDiane C. Fannon ’74S. Kent Fannon ’74Donald F. Farley ’65Jennifer A. FrancisJillian L. GiornelliRaymond A. Giornelli ’56Edward GoldenJoseph R. Graf ’88Linda Graf ’88Shirley T. Gulvin ’57Jay C. Hart ’82Paul J. Hastings ’84Amy R. Haughey ’85Kevin HaugheyJonathan C. Herman ’99Brian K. Hewitt ’91

We gratefully and sincerely acknowledge our honor-roll donors, members of the president’s circle, who made gifts of $10,000 or more to the University of Rhode Island in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. Your generosity is deeply appreciated and is making a measurable impact! For a complete listing of our generous and valued donors who supported URI in FY 15 please visit www.urifoundation.org/donorresources.

*deceased

Janet Hoder ’89Robert J. Hoder ’62William HoganMarianne Holmes ’75Russell D. Ide ’70Robert JeffreyCaroline T. Kaull ’66Donald N. Kaull ’67Kenneth E. Knox ’70Donna P. Lennon ’74J. Michael Lennon ’69James T. MacKenzie ’86Mary E. MacKenzie ’87Lucie Maranda ’87George T. Marshall ’76Cheryl A. McCarthy ’73Michael F. McNally ’81Michele G. McNally ’77Lori J. Merolla ’83Janet K. Munroe ’46Estate of Earl M. Pearson ’50Michael P. PlunkettLinda RendineRichard D. Rendine ’58John E. Ritacco ’76Donna R. Ross ’02Mark A. Ross ’64Victor R. SantoroMarilyn M. Schwab ’71Henry D. Sharpe Jr.Peggy B. SharpeBruce S. Sherman ’69Cynthia L. ShermanFranklin W. Simon ’50Betty C. Slocum ’49John L. Slocum ’50Albert Z. Soforenko ’54Matthew SombergCraig D. Steeneck ’80Beatriz D. StruckJohn S. Struck ’74Bernard J. Teubert Jr. ’60Nancy A. Tucker ’81Alfred J. Verrecchia ’67Geraldine VerrecchiaJohn H. Visneuski Jr. ’70Rhonda C. WilsonChristopher J. Wolfe ’91Jing J. XiaoKen YangDavid G. Zartarian ’67John B. Zumwalt III ’73

honor roll of donors

Page 30: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

28 z the uri foundation

the university of rhode island

16,795total enrollment,

undergraduates and grad students

21,257

10,828

3,204

144

135,000

1981

freshman applications

received

questions answered by the staff of the robert l. carothers library

undergraduate students received

degrees may 2015

veterans received undergraduate and graduate degrees in may 2015

$118.1 million

uri’s endowment portfolio value as of 6/30/15

number of square feet in the new center for chemical and forensic sciences

age of the youngest

graduate in may 2015

majors offered

vital statistics

Page 31: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

annual report fy2015 z 29

668 10,000

42

6,556

75graduate students

enrolled at uri

people stayed on the uri campus this summer for

50 conference events

uri alumni, parents and friends are contacted each year by student callers

during the uri foundation phonathon

high def lcd tvs installed throughout ryan center for live streaming of events

students living on campus

countries with study abroad

opportunities for uri students

percent of undergraduates received financial aid

15 nations represented by freshmen and transfer students

vital statisticsfor the 2014–2015 academic year, unless otherwise noted

81

18ncaa

division i varsity

athletic teams

12sets of twins graduated in

may 2015

31u.s. states represented by freshmen

and transfer students

50,000

Page 32: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

30 z the uri foundation

Executive Boardchair:Lorne A. Adrain ’76

vice chairs:Mark P. Charron ’77Margo L. Cook ’86Michael D. Fascitelli ’78

treasurer:Paul M. Cofoni ’70

secretary:Wendy P. Field ’74

Geraldine M. Barber ’70Richard Edmund Beaupre ’62Michael BrandmeierThomas D. Cerio III ’76Karina Montilla Edmonds ’92James A. Hopkins ’62Paul V. Jabour ’78Phillip Kydd ’81Margaret S. Leinen ’80Carol J. Makovich ’75Frederick J. Newton, III ’78Rusty RueffThomas M. Ryan ’75Cynthia Davis Sculco ’65Thomas J. Silvia ’83Diane SullivanLaureen L. White ’81Raymond M. Williams ’87Alfred J. Verrecchia ’67Robert K. Vincent ’75Alan G. Zartarian ’69

ex officio members:President David M. Dooley, University of Rhode IslandWilliam Foulkes, Rhode Island Board of EducationSusan R. Johnson ’82, URI Alumni Association

the university of rhode island foundation

Page 33: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

annual report fy2015 z 31

the university of rhode island foundation

TrusteesLorne A Adrain ’76Lisa A Ahart ’03Frances M Alexakos ’94Linda A AndersonGeraldine M Barber ’70Banice Carl Bazar ’51Bruce Alan Beauchamp ’58Richard Edmund Beaupre ’62George J Bedard ’78Bradford Reed Boss ’55Edward W Bouclin, Jr.Roswell S Bosworth, Jr. ’49Gary J Bowen ’68Laurel L Bowerman ’77Michael F BrandmeierJohn F Brennan, Jr. ’81John J Brough, Jr. ’78David J Buckanavage ’80Gustin L Buonaiuto ’53Jeffrey R CammansScott A Campbell ’77Anna Cano-Morales ’91Wesley R Card ’70Albert E Carlotti, Jr. ’60Mary F Carmody ’82Thomas M Cataldo ’71Frank Nicholas Caruso ’67Thomas D Cerio, III ’76Shannon E Chandley ’83Mark P Charron ’77Raymond H Christopher, Jr. ’55Edmund D Cianciarulo, Jr. ’64Paul M Cofoni ’70Joseph M Confessore ’96Robert Lee Considine ’60Margo L Cook ’86William Croasdale, III ’58Laura H Cunningham ’77Stephen M Cunningham ’76Ronald Delphis Denelle ’60Marie Campopiano DiBiasio ’61Laura Hyssong DiSano ’70Dennis J Duffy ’80Kathleen Yanity Duffy ’80Mary S Eddy ’87Karina Montilla Edmonds ’92William H Eigen, III ’90Esther Emard ’82Thomas V Falciglia ’45Michael D Fascitelli ’78J Terence Feeley ’72Alan Shawn FeinsteinGiovanni Feroce ’91Wendy P Field ’74Joseph G Formicola, Jr. ’69James C Forte ’76Raymond P Freitas ’59Elia Germani ’57

Barry M Gertz ’76Kathleen Carol Goulding ’77Mary A Gray ’52George Graboys ’92William R Guglietta ’82Maureen E Gurghigian ’88George Hadfield, III ’61Audrey Barker Hallberg ’61Susan L Hammen-Winn ’89Richard J Harrington ’73Alan G HassenfeldManoog T Heditsian ’47Mary Danielian Higgins ’67Robert Joseph Higgins ’67James E Hitchen, Jr. ’65Ann Stephenson Hitchen ’88Andrea M Hopkins ’68James A Hopkins ’62Russell D Ide ’70Deborah A Imondi ’83Saul Kaplan ’79Caroline Tennant Kaull ’66Donald N Kaull ’67Kenneth N KermesJoseph J Kirby ’96Heidi Kirk DuffyKenneth E Knox ’70Peter F Kohlsaat ’57Phillip Kydd ’81Stephen C Landes ’69David B Lea, Jr. ’59Margaret S Leinen ’80Matthew J Leonard ’88James William Leslie ’52Thomas J Liguori, Jr. ’74Raymond G Lundgren, Jr. ’54Armando F Lusi ’47Mary P Lyons ’67Molly D Magee ’91Leo Mainelli ’58Mark H Mainelli ’82Carol J Makovich ’75David J Martirano ’91Raymond M Mathieu ’69Michael N Matone ’74Sandy S McCreight ’73Michael F McNally ’81Earle L Messere ’56Robert S Messinger, Jr. ’73Peter J Miniati, III ’85Frank P Mormando, Jr. ’58Charles E Morris, Jr. ’55Francesco Peter Morsilli ’53Blanche Richard Murray ’41Henry J Nardone, Sr. ’43Nathaniel J Nazareth, Sr. ’55Warren A Negri, Jr. ’71Frederick J Newton, III ’78

Michael A Nula ’96Glenn S Palmer ’75John J Palumbo, Sr. ’76Jack M Parente ’85Louise R PearsonConstantinos Perdikakis ’75Robert J Petisi ’74Yahaira Placencia ’01H Douglas Randall, III ’72Perry A Raso ’06B Michael Rauh ’81Mary Silverman Ravin ’44H Milton Read, Jr. ’54James H Readyhough ’77Edgar Allan Reed ’56Richard D Rendine ’58Eric D Roiter ’70John A Romano ’72Anthony J Rose, Jr. ’54Mark A Ross ’64Edmund Stanley Rumowicz ’57Madelyn Geisser Rumowicz ’52Russell RueffRobert S Russell ’75Thomas M Ryan ’75Vincent Anthony Sarni ’49Philip J Saulnier ’62Cynthia Davis Sculco ’65Thomas J Silvia ’83Richard A Soderberg ’49Charles S Soloveitzik ’72Ann M Spruill ’76Jane M Stich ’62John S Struck ’74Diane SullivanDonald P Sullivan ’71Timothy J Sullivan ’70Norman G Tashash ’77Louise H Thorson ’85Manuel J Vales, IV ’88Mary L Vales ’88Alfred J Verrecchia ’67Robert K Vincent ’75Joseph N Waller ’69Alan H Wasserman ’75David S Watson ’77Robert A Weygand ’71Charles Henry Wharton ’67Laureen White ’81Greg S Whitehead ’78Kurt R Wicks ’71David R Wilkes ’43Raymond M Williams ’87Maribeth Q Williamson ’83Mary Ellen Wilson ’77Christopher J Wolfe ’91Alan G Zartarian ’69

Page 34: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

32 z the uri foundation

for the year ended june 30, 2015, with comparative totals from 2014.

consolidated statements of activities 2015

revenues, gains and other support 2015 2014

Contributions $21,997,724 $28,883,551Net total investment returns (523,622) 14,581,789Contractual payments from the University 3,431,635 3,000,520Other income 656,677 1,316,538

total revenues, gains and other support $25,562,414 $47,782,398

expenses 2015 2014

University SupportAcademic support $3,460,910 $3,149,309 Athletics and club sports 1,682,383 1,560,809Buildings and equipment 1,723,941 3,134,352Library 99,052 105,400Community outreach 1,391,361 1,350,271Research support 928,768 531,957Scholarships, fellowships, loans, awards 1,909,054 2,032,534Other programs and event support 664,459 455,819 Alumni Association 519,256 494,532 Total University Support $12,379,184 $12,814,983

Foundation SupportAdministrative expenses $ 939,040 $903,707Development expenses 4,573,693 4,244,733 Total Foundation Support $5,512,733 $5,148,440

total expenses $17,891,917 $17,963,423

Changes in net assets $7,670,497 $29,818,975Net assets, beginning of year 162,959,439 133,140,464

net assets, end of year $170,629,936 $162,959,439

the university of rhode island foundation

Financial Report 2015

Page 35: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

annual report fy2015 z 33

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0

127 136132164 172

in millions

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

total assets

total assets represented on this chart includes the value of cash, investments (including the endowment portfolio), furniture, equipment, receivables and other items of value.

statement of financial position 2015

assets 2015 2014

Cash and cash equivalents $11,327,507 $7,136,416 Accounts receivable 26,664 —Prepaid expenses 41,142 23,863Pledges receivable, net 21,946,969 17,479,639Investments, at market value 134,267,502 137,381,262Building, equipment, furniture and fixtures, net 1,934,959 1,990,461Charitable remainder unitrusts 402,242 424,366Advance to URI 1,765,375 —

total assets $171,712,360 $164,436,007

liabilities and net assets 2015 2014

LiabilitiesAccounts payable and accrued expenses $408,731 $546,657Due to URI — 233,005 Gift annuity payable 673,693 696,906Total liabilities $1,082,424 $1,476,568

Net AssetsUnrestricted $7,809,575 $7,749,208Temporarily restricted 78,569,398 75,881,434 Permanently restricted 84,250,963 79,328,797 Total net assets $170,629,936 $162,959,439

total liabilities and net assets $171,712,360 $164,436,007

Page 36: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

34 z the uri foundation

The University’s endowment is valued for providing a consistent, perpetual source of funding to support URI students, faculty, programs and facilities. The endowment includes more than 1,000 individually named funds, including 30 new funds created in 2015. Together, these funds are in-vested to generate a consistent income stream for distribution to the University in accordance with

our donors’ wishes, while protecting and growing the endowment’s principal value over time. A portion of the endowment’s earnings and appreciation is typically reinvested into the fund annually.

The endowment spending rate is set each year by the URI Foundation Executive Board. In FY 15, the rate was raised to 4.8 percent. This rate includes the amount distributed to the University (raised to 3.5 percent) and the Foundation’s management fee (held at 1.3 percent) with the goal of increasing the impact of endowment-derived gifts

on the University. The spending rate calculation approved during FY 15, based on the market value as of December 31, 2013, resulted in a distribution of $3.7 million for the current academic year compared to $3.4 million the previous year.

The endowment distribution represents just one portion of private-philanthropically derived funds that impacted the University during FY 15. The Foundation also raises and receives expendable (non-endowed) gifts received within the year. The total distribution of earnings from the endowment combined with the total value of non-endowed gifts resulted in the infusion of more than $16 million to the University last year. In addition, another $5.1 million in charitable gifts earmarked as endowment gifts were received and invested for future impact.

As of June 30, 2015, the University’s endowment portfolio had a value of $118.1 million. The market value for the GEF for each of the past five years is represented at right.

The URI Endowment: Investing in Our Long-Term Success

as is customary with many universities across the country, a one-time fee is deducted from all gifts to provide essential support to the university’s overall development activities. that fee is currently 5 percent. donors are credited the full amount of their gift.

the university of rhode island foundation

The endowment includes more than

1,000 individually named funds,

including 30 new funds created in 2015.

Please note that a full listing of all endowment funds can be accessed on our website at www.urifoundation.org/endowmentfunds.

Page 37: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

annual report fy2015 z 35

The URI Endowment: Investing in Our Long-Term Success

portfolio value

As of June 30, 2015, the University of Rhode Island’s endowment portfolio had an all-time high market value of $118.1 million. The market value for the GEF for each of the past five years is represented below.

annualized return on investment

The annualized return on the University’s endowment portfolio, as of June 30, 2015, was –0.3%. The annualized returns for the past five years, using the June 30 point-in-time date for comparison, are as shown below.

asset allocationas of june 30, 2015

annual endowment payout impact

The following graph represents the total amount of endowment-generated funds distributed to the University each year, based on the GEF’s spending policy, for the five-year period shown.

$125

$100

$75

$50

$25

$0

2011 2012 2013 2014

97 92103

119 118

in millions$4.0

$3.0

$2.0

$1.0

$0

2012 2013 2014 2015 2015

3.02.7 2.9

3.4 3.7

in millions

22.1%

11.3%

14.9%

-0.3%

-3.3%

2011

2013

2014

2015

2012

increase/decrease as of june 30

2% cash and

equivalent

26% us equity

8% inflation hedging

10% emerging markets

15% global

us equity

14% deflation

heging

25% marketable alternatives

2015

Page 38: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

36 z the uri foundation

During FY 15, $25.2 million in total new giving activity was recorded, including new pledges, outright gifts, matching gifts and new planned giving commitments. This figure is down from $33 million in support for FY 14 due, in large part, to the historic new gift pledge that year from Tom and Cathy Ryan, creating the george & anne ryan institute for neuroscience at URI.

Generous gifts from our donors in FY 15 contributed to a robust year in fundraising that impacted all colleges and major program areas. Students, faculty, programs and facilities across URI benefitted from your charitable sup-port, which helped enhance the overall academic experi-ence here at URI. In all, over 12,951 alumni and friends con-tributed to URI during the fiscal year, an increase over FY 14 of more than 5.3 percent.

Approximately 26 percent of all gifts received were from alumni while friends of the University, including corpora-tions, foundations, parents of current and former students, faculty and staff, and other donor groups also generously supported the University. First-time donors to URI totaled 2,464 — slightly below last year’s 2,600 but ahead of the past two year average of 2,032. New donors in FY 15 contributed more than $2.2 million in charitable gifts. As the Foundation works to increase participation from all donors, these new donors, especially alumni, remain a priority as we build URI’s base of support.

The number of matching gifts to URI increased to 302 in FY 15, a 3.8% increase in the number of matching gifts processed the previous year. The dollars received as matching gifts showed a 5.1% increase to $275,349 in FY 15.

Fundraising Highlights

the university of rhode island

total new activity

$40

$30

$20

$10

$0

15.114.9

33.2

25.2

in millions

2012 2013 2014 2015

who gave to uricorporations/ foundations . . . 49.3%alumni . . . . . . . . 26.7% friends . . . . . . . . .9.4% other. . . . . . . . . 14.6%

giving by categoryexpendable gifts (non-endowed) . . . 47.5%endowed gifts . . . 29.1% annual giving . . . . . 8.7% athletics . . . . . . . . . .7.5% capital improvements . . . . .7.2%

reflects recently modified metrics and may vary slightly from data reported in previous years

Page 39: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

Our Sincere Thanks to the thousands of friends and

URI alumni who generously support the University community,

contributing to an environment that supports innovation, diversity and excellence.

Page 40: Urif fy 2015 annual report online

the mission of the university of rhode island foundation is to inspire and steward philanthropic support benefitting the University of Rhode Island. The Foundation exists as an independent corporation and operates exclusively to promote and support the objectives of the University. As the primary fundraising vehicle for soliciting and administering charitable gifts, including the management of the University’s endowment, the Foundation supports the University’s pursuit of excellence in all areas including teaching, research and innovation.

79 upper college road kingston, ri 02881-2023

nonprofit org.

us postage

paidprovidence, ri

permit no. 3091

[email protected]

401.874.7900 | 877.874.4555 fax 401.874.5524

how to give: All gifts to the University of Rhode Island should be made payable and mailed to the URI Foundation, P.O. Box 1700, Kingston, RI 02881, or make your online gift at www.urifoundation.org/giveonline.

annual report creditsManaging Editor: Tracey A. Manni

Editor: Ericka Tavares ’88

Contributing Photographers: Joe Giblin, Nora Lewis, Christiana Guertin, Kyla Nitzberg