You see before you the completed work which we call Renaissance 198 1, With Ihis book, the staff ol Renaissance has completely exposed themselves to all acclaim or criticism that may arise for what lies between this maroon and silver cover. We accept that fact because we are proud of what we present here. Our goal was to focus on the students of U.R.l, and let the students be aware of the role which they play here. The true nucleus of the University of Rhode Island, the student, was thus chosen as our theme. It is up lo you, our readers, to be the judge of our success or failure. But we, the staff of Renaissance, know that this year this publication took a 180 degree turn thanks to staff experience, dedication, and hard work. We overcame legal problems, con tract difficulties, budget deficiencies, under staffing, and time constraints and we hereby present to you Renaissance 1981. The purpose of a yearbook, any yearbook, is so that in future years you will be able to take it down off the shelf, blow the dust off the binding, and open the pages to your past. You ." creates will realize that remembering about "the time we more of a feeling than when "we" actually did it, for it's not so much the memories that make you laugh or cry as the recollec tion of the feeling. If you shed a tear or let out a chuckle while remembering your friendships, your joys, your sadnesses, then the book must be considered an unquestionable success. This is the only true measure of how well a yearbook has succeed ed in its purpose. The production of a University yearbook is by no means an easy task. There are hundreds of pages to layout, thousands upon thousands of photographs to sort through, categorize and eventually choose from, articles and writeups that have to be edited, corrected, proofed and sometimes rewritten, and so many other jobs it would take an entire book just to men tion them all. Lee Greenwald and I acted as co-editors this year and since I was the senior out of both of us, Lee graciously con ceded these pages to me for this year. The job of Editor-inChief is time consuming, tiring, frustrating, aggravating, sacrific ing and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. But Lee and I could never have done any of it by ourselves. Throughout pro duction of this book so many people helped in so many ways. Though our staff was small it was a tremendous one and it seemed as if a fairly close-knit family was formed. Our thanks to all members of our staff. It is impossible to mention or thank everyone in just this one short page, but on behalf of Lee and myself there are a number of people that must be singled out and thanked for expanding Renaissance 1981 from a vision to .
.
reality. Terri Paglione returned this year for her second year as Ac tivities Editor, and once again Terri did a great job. She devised new system for coordinating group pictures and photographers as well as coming up once again with a unique layout idea. Terri's ideas, suggestions and photographs as well as her good nature was a tremendous asset to this book. Larry Fitzgerald was the other returnee to the executive staff as he continued in his role of Sports Editor. Larry came up with an interesting and imaginative layout for his section. He was able to coordinate sports writers and photgraphers so that as extensive a sports coverage as possible was obtained. His many fine photographs can be seen throughout this book. Suzi Fresco was new to the staff this year. As Layout and Art Editor she brought along with her an artistic talent. This artwork plus her ideas added a touch of class to the book. Although Rob Rainville was a seasoned journalist and writer, he joined our staff as the rookie Literary Editor. His experience was ap parent in his writing. Rob's sense of humor helped us gel through some of those tough times that every yearbook staff seems to fall into. Later in the academic year the executive staff was increased by one with the addition of lim Miller as photo coordinator. |im proved to be a tremendous asset to the staff with his never en ding enthusiasm and fine photographs. |im was willing to do just about anything that was asked of him as he came to the staff just al the right time. The staff owes a special thanks to Greg Derozier for all his photographic assistance throughout the year. His willingness to help us out at jusl about any time, along with his always giving a
us
photo tips
was
greatly appreciated.
Lee Greenwald
This year we found ourselves in a new office that was ideal for our book production. We would like to thank the Memorial Union and Union Board for our new home. Two other ladies in the Union deserve a special thanks. Mel Murphy is indispen sable as she seems to be coordinator of student organizations. She always knows the answers, and usually the questions. Mrs. Nye once again was a great help this year in the senate ac counts office. She helped us out more than once this year. Along with our new office we were introduced to our new advisor. Bruce Hamilton was a joy to work with this year and he helped us keep our heads straight and our mind on the budget. His help was invaluable during the bidding period. There are so many others that we have to single out. Thanks to Ihe ladies at the information desk, Irene Nelson, Diane Man chester, Mrs. Rigney, Roger Conway, Randy Anagnostis, Mikey Pfeiffer, News and Information, Sports Information, U.R.l. ar chives. The Good Five Cent Cigar, as well as Lorraine Marzilli and Tom Payne for their graduation photos. lohn DeWaele and T. D. Brown Studios both deserve gold medals for their fine work this year. John took great candids and senior portraits for us all year and he went out of his way to handle any problems we had. We asked the impossible of Brown Studios, and they gave it to us. Special thanks to Gary Ellel for the outstanding graduation pictures which he shot. The staff owes Karen Devitt of the Taylor Publishing Com pany an exceptional amount of thanks. She overcame our time problems, inexperience, and ignorance with hardly batting an eyelash. She is largely responsible for this top-notch
publication. Lee would like to thank Dawn, as I would like to thank Fran, These two special people were always by our sides to support us through deadlines, contract hassles, whatever. We would like to thank them for helping us to remain sane even if we did become slightly unstable. I would like to thank my family, especially in the last few months of production, for their never-ending encouragement. I still can't figure how they could put up with such a grouchy and moody co-editor. 1 would like this opportunity to thank Lee. He was much more than a Co-editor. He was a housemate and a good friend. We were able to share a lot more than just the Renaissance. Good luck next year, Lee. Finally I would like to congratulate my fellow graduates of the Class of 198 1. I wish you all the happiness and joy that the
future
can
hold.
UMr ,/^^ Walter S.
Koerting
Co-Editor-in-Chief Renaissance 1981
A