the university of rhode island foundation
annual report 2015
the university of rhode island
Message from the University President Dear friends: The University of Rhode Island is unique and extraordinary for many reasons, not the least of which is the strength of the partnerships started here. These partnerships 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 common 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 solving 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 generosity. 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,
“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.
David M. Dooley, Ph.D. President University of Rhode Island
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we are: committed to supporting uri
Message from the Foundation
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Leadership “our success relies heavily on our ability to create meaningful and rewarding partnerships and relationships.”
Dear friends: In 1957, a small group of founding members became the first 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 benefiting URI. Our success relies heavily on our ability to create meaningful 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 financial support, professional expertise, volunteer 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 fiscal year a priority. We strive to ensure that our relationship with you is mutually beneficial and that you find URI worthy of your continued support. Sincerely,
Lorne A. Adrain ’76 Executive Board Chair URI Foundation
James A. Hopkins ’62 Interim President URI Foundation
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we are: innovating for the future
Breathing Room for Grad Students 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 first Blue MBA graduates, is the first 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 finish 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 grateful 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 fits nicely with her doctorate, which focuses on household energy behaviors and the effectiveness of programs to reduce energy usage. “Research is like solving a puzzle or finding 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.
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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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making education possible
Scholarship Recipient Supports Future Nurses 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.
“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.”
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 scholarships 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.”
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East Meets West in
“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.”
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supporting faculty with gifts from around the world
Global Approach to Pharmacy Research 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 different 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 suffering of patients in contrast to the traditional Western pharmaceutical approach to medicine. “Hang is the first 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 identified 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 beneficial compounds from the red maple and URI is filing 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.
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“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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poised to unravel the mysteries of the brain
URI’s First Neuroscience Director Takes the Helm 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.
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J-Term:
“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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we are: circling the globe
When January Equals Opportunity 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 fish 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 offerings to 18. For January 2016, 25 travel courses are planned to far-flung 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 definitely more apt to travel now, broaden my horizons, and experience more of the world.” Jim hopkins ’62 saw the benefit 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 first 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 difference 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 first time traveling internationally; it’s their first time on a plane.
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The Right Chemistry Opens
“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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we are: giving back
Doors to 21st Century Learning Environment 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.
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we are: supporting the student experience
Extraordinary Opportunity to 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 macroeconomics 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.
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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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we are: inventing ways to help those around us
URI Students Showcased on International Platform
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.
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for Parkinson’s Invention 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.
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we are: committed to achieving success
Student Athletes Benefit from Donor-Supported Facilities 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.
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“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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we are: creating vital corporate partnerships
Science Inspires Students Through Amgen Biotech
“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.”
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Project with URI 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.”
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“With the charitable gift annuity, we can do something for URI while also receiving something.�
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we are: planning for the future
A Couple’s Wish to Support URI Results in a Legacy of Giving 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 mimeograph machine and doing other office 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 benefits charities with a donation while providing the donor with a guaranteed life income stream. CGAs offer multiple tax advantages. “A charitable gift annuity is mutually beneficial because it allows a person to make a gift and receive payments, while ultimately benefiting 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 benefits, given their financial circumstances and what they hope to accomplish.”
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make a difference
Ways to Give to uri 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 eliminate or reduce capital gains taxes by making 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 insurance 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 foundation@uri.edu.
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honor roll of donors
President’s Circle Donors 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. platinum Henry H. Anderson Jr. Gussie W. Baxt Richard E. Beaupre ’62 William J. Flynn ’75 Richard J. Harrington ’73 Kenneth J. Hylander ’80 Virginia F. Hylander ’78 John J. Murray III ’70 Theodore A. Napora ’53* Estate of Lucile Newman Carolyn A. Rafaelian ’89 Sandra B. Rosen ’75 William M. Rosen
gold A. L. Ballard Dianne K. Card ’69 Wesley R. Card ’70 Eileen Cekala Shannon E. Chandley ’83 Margo L. Cook ’86 Joel A. Dain Steven E. Elterich ’72 Estate of Marsha G. Metcalf ’85 Benjamin W. Navarro ’84 Kelly Navarro Anthony J. Rose Jr. ’54 Thomas J. Silvia ’83 J. Craig Swanson ’76 Joan H. Virgadamo ’66 Philip P. Virgadamo ’64
silver William Achtmeyer Robert J. Alvine ’88 Geraldine M. Barber ’70 Gregory P. Barber Dea T. Belazi ’01 Arthur S. Bobrow ’64 Sandra S. Bobrow ’66 Mark P. Charron ’77 William J. Cummings ’71 Laura H. Cunningham ’77 Stephen M. Cunningham ’76 John E. DeCubellis Jr. ’82 Danielle Defeo Donald B. Dinger ’58 David A. Duffy Antonio W. Faella ’51 Elizabeth P. Faella ’67 Pamela Farnsworth *deceased
Elizabeth C. Fascitelli Michael D. Fascitelli ’78 Howard S. Frank ’62 Mary Frank James A. Hopkins ’62 Deborah A. Imondi ’83 Stephen Jonas ’64 Heidi Kirk Duffy Louis J. Kirschenbaum Susan S. Kirschenbaum ’76 John A. Knauss ’82 Karl M. Knauss ’86 William A. Knauss Domenic J. Mainelli ’48 Nancy McKinstry ’80 Joan Patton Joseph F. Patton ’65 Cathy H. Ryan Thomas M. Ryan ’75 Cynthia D. Sculco ’65 Thomas P. Sculco Alan R. Spachman ’69 Florence M. Spachman Malcolm L. Spaulding ’69 Peter L. Tancredi ’68 Susan L. Tancredi Kenneth G. Taylor ’43* Pamela M. Thye Salvatore J. Torregrossa Jr. Thomas A. Turano ’71 Richard G. Vangermeersch ’64 Charles H. Wharton ’67 Joy H. Wharton ’74 Claire Wilcox Gregory Wilcox Bret D. Williams ’93 David R. Worthen ’89 Bruce G. Zimmerman ’51
bronze Estate of Mae B. Adams ’42 Barbara Allinson Wayne C. Allinson ’47 Christiane M. Amanpour ’83 Lorraine G. Anthony ’68 Joseph F. Army ’86 Kimberly D. Army Edward Avedisian Lauren Baker-Hart ’81 Robert D. Ballard ’75 Banice C. Bazar ’51 Beverly Bazar
Estate of Carl H. Beckman Estate of Madelyn D. Bell John W. Belviso ’78 David A. Bengtson ’74 Karen E. Blakeley ’83 Robert B. Blakeley ’82 Thomas P. Blaszkowski ’69 Steven A. Bouley ’80 Carol C. Bradley ’59 Kenneth A. Bradley ’81 Jeffrey R. Cammans Thomas D. Cerio III ’76 Donald L. Champagne ’66 Mabel Champagne Doreen Clappin James P. Clappin ’80 Margaret D. Clark ’71 Noah G. Clark ’72 Karen S. Cofoni Paul M. Cofoni ’70 John D. Conforti ’77 Douglas E. Cote ’82 Jennifer L. Cote David V. Crocker Deborah Ann Crocker ’78 Annie S. DeGroot Steve N. DeJong Cynthia M. Deysher ’78 Anthony J. DiMaggio ’86 Robert A. DiMuccio Thomas J. Drury ’74 William H. Eigen III ’90 Albert W. Emery ’50* Alfredo R. Esparza Diana R. Esparza William J. Falk Diane C. Fannon ’74 S. Kent Fannon ’74 Donald F. Farley ’65 Jennifer A. Francis Jillian L. Giornelli Raymond A. Giornelli ’56 Edward Golden Joseph R. Graf ’88 Linda Graf ’88 Shirley T. Gulvin ’57 Jay C. Hart ’82 Paul J. Hastings ’84 Amy R. Haughey ’85 Kevin Haughey Jonathan C. Herman ’99 Brian K. Hewitt ’91
Janet Hoder ’89 Robert J. Hoder ’62 William Hogan Marianne Holmes ’75 Russell D. Ide ’70 Robert Jeffrey Caroline T. Kaull ’66 Donald N. Kaull ’67 Kenneth E. Knox ’70 Donna P. Lennon ’74 J. Michael Lennon ’69 James T. MacKenzie ’86 Mary E. MacKenzie ’87 Lucie Maranda ’87 George T. Marshall ’76 Cheryl A. McCarthy ’73 Michael F. McNally ’81 Michele G. McNally ’77 Lori J. Merolla ’83 Janet K. Munroe ’46 Estate of Earl M. Pearson ’50 Michael P. Plunkett Linda Rendine Richard D. Rendine ’58 John E. Ritacco ’76 Donna R. Ross ’02 Mark A. Ross ’64 Victor R. Santoro Marilyn M. Schwab ’71 Henry D. Sharpe Jr. Peggy B. Sharpe Bruce S. Sherman ’69 Cynthia L. Sherman Franklin W. Simon ’50 Betty C. Slocum ’49 John L. Slocum ’50 Albert Z. Soforenko ’54 Matthew Somberg Craig D. Steeneck ’80 Beatriz D. Struck John S. Struck ’74 Bernard J. Teubert Jr. ’60 Nancy A. Tucker ’81 Alfred J. Verrecchia ’67 Geraldine Verrecchia John H. Visneuski Jr. ’70 Rhonda C. Wilson Christopher J. Wolfe ’91 Jing J. Xiao Ken Yang David G. Zartarian ’67 John B. Zumwalt III ’73 annual report fy2015
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the university of rhode island
16,795 total enrollment, undergraduates and grad students
vital
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$118.1 million
uri’s endowment portfolio value as of 6/30/15
majors offered
81 undergraduate students received degrees may 2015
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21,257 freshman applications received
10,828
3,204
135,000
veterans received undergraduate and graduate degrees in may 2015
questions answered by the staff of the robert l. carothers library
19 age of the youngest graduate in may 2015
number of square feet in the new center for chemical and forensic sciences
statistics for the 2014–2015 academic year, unless otherwise noted
6,556 students living on campus
75
graduate students enrolled at uri
percent of undergraduates received financial aid
people stayed on the uri campus this summer for 50 conference events
668
uri alumni, parents and friends are contacted each year by student callers during the uri foundation phonathon
nations represented by freshmen and transfer students
12 sets of twins graduated in may 2015
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10,000
50,000 15
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countries with study abroad opportunities for uri students
ncaa division i varsity athletic teams u.s. states represented by freshmen and transfer students
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high def lcd tvs installed throughout ryan center for live streaming of events annual report fy2015
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the university of rhode island foundation
Executive Board chair: Lorne A. Adrain ’76 vice chairs: Mark P. Charron ’77 Margo L. Cook ’86 Michael D. Fascitelli ’78 treasurer: Paul M. Cofoni ’70 secretary: Wendy P. Field ’74 Geraldine M. Barber ’70 Richard Edmund Beaupre ’62 Michael Brandmeier Thomas D. Cerio III ’76 Karina Montilla Edmonds ’92 James A. Hopkins ’62 Paul V. Jabour ’78 Phillip Kydd ’81 Margaret S. Leinen ’80 Carol J. Makovich ’75 Frederick J. Newton, III ’78 Rusty Rueff Thomas M. Ryan ’75 Cynthia Davis Sculco ’65 Thomas J. Silvia ’83 Diane Sullivan Laureen L. White ’81 Raymond M. Williams ’87 Alfred J. Verrecchia ’67 Robert K. Vincent ’75 Alan G. Zartarian ’69 ex officio members: President David M. Dooley, University of Rhode Island William Foulkes, Rhode Island Board of Education Susan R. Johnson ’82, URI Alumni Association
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Trustees Lorne A Adrain ’76 Lisa A Ahart ’03 Frances M Alexakos ’94 Linda A Anderson Geraldine M Barber ’70 Banice Carl Bazar ’51 Bruce Alan Beauchamp ’58 Richard Edmund Beaupre ’62 George J Bedard ’78 Bradford Reed Boss ’55 Edward W Bouclin, Jr. Roswell S Bosworth, Jr. ’49 Gary J Bowen ’68 Laurel L Bowerman ’77 Michael F Brandmeier John F Brennan, Jr. ’81 John J Brough, Jr. ’78 David J Buckanavage ’80 Gustin L Buonaiuto ’53 Jeffrey R Cammans Scott A Campbell ’77 Anna Cano-Morales ’91 Wesley R Card ’70 Albert E Carlotti, Jr. ’60 Mary F Carmody ’82 Thomas M Cataldo ’71 Frank Nicholas Caruso ’67 Thomas D Cerio, III ’76 Shannon E Chandley ’83 Mark P Charron ’77 Raymond H Christopher, Jr. ’55 Edmund D Cianciarulo, Jr. ’64 Paul M Cofoni ’70 Joseph M Confessore ’96 Robert Lee Considine ’60 Margo L Cook ’86 William Croasdale, III ’58 Laura H Cunningham ’77 Stephen M Cunningham ’76 Ronald Delphis Denelle ’60 Marie Campopiano DiBiasio ’61 Laura Hyssong DiSano ’70 Dennis J Duffy ’80 Kathleen Yanity Duffy ’80 Mary S Eddy ’87 Karina Montilla Edmonds ’92 William H Eigen, III ’90 Esther Emard ’82 Thomas V Falciglia ’45 Michael D Fascitelli ’78 J Terence Feeley ’72 Alan Shawn Feinstein Giovanni Feroce ’91 Wendy P Field ’74 Joseph G Formicola, Jr. ’69 James C Forte ’76 Raymond P Freitas ’59 Elia Germani ’57
Barry M Gertz ’76 Kathleen Carol Goulding ’77 Mary A Gray ’52 George Graboys ’92 William R Guglietta ’82 Maureen E Gurghigian ’88 George Hadfield, III ’61 Audrey Barker Hallberg ’61 Susan L Hammen-Winn ’89 Richard J Harrington ’73 Alan G Hassenfeld Manoog T Heditsian ’47 Mary Danielian Higgins ’67 Robert Joseph Higgins ’67 James E Hitchen, Jr. ’65 Ann Stephenson Hitchen ’88 Andrea M Hopkins ’68 James A Hopkins ’62 Russell D Ide ’70 Deborah A Imondi ’83 Saul Kaplan ’79 Caroline Tennant Kaull ’66 Donald N Kaull ’67 Kenneth N Kermes Joseph J Kirby ’96 Heidi Kirk Duffy Kenneth E Knox ’70 Peter F Kohlsaat ’57 Phillip Kydd ’81 Stephen C Landes ’69 David B Lea, Jr. ’59 Margaret S Leinen ’80 Matthew J Leonard ’88 James William Leslie ’52 Thomas J Liguori, Jr. ’74 Raymond G Lundgren, Jr. ’54 Armando F Lusi ’47 Mary P Lyons ’67 Molly D Magee ’91 Leo Mainelli ’58 Mark H Mainelli ’82 Carol J Makovich ’75 David J Martirano ’91 Raymond M Mathieu ’69 Michael N Matone ’74 Sandy S McCreight ’73 Michael F McNally ’81 Earle L Messere ’56 Robert S Messinger, Jr. ’73 Peter J Miniati, III ’85 Frank P Mormando, Jr. ’58 Charles E Morris, Jr. ’55 Francesco Peter Morsilli ’53 Blanche Richard Murray ’41 Henry J Nardone, Sr. ’43 Nathaniel J Nazareth, Sr. ’55 Warren A Negri, Jr. ’71 Frederick J Newton, III ’78
Michael A Nula ’96 Glenn S Palmer ’75 John J Palumbo, Sr. ’76 Jack M Parente ’85 Louise R Pearson Constantinos Perdikakis ’75 Robert J Petisi ’74 Yahaira Placencia ’01 H Douglas Randall, III ’72 Perry A Raso ’06 B Michael Rauh ’81 Mary Silverman Ravin ’44 H Milton Read, Jr. ’54 James H Readyhough ’77 Edgar Allan Reed ’56 Richard D Rendine ’58 Eric D Roiter ’70 John A Romano ’72 Anthony J Rose, Jr. ’54 Mark A Ross ’64 Edmund Stanley Rumowicz ’57 Madelyn Geisser Rumowicz ’52 Russell Rueff Robert S Russell ’75 Thomas M Ryan ’75 Vincent Anthony Sarni ’49 Philip J Saulnier ’62 Cynthia Davis Sculco ’65 Thomas J Silvia ’83 Richard A Soderberg ’49 Charles S Soloveitzik ’72 Ann M Spruill ’76 Jane M Stich ’62 John S Struck ’74 Diane Sullivan Donald P Sullivan ’71 Timothy J Sullivan ’70 Norman G Tashash ’77 Louise H Thorson ’85 Manuel J Vales, IV ’88 Mary L Vales ’88 Alfred J Verrecchia ’67 Robert K Vincent ’75 Joseph N Waller ’69 Alan H Wasserman ’75 David S Watson ’77 Robert A Weygand ’71 Charles Henry Wharton ’67 Laureen White ’81 Greg S Whitehead ’78 Kurt R Wicks ’71 David R Wilkes ’43 Raymond M Williams ’87 Maribeth Q Williamson ’83 Mary Ellen Wilson ’77 Christopher J Wolfe ’91 Alan G Zartarian ’69
annual report fy2015
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Financial Report 2015 for the year ended june 30, 2015, with comparative totals from 2014.
consolidated statements of activities 2015 revenues, gains and other support Contributions Net total investment returns Contractual payments from the University Other income Total revenues, gains and other support expenses University Support Academic support Athletics and club sports Buildings and equipment Library Community outreach Research support Scholarships, fellowships, loans, awards Other programs and event support Alumni Association Total University Support
2015
2014
$21,997,724 (523,622) 3,431,635 656,677
$28,883,551 14,581,789 3,000,520 1,316,538
$25,562,414
$47,782,398
2015 2014 $3,460,910 1,682,383 1,723,941 99,052 1,391,361 928,768 1,909,054 664,459 519,256 $12,379,184
$3,149,309 1,560,809 3,134,352 105,400 1,350,271 531,957 2,032,534 455,819 494,532 $12,814,983
$ 939,040 4,573,693 $5,512,733
$903,707 4,244,733 $5,148,440
Total Expenses
$17,891,917
$17,963,423
Changes in net assets Net assets, beginning of year
$7,670,497 162,959,439
$29,818,975 133,140,464
$170,629,936
$162,959,439
Foundation Support Administrative expenses Development expenses Total Foundation Support
Net assets, end of year
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statement of financial position 2015 assets
2015
2014
$11,327,507 26,664 41,142 21,946,969 134,267,502 1,934,959 402,242 1,765,375
$7,136,416 — 23,863 17,479,639 137,381,262 1,990,461 424,366 —
$171,712,360
$164,436,007
Cash and cash equivalents Accounts receivable Prepaid expenses Pledges receivable, net Investments, at market value Building, equipment, furniture and fixtures, net Charitable remainder unitrusts Advance to URI Total assets liabilities and net assets
2015 2014
Liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses Due to URI Gift annuity payable Total liabilities
$408,731 — 673,693 $1,082,424
$546,657 233,005 696,906 $1,476,568
Net Assets Unrestricted Temporarily restricted Permanently restricted Total net assets
$7,809,575 78,569,398 84,250,963 $170,629,936
$7,749,208 75,881,434 79,328,797 $162,959,439
Total liabilities and net assets
$171,712,360
$164,436,007
total assets $200
in millions
$150 $100
132
127
136
2011
2012
2013
164
172
$50 $0 2014
2015
total assets represented on this chart includes the value of cash, investments (including the endowment portfolio), furniture, equipment, receivables and other items of value. annual report fy2015
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The Uri Endowment: Investing 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 invested to generate a consistent income stream for distribution to the University in accordance with our donors’ wishes, while protecting and growing the endowment’s The endowment principal value over time. A portion of the endowment’s earnings and includes more than appreciation is typically reinvested into the fund annually.
1,000 individually named funds, including 30 new funds created in 2015.
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.
Please note that a full listing of all endowment funds can be accessed on our website at www.urifoundation.org/endowmentfunds.
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.
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in Our Long-Term Success portfolio value
annual endowment payout impact
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.
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
in millions
$4.0
$100 $75
97
92
103
119
in millions
118 $3.0
3.0
2.7
$2.0
2.9
3.7
3.4
$50 $1.0
$25 $0
$0 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
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.
2012
2015
2015
as of june 30, 2015
2% 26%
cash and equivalent
8% inflation hedging
10%
us equity
emerging markets
22.1%
2011
14% deflation heging
2012
11.3%
2013
14.9%
2014
-0.3%
2014
asset allocation
increase/decrease as of june 30
-3.3%
2013
25% marketable alternatives
15% global us equity
2015
annual report fy2015
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Fundraising Highlights 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 support, which helped enhance the overall academic experience here at URI. In all, over 12,951 alumni and friends contributed to URI during the fiscal year, an increase over FY 14 of more than 5.3 percent.
total new activity $40
in millions
33.2
$30
25.2
$20 $10
14.9
15.1
$0 Approximately 26 percent of all gifts received were from 2012 2013 2014 2015 alumni while friends of the University, including corporareflects recently modified metrics and may vary tions, foundations, parents of current and former students, slightly from data reported in previous years 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.
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giving by category
who gave to uri
expendable gifts (non-endowed). . . . 47.5% endowed gifts . . . . 29.1% annual giving. . . . . . 8.7% athletics. . . . . . . . . . 7.5% capital improvements . . . . . 7.2%
corporations/ foundations. . . . 49.3% alumni. . . . . . . . . 26.7% friends. . . . . . . . . 9.4% other. . . . . . . . . 14.6%
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.
nonprofit org. us postage
paid providence, ri
79 upper college road kingston, ri 02881-2023
permit no. 3091
www.urifoundation.org foundation@uri.edu 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.
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.
annual report credits Managing Editor: Tracey A. Manni Editor: Ericka Tavares ’88 Contributing Photographers: Joe Giblin, Nora Lewis, Christiana Guertin, Kyla Nitzberg