Transformative Faculty Leadership
TRANSFORMATIVE FACULTY
Sean Edmund Rogers Associate Professor Spachman Professor of Human Resources and Labor Relations College of Business
Associate Professor Rogers was recruited to URI to teach in the management program and now serves as executive director of inclusive excellence for the College. He also is the graduate program director of the M.S. in healthcare management program. His research interests include unions and labor-management relations, employment discrimination and workplace diversity, and volunteerism. The Spachman Professorship in Human Resource Management was established by Alan R. Spachman ’69 M.B.A.’71 and his wife, Florence, to help attract and retain outstanding faculty who specialize in human resources, labor management, workforce strategies, or management.
425 Full-time faculty hired since 2010 (53 percent of our full-time faculty)
86% Full-time faculty with terminal degrees
T
eaching and research excellence define the University of Rhode Island. To build on a decade of strategic growth, investments in faculty are an essential pillar of Big Ideas. Bold Plans. The Campaign for the University of Rhode Island. Attracting and retaining distinguished professors and recognizing their significant contributions to research and education will bring the University and our students to new heights. At the Forefront The exceptional quality of a URI education depends on those who deliver it. The University of Rhode Island faculty are leading and collaborating on innovative scholarship and research, and taking that experience into the classroom. URI has 801 full-time faculty working with 14,600 undergraduates and 2,200 graduate students. Our faculty are increasingly diverse and interdisciplinary in their training and pedagogy. URI must continue to invest in state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to meet research and teaching needs. We are committed to ensuring that URI professors remain at the forefront of research, discovery, and teaching.
Inspiring Faculty The University’s Academic Strategic Plan 2016-2021 is a five-year road map with goals critical to URI’s evolution. It underscores the need to hire and support top faculty across all disciplines. Endowed chairs, professorships, and graduate fellowships are important elements of that plan. Endowed positions attract and retain prestigious and influential professors who are thought leaders, encouraging them to innovate and share their knowledge on our campuses and represent URI abroad.
Simply the Best Big Ideas. Bold Plans. The Campaign for URI seeks gifts to establish a variety of academic positions. In addition to supporting scholars, these gifts may contribute to specialized equipment, travel and research grants, graduate assistants, and more.
OPPORTUNITIES
Endowed Faculty Chair $3-5 million for sciences $2-3 million for humanities
Endowed Faculty Professorship $1 million
Endowed Graduate Fellowship $500,000
Fostering Institutional Brilliance
$104M In external research funding in 2019-20
Strategic investment in faculty hiring has fueled academic and research excellence at the University and research funding has doubled in 10 years. This success reflects increased emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to scholarship and collaboration. • The George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, which includes faculty from five URI colleges, has gained national and international attention for its research on the prevention and treatment of brain diseases.
$8.6M Research-related activity through the URI Research Foundation in 2019-20
TOP
10
In nation for National Institutes of Health grants awarded to colleges of pharmacy
• The Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) was selected by the National Science Foundation as the lead entity to operate a new $125 million oceanographic research vessel, Resolution. • The College of Pharmacy has successfully combined the prestige and resources of the endowed Ernest Mario Distinguished Chair in Pharmaceutics with hiring a cluster of faculty to accelerate outside research funding.
A Multifaceted Concept Big Ideas. Bold Plans. The Campaign for URI plans to invest in multi-disciplinary hires, recruiting cohorts of faculty in specialized areas to work together on pressing societal challenges. By hiring three or four professors across disciplines, we can establish URI as a leader in a variety of areas. This initiative will build momentum for distinctive academic programs such as sustainable energy, artificial intelligence, digital literacy, an aging population, and big data.
“ Universities are defined by their faculty, and great universities are defined by having engaged teachers and scholars who bring new energy, ideas, perspectives, and partnerships to our students, to each other, and to the University.” PROVOST DONALD H. DEHAYES
TRANSFORMATIVE FACULTY
Professor Donna M. Hughes Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Chair in Women’s Studies College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Hughes is a leading international researcher on human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and girls in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and Korea. She also consults on policies related to women’s rights. Her endowed chair was established through a gift by Eleanor Carlson in 1988, who wanted her gift “to advance the status of women by providing educational opportunity and add to the growing prestige of women’s studies as a discipline and a department of the University.”
TRANSFORMATIVE FACULTY
Professor Jacqueline Webb George and Barbara Young Chair in Biology College of the Environment and Life Sciences
Recognized worldwide as one of the foremost experts in fish sensory biology, Professor Webb has received more than $2 million in competitive national research grants. She is the first-ever recipient of the Young Chair, which was established through a planned gift by Dr. George Young ’25 and his wife Barbara. The endowed chair, the first in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, provides annual funding to support faculty research.
Nurturing Excellence
24% Of full-time faculty are racially/ethnically diverse and/or international
Cultivating transformative faculty leaders increases the University’s prominence, improves rankings, inspires groundbreaking research, and attracts top scholars and students. The University’s growing enrollment, increasing technological needs, and changing demographics (e.g., first-generation students, veterans, and international students) place new demands to invest in faculty and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
Ensuring the Future Big Ideas. Bold Plans. The Campaign for URI seeks endowed gifts that will maximize the
16:1 Student-to-faculty ratio
contributions of highly productive teachers and scholars through distinguished faculty status. This title would provide funds to recognize their work, as well as offer additional resources such as specialized equipment, travel and research grants, or research assistance to continue their good work for the benefit of current and future URI students.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Cultivating Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Increasing the prominence of the University’s research, scholarship, and creative work is
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one of President David M. Dooley’s highest priorities. In doing so, the University raises
URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement
its global reputation and improves the educational experience for generations of students.
401.874.7900 or foundation@uri.edu
In its glowing accreditation report issued in April 2018, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) cited URI’s faculty hiring initiative as one of the key accomplishments in “transforming URI into a globally recognized research institution.”
Our Vision Big Ideas. Bold Plans. The Campaign for URI will establish URI as a top public research university. The University’s faculty are our core resource, and we must continue to make the necessary investments to ensure their success.
TRANSFORMATIVE FACULTY
Professor Arun Shukla Simon Ostrach Professorship in Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering
A world leader in fracture and experimental mechanics, Professor Shukla’s research seeks to create stronger materials that can withstand damage from explosions and other catastrophic events. “Our objective is to find better ways to protect soldiers and civilians—and make our infrastructure stronger and more durable,’’ says Shukla. “As the world becomes more violent, this type of research is crucial to make us safer.” The Simon Ostrach Endowed Professorship is named for a 1944 graduate of URI who received the Distinguished Public Service Medal from NASA and is a member of the URI Engineering Hall of Fame.
THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
foundation & alumni engagement
79 Upper College Road | Kingston, RI 02881 | campaign.uri.edu