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University of Rhode Island

 
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: University of Rhode Island
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Rhode Island, University of, at Kingston; coeducational; land-grant and state-supported; chartered 1888, opened as a school 1890, as an agricultural and mechanical college 1892. From 1909 to 1951 it was called Rhode Island State College. It maintains a graduate school of oceanography on Narragansett Bay, a planetarium, a center for robotics research, and the state agricultural research station (est. 1888). The university has a large collection of early American textiles.

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University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island Seal
Motto Think Big. We Do.
Established 1892
Type Public
Endowment $79.8 million USD [1]
President David M. Dooley
Faculty 675
Students 19,095
Undergraduates 14,546
Postgraduates 4,549
Location Flagship Campus:
Kingston, RI, USA
Commonwealth Campuses:
Narragansett
Providence
West Greenwich
Campus Rural
1,250 acres (5.06 km²)
Colors Keaney Blue, Dark Blue and White
Nickname Rams
Mascot Rhody the Ram
Affiliations Atlantic 10 Conference, Global U8 (GU8), Colonial Athletic Association (football)
Website www.uri.edu

The University of Rhode Island, commonly abbreviated as URI, is the principal public research university in the State of Rhode Island, with its main campus in Kingston area of South Kingston, and three other campuses located throughout the state, including Providence's Feinstein Campus, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West Greenwich. URI has 14,546 undergraduates and 4,549 graduate students. The average incoming freshmen for the fall of 2008 had a GPA of 3.36 and a combined SAT score of 1659. It is a land grant, sea grant, and urban grant institution. There are many well recognized areas of study at the university including the Colleges of Pharmacy and Nursing, and the Graduate School of Oceanography. In 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked it in its list of best colleges and gave it a selective rating.

Contents

History

The University was first chartered as the state's agricultural school and agricultural experiment station in 1888. The site of the school was originally the Oliver Watson Farm, and the original farmhouse still lies on the campus today and maintained as a small museum. In 1892, the school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. The first class comprised only seventeen students, and they graduated two years later. In 1909, the school's name was again changed to Rhode Island State College and the school's programs expanded beyond its original agricultural education mandate. In 1951, the college became the University of Rhode Island by an act of the General Assembly with the addition of the College of Arts and Sciences and the offering of doctoral degrees. The Board of Governors for Higher Education, appointed by the governor, became the governing body of the University in 1981. The current president is David Dooley.[1]

Academics

Located in a traditional New England town, URI offers students a land, sea and urban experience. The university has over 100 majors available within seven different colleges. The most popular degrees at URI are communications studies, psychology, nursing and human development & family studies. URI has great pharmacy and engineering programs which are not offered at any colleges in the state, with professors coming from top schools including Harvard and MIT. The university also has an internationally recognized International Engineering Program.

Athletics

URI Athletics Logo
URI Football Helmet

The University of Rhode Island Department of Athletics and Recreation offers 22 intercollegiate sports (12 women and 10 for men) and 17 club sports programs. The university is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association, and the Colonial Athletic Association in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for football. The wide range of athletic facilities include the Ryan Center, Keaney Gymnasium, Meade Stadium, Mackal Field House, Tootell Aquatic Center, Boss Ice Arena, URI Soccer Complex, Beck Field and URI Softball Field. Other facilities available for students include fitness rooms, indoor track, swimming and diving pools, twelve tennis courts, and two beach volleyball courts, among others.

The team colors are light blue (officially referred to as "Keaney blue"), white and navy blue. The school's mascot is a ram. It was chosen in 1923 as tribute to the school's agricultural history. There has not been a live ram at the school since 1974, with "Rhody", a student in an anthropomorphic ram costume, roaming the sidelines in his place.[2]

Fight Song

Original University of Rhode Island fight Song Circa 1922
We're Rhode Island born
We're Rhode Island bred
And when we die
We'll be Rhode Island dead

So go go Rhode Island, Island

go go Rhode Island, Island

GO RHODE ISLAND

U! R! I!

The fight song features a physical aspect as well as a vocal. To begin the fight song, students start with a slow clap that stops before the shouting of URI. At the end, the "U-R-I!" is emphasized by making a fist with the right hand. Then placing said fist on the left shoulder on "U," the right shoulder on "R," and is completed by throwing it up in the air on "I!"

Student Organizations

Quadrangle on an early September evening at University of Rhode Island.

Most student organizations are funded by the URI Student Senate, which is in turn funded by fees levied on all students. Prominent organizations are:

  • URI Student Senate — the undergraduate student government.
  • Student Entertainment Committee (SEC) — organizes large concerts and other campus-wide entertainment, including comedians, guest speakers, and special activities.
  • WRIU — radio station
  • The Good 5 Cent Cigar — campus newspaper
  • Renaissance Yearbook — campus yearbook
  • URI Students for Social Change
  • URI Student Action for Sustainability
  • Local branches of national organizations such as: Hillel, Campus Crusade for Christ, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, NAACP, and the PRSSA.
  • Kappa Psi, Beta Epsilon – Pharmaceutical Fraternity
  • Fashion Merchandising Society (FMS) - Organization dedicated to providing all members (not just members of the Textiles department) with connections to the Fashion industry as well as topical information.
  • Public Relations Society (PRS)- Organization that hosts its own events and helps other on-campus organizations with adverstising, marketing and good public relations.
  • Student Action for Sustainability (SAS) - Organization behind the "green" movement on campus, Earth Day celebrations, campus clean-ups, and upcoming Campus Sustainability Day in the fall.
  • Student Alliance for the Welfare of Africa (SAWA)-Organization behind educating students on issues concerning Africa and its inhabitants. One of the goals is to help abolish common stereotypes of African culture.
  • URI Dance Company- An organization that currently has 400 members and offers students the opportunity to experience the art of dance.

Greek Life

The University of Rhode Island also has an award-winning Greek System. The community was recognized by the Northeast Greek Leadership Association in February 2008 for excellence in Academic Achievement, Council Management, Membership Recruitment, Multicultural Initiatives, Public Relations, Risk Management and Panhellenic Continuous Open Bidding.[2]

The Greek Community consists of 11 fraternities and 9 sororities. There are also 4 national organizations that have colonized over the past year.

Fraternities: Chi Phi, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Alpha, Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Pi, Tau Epsilon Phi, Zeta Beta Tau Phi Kappa Psi

Sororities: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Zeta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Delta Tau, Sigma Kappa, and Zeta Tau Alpha

Colonies: Sigma Chi, Theta Chi,

Local Sorority: Gamma Xi Delta

The Greek Community is governed by the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council. Both organization, along with Greek Life administration are housed on campus in the Christopher House.

Traditions and trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2007)
  • A rifled cannon, fired by Andrew Hartman in the 19th century, burst on the Quadrangle during the ceremonies surrounding the chartering of the college in 1892. The school placed the barrel of said cannon, known as "Ben Butler", in a permanent mount, guarding the Quad.
  • Butterfield Dining and Residence Hall is referred to as "The Butt," a comical anatomical reference, or "Butters," a reference to the complimentary slang term popularized by hip-hop music.
  • Roger Williams Dining Hall (now closed) was referred to as "Ro-Jo's", a reference to the old Howard Johnson's restaurants.
  • Many off-campus students live "down the line" in Narragansett, neighborhoods such as Eastward Look, Scarborough Hills, Bonnet Shores, Narragansett Pier, and Great Island. This refers to the defunct Narragansett Pier Railroad line connecting the West Kingston train station to the down-the-line villages of Peace Dale, Wakefield and Narragansett Pier.
  • The Carothers Library, the largest library in the State of Rhode Island, has over 1.3 million books and subscriptions to over 30,000 electronic journals.

Notable alumni

Politics

Sports

Arts and entertainment

Business

Science

  • Robert Ballard '75 PhD, '86 Hon., Oceanographer, discoverer of the RMS Titanic, Professor and Director of URI's Institute for Archaeological Oceanography,
  • Brian J. McCartin '76 BS, '77 MS, Mathematician, recipient of the 2010 Chauvenet Prize, Professor of Applied Mathematics, Kettering University,

Military

Film

See also

References

  1. ^ "NACUBO Endowment Survey - Public NEWS Tables (2006)". NACUBO. http://www.nacubo.org/x2376.xml. Retrieved 2007-09-24. 
  2. ^ Northeast Greek Leadership Association
  3. ^ See http://www.gorhody.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/030909aab.html

External links

v • d • e
Global U8 Consortium

Haifa • Hull • INHA • Le Havre • Rhode Island • RMIT • Washington • Xiamen
v • d • e
Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)
v • d • e
Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Football
North Division
Georgia State (effective 2012) • Hofstra • Maine • UMass • New Hampshire • Northeastern • Rhode Island
South Division
Delaware • James Madison • Old Dominion (effective 2011) • Richmond • Towson • Villanova • William & Mary
v • d • e
Colleges and universities in Rhode Island
Public institutions

CCRI · Naval War College · Rhode Island College · University of Rhode Island
Private institutions
Graduate and professional
institutions

Coordinates: 41°28′51″N 71°31′33″W / 41.48071°N 71.52580°W / 41.48071; -71.52580


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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