The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

land-grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

with its main campus in

Kingston, Rhode Island Kingston is a village and a census-designated place within the New England town, town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the mai ...

, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. The university is

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...

among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". As of 2019, the URI enrolled 14,653 undergraduate students, 1,982 graduate students, and 1,339 non-degree students, making it the largest university in the state. Its main campus is located in the village of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in southern Rhode Island. Satellite campuses include the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center in Providence's Jewelry District, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the

W. Alton Jones William Alton Jones (April 19, 1891 – March 1, 1962), was president of the oil and gas conglomerate Cities Service Company (now CITGO). He was an influential industrialist, philanthropist, and close personal friend of United States President D ...

Campus in West Greenwich, which closed in June of 2020 due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The university offers

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Neo-Latin, Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and university, universities upon completion of a course of study lasting ...

master's degrees A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

, and

doctoral degrees A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 80 undergraduate and 49 graduate areas of study through nine academic schools and colleges. Another college, University College for Academic Success, serves primarily as an advising college for all incoming undergraduates and follows them through their first two years of enrollment at URI.

History

The University of Rhode Island was first chartered as the Rhode Island State Agricultural School, associated with the state

agricultural experiment station An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with ...

, in 1888. The site of the school was originally the Oliver Watson Farm in Kingston, whose original farmhouse is now a small museum. In 1892, the school was reorganized as the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. That year, it extended courses of study from two years to four years; URI reckons 1892 as its founding date. The first class had only seventeen students, each completing their course of study in two years. In 1909, the school's name was again changed to Rhode Island State College as the school's programs were expanded beyond its original agricultural education mandate. The college graduated its first African American student, Harvey Robert Turner, in 1914. Turner majored in civil engineering, competed on the college's football and track teams, and received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree. He went on to teach at

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

, where he also served as treasurer. In 1951 the school was given its current title through an act of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

following 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 during the presidency of Frank Newman (1974–1983). The Board of Governors was replaced by the Rhode Island Board of Education in 2013, and by a 17-member

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

in 2019. In 2013 the faculty adopted an

open-access policy An open-access mandate is a policy adopted by a research institution, research funder, or government which requires or recommends researchers—usually university faculty or research staff and/or research grant recipients—to make their publishe ...

to make its scholarship

publicly accessible Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

online.

Presidents

Twelve individuals have served as president, and three others have served as acting president of the University of Rhode Island. Marc B. Parlange is the current president, having served since August 2021.

Main campus

URI's main campus is located in northern

South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

, and most of the university property is in the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

. The campus is accessed via

Rhode Island Route 138 Route 138 is a numbered State Highway running in Rhode Island. It is the longest state numbered route in Rhode Island, and the second longest highway after US 1. Route 138 begins in Exeter at the Connecticut state line in the west and runs t ...

from either the west (

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

) or east (

United States Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ma ...

). The campus was mostly farmland when it was purchased by the state in 1888, and still includes the c. 1796 Oliver Watson Farmhouse. The early buildings of the campus are set around its main quadrangle, and were built out of locally quarried granite. The campus master plan was developed by the noted landscape architects Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot in the 1890s. The central portion of the campus, where most of its pre-1950 buildings are located, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2017.

Main Campus Gallery

File:URI East Hall and Washburn Hall.jpg, File:Lippitt Hall, URI.jpg, File:GreenHall URI.JPG, File:URI Carothers Library.jpg, File:URI Memorial Student Union.jpg, File:URI Multicultural Center.jpg, File:University of Rhode Island Planetarium.jpg, File:Chester H. Kirk Center for Advanced Technology.jpg, File:URI_StairwayToExcellence2.jpg, File:URI_Engineering_Pano.jpg,

Satellite Campuses

W. Alton Jones Campus

The W. Alton Jones Campus is one of three satellite campuses of the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

and is located in West Greenwich,

. At 2309-acres (9.34 km²) it is the largest

satellite campus A satellite campus, branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or country, ...

of the University of Rhode Island and consists of an

Environmental Education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discipli ...

Center, a business conference center, a working farm and the Nettie Marie Jones

Nature Preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

. The land was donated to the University of Rhode Island by Nettie Marie Jones, widow of businessman

. The addition of the property tripled the size of the University's landholdings and gave it the unique position of possessing more land than any of the other

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

state universities A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of universities in the country, serving by far the majority ...

. The property is a part of the coastal forest and wildlife corridor that spans from Washington, D.C., to Maine. The property also is a link between the 2,200-acre (8.90 km²) Tillinghast Pond Management Area in West Greenwich and the 14,000-acre (56.66 km²) Arcadia Management Area in West Greenwich and three other towns. The campus closed in June, 2020 and an

online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...

urging former URI president Dr. David M. Dooley and former governor

Gina Raimondo Gina Marie Raimondo (; born May 17, 1971) is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who served as the 40th United States secretary of commerce from 2021 to 2025. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served as ...

to reopen the camp and education programs has collected more than 6,900 signatures.

History

In 1954

, president of

CITGO Citgo Petroleum Corporation, or Citgo (stylized as CITGO), is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area ...

, bought the property for hunting and fishing vacations. He was a close friend of United States President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, who visited the property four times for fishing, hunting and skeet shooting. On March 1, 1962, W. Alton Jones passed away in a plane crash while on his way to Los Angeles to meet Eisenhower for a fishing trip. His widow, Nettie Marie Jones, donated the property to the University of Rhode Island and included everything that remained on the property, from the buildings, to the farm animals and equipment - was included in the gift.

Environmental Education Center

In 1965 a Youth Science Center (now called the Environmental Education Center or EEC) was constructed with much of the funding provided by the W. Alton Jones Foundation. Governor

John Chafee John Lester Hubbard Chafee ( ; October 22, 1922 – October 24, 1999) was an American politician and officer in the United States Marine Corps. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 66th Governor o ...

celebrated the opening of the Environmental Education Center at a dedication ceremony with a speech. 50 years later, his son Governor

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island, from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a ...

celebrated the 50th anniversary of the W. Alton Jones campus at a rededication ceremony also with a speech. . The Environmental Education Center hosted an average of 1900 campers each summer and 70 different school groups from the New England region during the academic school year.

Whispering Pines Conference Center

The Whispering Pines Conference Center hosted conferences, retreats and team-building programs. It consisted of 32 guest rooms and four conference rooms. The center’s client list ranged from small businesses, to teachers’ unions and big banks.

Pop Culture

In 2005 the W. Alton Jones campus was the base of the movie Hard Luck, featuring

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. In a film career spanning more than thirty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, th ...

Cybill Shepard Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff B ...

, and

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American director and actor. He is best known for appearing in ''Heartbreak Ridge'' in 1986, and known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991, and ''USS Indianapolis: ...

. The movie intertwines stories involving a drug dealer trying to go straight, and a housewife trying to hide a sadistic secret.

Closing

In June of 2020 the University of Rhode Island closed the Environmental Education Center and Whispering Pines Conference Center, citing financial hardships dating back several years

Academics

URI is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and othe ...

. The student-faculty ratio at University of Rhode Island is 16:1, and the school has 43.1% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at University of Rhode Island include: Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse; Psychology, General; Speech Communication and Rhetoric; Kinesiology and Exercise Science; and Health-Related Knowledge and Skills, Other. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 84%.

Rankings

'' U.S. News & World Report'' ranks URI tied for 152nd overall among 436 "national universities" and tied for 81st out of 225 "top public schools" in 2024. * 31st in ''Pharmacy (tie)" in 2024 * 47th in "Best Library and Information Studies Program (tie)" in 2024 * 48th in ''Best Nursing School: Master's (tie)'' in 2024 * 70th in ''Earth Sciences (tie)'' in 2024 * 66th in ''Best Nursing School: Doctor of Nursing Practice (tie)'' in 2024 * 101st in ''Clinical Psychology (tie)'' in 2024 * 106th in "Physical Therapy (tie)" in 2024 * 108th in "English (tie)" in 2024 * 78th in "Speech-Language Pathology (tie)" in 2024 * 148th in ''Computer Sciences (tie)'' in 2024 * 130th in "Best Education Schools (tie)" in 2024 * 150th in "Chemistry (tie)" in 2024 * 144th in "Mathematics (tie)" in 2024 * 111st in "Psychology (tie)" in 2024 * 139th in ''Best Undergraduate Engineering Program'' in 2024. * 144th in ''Biological Sciences (tie)'' in 2024 * 152nd in "Physics (tie)" in 2024 * 135th in "Best Engineering Schools" in 2024 ''

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

'' ranks URI for 51-75 globally for ''Oceanography'' in 2023.

Admissions

The average incoming freshman at the Kingston campus for the fall of 2017 had a

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

of 3.54 and an

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

score of 1178 (out of 1600) (with ACT scores converted to SAT scale).

Student clubs

URI has 21 club sports teams, including

crew A crew is a body or a group of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchy, hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the ta ...

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

pickleball Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums *Ultimate (Bryan Adams album), ''Ultimate'' (Bryan Adams album) *Ultimate (Jolin Tsai album), ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) *Ultimate (Pet Shop Boys album), ''Ult ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. These teams travel and compete against other intercollegiate programs in the country. URI also has 20+ intramural sports, including volleyball,

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sports, team sport in which players on two opposing teams try to throw balls and hit opponents while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them w ...

, and soccer. The intramural sports allow students to compete in tournaments and games with other students on campus. URI also has over 300 student organizations and clubs. The university's

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...

, ''The Good Five Cent Cigar'', was founded in 1971. It is also home to several Greek-lettered organizations.

Athletics

The University of Rhode Island competes in 16 intercollegiate sports. The university is a member of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

and the

Coastal Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Football Championship Subdivision. The

Rhode Island Rams men's basketball The Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team is a college basketball program that competes in NCAA Division I and the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was recently under the direction of head coach Archie Miller. The Rams play their home games a ...

competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and has appeared in the NCAA "March Madness" Tournament a total of 10 times since its first appearance in 1961. Two of these ten appearances occurred during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Athletic facilities include the

Ryan Center Ryan Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. The arena opened as a replacement for Keaney Gymnasium, which was built in 1953 for the needs of a much smaller student population at URI. It is home to ...

Keaney Gymnasium Keaney Gymnasium is a multi-purpose arena in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States on the campus of the University of Rhode Island. Built in 1953, it was the home of the university's men's and women's basketball teams until they moved to the adj ...

Meade Stadium Meade Stadium is a 6,555-seat multi-purpose stadium in Kingston, Rhode Island. It is home to the University of Rhode Island's Rams football team. The facility opened in 1928 and was originally named Meade Field, in honor of John E. "Jack" Meade ...

, Mackal Field House, Tootell Aquatic Center,

Bradford R. Boss Arena The Bradford R. Boss Arena is a 2,500-seat ice arena on the campus of The University of Rhode Island located in Kingston, Rhode Island. The ice arena is named in honor of Bradford R. Boss, one of the founders of the URI men's hockey club in 1951, ...

, URI Soccer Complex,

Bill Beck Field Bill Beck Field is a baseball venue located on the campus of the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is home to the Rhode Island Rams baseball team, a member of the NCAA Division I Atlantic 10 Conference. T ...

, and URI Softball Complex. URIQuad

Off campus living

While 5600 students live in the 25 on campus residence halls, thousands more opt to commute from the surrounding area. Narragansett, an abutting town to Kingston, is made up of hundreds of summer vacation homes which are rented to students for the academic year.

Notable alumni

Notable University of Rhode Island alumni in politics and government include Lieutenant General (retired)

Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born 24 December 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 24th U.S. national security advisor for the first 22 days of the first Trump administration. He resigned in light of reports tha ...

(B.Sc. 1981), 38th mayor of Providence

Jorge Elorza Jorge O. Elorza (born November 24, 1976) is an American law professor who served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island from 2015 until 2023. He defeated former mayor Buddy Cianci in the 2014 mayoral election and on January 5, 2015, was sworn ...

(B.Sc. 1998), and governors of Rhode Island

Lincoln Almond Lincoln Carter Almond (June 16, 1936 – January 2, 2023) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 72nd Governor of Rhode Island from 1995 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he was previously the United States Attorney ...

(B.Sc. 1959) and J. Joseph Garrahy (1953). Notable graduates in journalism and media include CNN correspondent John King (B.A. 1985), CNN anchor

Christiane Amanpour Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; ; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chief International Anchor for CNN and host of CNN International, ...

(B.A. 1983), and CBS correspondent

Vladimir Duthiers Vladimir Albert Duthiers (; ; born December 21, 1969) is an American television journalist who has been a correspondent for CBS News since 2014 following five years at CNN. He was a member of the CNN team that won two Emmy Awards for its coverag ...

(B.A. 1991). Among URI's alumni in the arts and entertainment are actors

J. T. Walsh James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was an American character actor. His many films include: '' Tin Men'' (1987), '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987), ''A Few Good Men'' (1992), '' Hoffa'' (1992), '' Nixon'' (199 ...

Peter Frechette Peter Frechette ( ; born October 3, 1956) is an American actor. He is a stage actor with two Tony Award nominations for '' Eastern Standard'' and '' Our Country's Good'', and frequently stars in the plays of Richard Greenberg. He is well known on ...

(B.F.A.),

Amanda Clayton Amanda Clayton (born October 24, 1981) is an American actress, best known for her role as Alex Montgomery in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, ''If Loving You Is Wrong''. Life and career Clayton was born in Johnston, Rhode Island. ...

, and

Andrew Burnap Andrew Burnap (born March 5, 1991) is an American actor. Known for his performances on stage, he began his professional stage career in the Public Theatre's revivals of ''King Lear'' in 2014 and ''Troilus and Cressida'' in 2016. He gained promine ...

(recipient of the 2020

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

- Best Actor in a Play, The Inheritance.) Notable graduates in business and finance include billionaire

Ben Navarro Benjamin W. Navarro (born 1962/63) is an American businessman, and the founder and chief executive officer of Sherman Financial Group, one of the largest buyers of consumer debt in the United States, and the owner of Credit One Bank, a bank speci ...

(B.Sc. 1984); former president of

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

Robert Crandall Robert Lloyd "Bob" Crandall (born December 6, 1935, in Westerly, Rhode Island) is an American businessman who is the former president and chairman of American Airlines. Called an industry legend by airline industry observers, Crandall has been the ...

(1960); and former CEO of CVS, Thomas Ryan (1975). MatFranco2015

First magician to win

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

Mat Franco Mat Franco (born May 10, 1988) is an American magician best known for his personality-driven, skill-based sleight of hand magic. He was the first magician to win ''America's Got Talent'', in the show's ninth season. Franco went on to produce ...

(2010). File:J. Joseph Garrahy, Rhode Island Governor.jpg, Governor of Rhode Island J. Joseph Garrahy '59 File:Angelo Cataldi, Wing Bowl 2007.jpg, Sports radio personality

Angelo Cataldi Angelo Anthony Cataldi Jr. (born March 13, 1951) is an American retired sports radio personality for 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia. Cataldi began his career as a sports journalist for ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. From 1989 until 2023 he hosted The W ...

'72 File:Michael T Flynn (cropped).jpg, 25th U.S. National Security Advisor

'81 File:Christiane Amanpour June 2008 (cropped).jpg, CNN anchor

'83 File:Providence mayor Jorge Elorza (1).jpg, 38th mayor of Providence

'98 File:Lamar Odom 2012 Shankbone.JPG, Basketball star

Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he won NBA Finals, championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named ...

(did not graduate)

Notable faculty

Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is noted for his work in underwater archaeology (maritime archaeology and archaeology of ...

, undersea archaeologist and discoverer of the wreck of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' *

Yehuda Hayuth Yehuda Hayuth (; April 10, 1946 - December 20, 2022) was an Israeli professor of geography, and a former President of the University of Haifa. Early life Hayuth was born in Jerusalem in Mandatory Palestine, and fought for Israel as a paratrooper ...

, Israeli professor of geography, and President of the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

Natalie Kampen Natalie Kampen (February 1, 1944 – August 12, 2012) was an American art historian and women's studies professor. She was born Natalie Boymel on February 1, 1944 in Philadelphia to Pauline (''née'' Friedman) and Jules Boymel. She received he ...

Joëlle Rollo-Koster Joëlle Rollo-Koster is a French medievalist working as a professor of medieval history at the University of Rhode Island. Life Joëlle Rollo-Koster received her undergraduate degree and master's degree in history from the University of Nice, ...

* Andrea Rusnock * Dana Shugar, first department head of Women´s studies major *

Melvin Stern Melvin Ernest Stern (January 22, 1929 – February 2, 2010) was a U.S. academic oceanographer who focused on fluid dynamics. He served as the Ekman Professor of Oceanography at Florida State University and was an elected member of both the ...

Robert Weisbord Robert G. Weisbord is professor emeritus of History at the University of Rhode Island. He has published seven books and numerous articles dealing with issues of racism in sports, the Vatican, and the Holocaust. He taught an Afro-American history c ...

Robert E. Will Robert Elsworth Will (1908-1999) was an American academic at the University of Rhode Island who served as the founding chairman of the Theater Department. Will was born 16 September 1908 in Mamaroneck, New York to Edwin Robert Will and Minnie Hele ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhode Island, University Of Universities and colleges established in 1888 Flagship universities in the United States Land-grant universities and colleges South Kingstown, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Washington County, Rhode Island Education in Washington County, Rhode Island Tourist attractions in Washington County, Rhode Island 1888 establishments in Rhode Island Historic districts in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Rhode Island

History

Presidents

Main campus

Main Campus Gallery

Satellite Campuses

W. Alton Jones Campus

History

Environmental Education Center

Whispering Pines Conference Center

Pop Culture

Closing

Academics

Rankings

Admissions

Student clubs

Athletics

Off campus living

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

References

External links