 | |
Former names | Rhode Island College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (1892–1909) Rhode Island State College (1909–1951) |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Hope" |
| Type | Publicland-grantresearch university |
| Established | May 19, 1892; 133 years ago (1892-05-19) |
| Accreditation | NECHE |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $237 million (2024)[1] |
| President | Marc Parlange |
| Provost | Barbara E. Wolfe |
Administrative staff | 675 full time |
| Students | 18,061 (fall 2021)[2] |
| Undergraduates | 14,654 (fall 2021)[2] |
| Postgraduates | 3,407 (fall 2021)[2] |
| Location | , United States |
| Campus | Large Suburb, 1,254 acres (5.07 km2) |
| Other campuses | |
| Newspaper | The Good 5¢ Cigar |
| Colors | Navy Blue and Keaney Blue[3] |
| Nickname | Rams |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | Rhody the Ram |
| Website | uri.edu |
 | |
 | |
TheUniversity of Rhode Island (URI) is apublicland-grantresearch university with its main campus inKingston, Rhode Island, United States. It serves as the state's flagship public research institution and land-grant university ofRhode Island. The university isclassified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[4] As of 2019, URI enrolled 14,653 undergraduate students, 1,982 graduate students, and 1,339 non-degree students, making it the largest university in the state.[5][6]
Its main campus is located in the village ofKingston in southern Rhode Island. Satellite campuses include the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center in Providence'sJewelry District, the Narragansett Bay Campus inNarragansett, and theW. Alton Jones Campus inWest Greenwich, which closed in June of 2020 due to thecoronavirus pandemic.[7] The university offersbachelor's degrees,master's degrees, anddoctoral degrees 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.
The University of Rhode Island was first chartered as the Rhode Island State Agricultural School, associated with the stateagricultural experiment station, 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 theRhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.[8] That year, it extended courses of study from two years to four years; URI recognizes 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 toRhode Island State College as the school's programs were expanded beyond its original agricultural education mandate.
The college graduated its firstAfrican American student, Harvey Robert Turner, in 1914. Turner majored in civil engineering, competed on the college's football and track teams, and received aBachelor of Science degree. He went on to teach atPrairie View A&M University, where he also served as treasurer.[9][10]
In 1951 the school was given its current title through an act of theGeneral Assembly 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 ofFrank Newman (1974–1983). The Board of Governors was replaced by the Rhode Island Board of Education in 2013,[11] and by a 17-memberBoard of Trustees in 2019.
In 2013 the faculty adopted anopen-access policy to make its scholarshippublicly accessible online.[12]
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.[13]
URI's main campus is located in northernSouth Kingstown,[14] and most of the university property is in theKingstoncensus-designated place.[15]
The campus is accessed viaRhode Island Route 138 from either the west (Interstate 95) or east (United States Route 1). 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,[16] was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2017.
![East Hall (1909)[17] and Washburn Hall (1921)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aURI_East_Hall_and_Washburn_Hall.jpg)
TheW. Alton Jones Campus is one of three satellite campuses of the University of Rhode Island and is located inWest Greenwich,Rhode Island. At 2309-acres (9.34 km2) it is the largestsatellite campus of the University of Rhode Island and consists of anEnvironmental Education Center, a business conference center, a working farm and the Nettie Marie JonesNature Preserve.[18][19]
The land was donated to the University of Rhode Island by Nettie Marie Jones, widow of businessmanW. Alton Jones.[18][20] 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 otherNew Englandstate universities.[21]
The property is a part of the coastal forest and wildlife corridor that spans from Washington, D.C., to Maine.[22] 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.[22]
The campus closed in June, 2020 and anonline petition urging former URI president Dr.David M. Dooley and former governorGina Raimondo to reopen the camp and education programs has collected more than 6,900 signatures.[22]
In 1954W. Alton Jones, president ofCITGO, bought the property for hunting and fishing vacations. He was a close friend of United States PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower, who visited the property four times for fishing, hunting and skeet shooting.[19][23] On March 1, 1962, W. Alton Jones died in a plane crash while on his way to Los Angeles to meet Eisenhower for a fishing trip.[24] 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.[21]
In 1965 a Youth Science Center (now called the Environmental Education Center or EEC) was constructed with much of the funding provided by theW. Alton Jones Foundation.[21] GovernorJohn Chafee celebrated the opening of the Environmental Education Center at a dedication ceremony with a speech. 50 years later, his son GovernorLincoln Chafee celebrated the 50th anniversary of the W. Alton Jones campus at a rededication ceremony also with a speech.[20][25]
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.[26]
The Whispering Pines Conference Center hosted conferences, retreats and team-building programs. It consisted of 32 guest rooms and four conference rooms.[26]
The center’s client list ranged from small businesses, to teachers’ unions and big banks.[27]
In 2005 the W. Alton Jones campus was the base of the movieHard Luck, featuringWesley Snipes,Cybill Shepard, andMario Van Peebles. The movie intertwines stories involving a drug dealer trying to go straight, and a housewife trying to hide a sadistic secret.[28]
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.[2]
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Forbes[29] | 315 |
| U.S. News & World Report[30] | 151 |
| Washington Monthly[31] | 174 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[32] | 76 |
| Global | |
| THE[33] | 601–800 |
| U.S. News & World Report[34] | 749 |
URI isaccredited by theNew England Commission of Higher Education.[35] 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%.[36]
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.[37]
Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks URI for 51-75 globally for ''Oceanography'' in 2023.[39]
The average incoming freshman at the Kingston campus for 2025 had a GPA of 3.76 and an equivalent SAT score of 1265 (on a 1600 scale, with ACT scores converted accordingly).[40]
| Race and ethnicity | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 74% | ||
| Hispanic | 11% | ||
| Black | 5% | ||
| Two or more races | 4% | ||
| Asian | 3% | ||
| Unknown | 2% | ||
| International student | 1% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[a] | 23% | ||
| Affluent[b] | 77% | ||
URI has 21 club sports teams, includingcrew,equestrian,field hockey,gymnastics,ice hockey,lacrosse,pickleball,rugby,sailing,soccer,swimming &diving,tennis,ultimate,volleyball, andwrestling.[42] These teams travel and compete against other intercollegiate programs in the country. URI also has 20+intramural sports, including volleyball,badminton,dodgeball, and soccer. The intramural sports allow students to compete in tournaments and games with other students on campus.[43]
URI also has over 300 student organizations and clubs.[44] The university'sstudent newspaper,The Good Five Cent Cigar, was founded in 1971.[45] It is also home to several Greek-lettered organizations.[46]
The University of Rhode Island competes in 16 intercollegiate sports.[47] The university is a member of theAtlantic 10 Conference and theCoastal Athletic Association in theNCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
TheRhode Island Rams men's basketball competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and has appeared in theNCAA "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.[48][49]
Athletic facilities include theRyan Center,Keaney Gymnasium,Meade Stadium, Mackal Field House, Tootell Aquatic Center,Bradford R. Boss Arena, URI Soccer Complex,Bill Beck Field, and URI Softball Complex.
While 5600 students live in the 25 on campus residence halls, thousands more opt to commute from the surrounding area.[50]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 University of Rhode Island alumni in politics and government include Lieutenant General (retired)Michael Flynn (B.Sc. 1981),[51] 38th mayor of ProvidenceJorge Elorza (B.Sc. 1998),[52] and governors of Rhode IslandLincoln Almond (B.Sc. 1959) andJ. Joseph Garrahy (1953).
Notable graduates in journalism and media includeCNN correspondentJohn King (B.A. 1985),[53] CNN anchorChristiane Amanpour (B.A. 1983), and CBS correspondentVladimir Duthiers (B.A. 1991).
Among URI's alumni in the arts and entertainment are actorsJ. T. Walsh,Peter Frechette (B.F.A.),Amanda Clayton, andAndrew Burnap (recipient of the 2020Tony Award-Best Actor in a Play,The Inheritance.)
Notable graduates in business and finance include CEO and Founder of Beemok Capital,Ben Navarro (B.Sc. 1984); former president ofAmerican Airlines,Robert Crandall (1960); and former CEO of CVS,Thomas Ryan (1975).
First magician to winAmerica's Got TalentMat Franco (2010).
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Univ of Rhode Island
Univ of Rhode Island
The 100th anniversary of the official opening of East Hall on October 15, 1909, was celebrated on October 15, 2009
| Full members |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate members | |||||
| Sports |
| ||||
| Related articles | |||||
| |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
41°28′51″N71°31′33″W / 41.48071°N 71.52580°W /41.48071; -71.52580
