BRISTOL, R.I., – The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Foundation has awarded a $12,166 grant to Roger Williams University to drive new research that will measure mercury levels in scup, a native fish found primarily in the Atlantic and frequently fished and consumed by local recreational fishermen. The research will assist the Rhode Island Department of Health in establishing new guidelines for safely eating scup, which account for 23 percent of the total recreational catch in Rhode Island.
Bristol news dating back 176 years is now within reach of everyone’s fingertips. Students, researchers and local residents alike can access early issues of Bristol’s newspaper of record, The Bristol Phoenix, without stepping foot into a library.
Partnering with the Rogers Free Library, the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society (BHPS) and Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS), the Roger Williams University Library has digitized 16 years of the newspaper’s weekly print editions from September 17, 1837, through August 13, 1853. By converting the issues from microfilm to a digital repository, the newspaper content is now readily available online and searchable by keyword, name or date.
The digital project stems from the steady demand from researchers, genealogists, students and local residents visiting the RWU library, Rogers Free Library or RIHS to access the print or microfilm collection of newspapers. These three locations were the only places individuals could access the archived issues; to search the newspaper content, patrons had to visit the BHPS to reference its card index.
During his remarks to an audience of nearly 100 supporters of electric vehicles and other sustainability efforts, the Governor also announced that the State of Rhode Island will lead by example by transitioning the state’s fleet of vehicles to alternative fuel vehicles. Chafee directed Director of Administration Richard Licht to implement a process through which state agencies will use Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars to pay for the differential cost between an alternative fuel vehicle and a comparably sized gas-powered car.
BRISTOL, R.I. – With the goal of improving the local winter flounder population, identifying invasive marine plants and animals expanding into local waters and determining the cause of a local sea star wasting disease, Roger Williams University marine scientists will lend their expertise to projects aimed at helping marine life recover in local waters.
While the recent issue of RWU Magazine is still fresh on your desk – or coffee table – the publications team is hard at work planning the Fall 2013 issue. Our goal? To bring you the most compelling content possible. And what’s more compelling than you, our readers?
If you’ve ever wanted to see your name in print, a story in RWU Magazine is a great opportunity to share your work – personal or professional – your ideas and your passions.
No idea is too small. Think you (or someone you know) should be the subject of a Face to Face profile? Tell us why! Publish a fascinating research study recently? We’d love to hear about it. Can you play the xylophone with your toes? Quirky content works, too.
If you would want to read about it, we want to hear about it.
There are two simple ways to share your story idea with the RWU Magazine team:
“My wish is that you will use all means at your disposal … to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.”
—Sylvia Earle’s 2009 TED Prize Wish
Thanks to hard work, more than 6,000 hours logged underwater, and the poise that comes with having worked in just about every facet of ocean conservation, Sylvia Earle’s wish is gaining traction, one marine preserve at a time.
Bristol, R.I. – With an array of speakers urging them to live their lives according to the values treasured by the university’s namesake himself, 1,080 graduates in the Roger Williams University Class of 2013 culminated their college careers on Saturday at the university’s annual Commencement exercises.
More than 6,000 people turned out under the big tent in Bristol to watch the graduates cross the stage on a day that boasted bright sunshine and an abundantly agreeable 68 degrees on the thermometer along the bayside campus.
In addition to awarding bachelor’s and master’s degrees to the candidates, RWU President Donald J. Farish conferred honorary doctorates to two special guests: author and historian John M. Barry, who detailed the influence of the university’s namesake in last year’s award-winning Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul, and Larry Rachleff, music director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra.
BRISTOL, R.I. – Four years ago, Bre’Anna Metts-Nixon ’13 sat next to her mother, Christina, in their Providence home holding a piece of paper that would change her life. As they read aloud the letter of acceptance to Roger Williams University – complete with a combination of financial aid that would cover the cost of her entire college education – the two women were overwhelmed with emotion.
“We just started crying before I even got the word ‘congratulations’ out of my mouth. She was jumping around and screaming. She just couldn’t believe that her only child was going to college and actually was going to make a difference,” recalls Metts-Nixon. “We had never seen this amount of money offered to anyone in our family to succeed and get as close to our dreams as possible.”
This Saturday, she will have in hand another piece of paper to put her another step closer to her dream of becoming a music industry executive – specifically, she wants to become chief operating officer of Black Entertainment Television (BET).
BRISTOL, R.I. – In one of the most successful fundraising events in university history, Roger Williams University raised $1.7 million during its 10th Annual Captain’s Cup Regatta this Saturday and unveiled plans for a new waterfront Sailing Center to be built on its Bristol campus.
The highlight of the evening came when Richard L. Bready ’08H, chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, donated $1 million toward the project during a live fundraising auction conducted by Joseph M. Brito, Jr., a fellow Trustee. In a tent at the Herreshoff Marine Museum filled with 200 RWU sailing alumni, members of the current team, parents and community supporters, pandemonium erupted. Bready’s gift was quickly followed by a $500,000 pledge from a sailing family from Florida, then a $100,000 gift from an anonymous donor who arranged to have the pledged phoned into the auction. The series of seven- and six-figure gifts were followed by a large number of spontaneous smaller gifts. By the end of the evening, $1.7 million had been raised.
Bristol, R.I. – In a year of milestone anniversary celebrations and an ever-expanding focus on serving individuals and communities across the State of Rhode Island, Roger Williams University has signed on to sponsor a full lighting of WaterFire Providence on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 28.
WaterFire Providence – artist Barnaby Evans’s unique flame-inspired cultural installation, which has attracted more than 10 million visitors since its 1994 debut – announced the University’s season sponsorship and unveiled its full summer events schedule in an appearance on WPRI’s “The Rhode Show” this morning.
