URInformed Vol. 22 Issue 4 Summer 2016 THE URI EMPLOYEES' NEWSLETTER Gary Liguori Appointed to Lead New College of Health Sciences by Dave Lavallee The University of Rhode Island has appoint- ed the head of the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of Ten- nessee Chattanooga (UTC) to be the inaugu- ral dean of the newly formed College of Health Sciences. Gary Liguori comes to URI with 21 years of experience as a university instructor, professor and researcher. Since 2012, he has been the head of the Department of Health and Human Performance at UTC and also founding direc- tor of the Healthy Living Center. In addition, Liguori’s research on such topics as physical activity, nutrition, obesity, physical assessment and cardiac rehabilitation has been published widely in academic journals during the past 16 years. Liguori will lead the first new college estab- lished at URI since the mid-1970s. Students and faculty in the College of Health Sciences will work closely with the Colleges of Nursing and Pharmacy as part of the University’s new Academic Health Collaborative, which rep- resents a sweeping reorganization of health photo courtesy of Gary Liguori education and research programs. Liguori was chosen following a national search. He begins successful program building and creating his duties this fall. vital partnerships between university pro- As dean, he will serve with the deans of phar- grams and the larger regional community. macy and nursing as a member of the execu- “He will play prominent roles in promoting tive committee of URI’s Academic Health Col- interprofessional education and experien- laborative. In that capacity, he will work with tial learning, advancing externally funded URInformed SUMMER 2016 faculty across disciplines to build contempo- research programs, and developing the Col- rary, robust and forward-looking educational lege’s reputation for excellence throughout and research programs relevant to the evolv- the state, region nation and world,” added ing roles of health and health care in the 21st DeHayes. century. Liguori will oversee seven departments or “Gary is an experienced, accomplished, and majors in the new college – Communicative highly collaborative academic leader,” said continued on page 2 Donald H. DeHayes, provost and vice president 1 PAGE for Academic Affairs. “He has a track record of URInformed partment of Health, universities, hospitals and other health agencies and businesses. Nancy Gillespie, Editor “The opportunities at URI, particularly with Charlene Dunn, Assistant Editor the new College of Health Sciences and the Editorial Board Academic Health Collaborative, are completely Michelle Curreri unlimited,” Liguori said. “The URI administra- tion has strategically brought together all of the Contributors key units to create a new and lasting legacy in Laura Kenerson health sciences that I am honored and humbled Joy Lewis to lead. The partnership with the Colleges of Kathie McKinstry Nursing and Pharmacy in leading the collab- Jhodi Redlich orative is unprecedented, with the expectation Mary Beth Arnold to explore, create, and implement health and health care changes that can improve the lives If you have a suggestion for an article about a of all Rhode Islanders. I can’t think of a more co-worker or colleague, or perhaps information exciting time to join URI and to see what we can about an event, or simply have an interest in being collectively build.” involved with the newsletter, you may send your In his four years as the head of Health and request to: Human Performance at UTC, Liguori managed URInformed, 73 Upper College Road, all department operations, including faculty and Kingston Campus staff hiring and evaluations, five undergraduate or contact us by e-mail at: and two graduate programs. During that time, [email protected] he increased the number of tenure track fac- The editorial board reserves the right to select ulty in the programs, increased faculty diversity, the material printed and to edit it to conform to space restrictions. and facilitated a 50 percent increase in faculty Please get involved! This is your newsletter and scholarly output. He instituted a student cohort we need your support to make it work. model that improved graduation rates and cre- URI is an equal opportunity employer committed ated more flexible teaching schedules for de- partment faculty. to the principles of affrmative action and values continued on page 6 diversity. Liguori...continued from page 1 Table of Contents Disorders, Health Studies, Human Develop- ment and Family Studies, Kinesiology, Nutri- Health Sciences Dean p. 1 tion and Food Sciences, Physical Therapy and Ryan Institute Forum p. 3 Psychology. The new college enrolls about Admission Bicycle Tours p. 4 3,000 undergraduate and 350 graduate stu- VP Student Affairs p. 5 dents. Word Unscramble Winner p. 6 Vote Yes on #4 p. 7 Prior to the formation of the Academic Health URInformed SUMMER 2016 Collaborative, which was launched earlier this Word Unscramble p. 9 year, many of these departments were scat- ROTC Golf Tournament p.10 New Police Offcers p.11 tered among other colleges of the University. URI Fall Facts 2016 p.13 The Collaborative also includes a new Insti- Lifetime Service Society p.16 tute for Integrated Health and Innovation. All Comings & Goings p.17 elements of the Collaborative are designed Recipe p.19 to enhance partnerships within the University URI Livecasting back and relationships with the Rhode Island De- 2 PAGE Ryan Institute Forum by Donna Gilroy About 70 people attended an Open Forum held ists took questions and led a discussion on the for the University of Rhode Island’s George & future of neuroscience at URI and the growth of Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience on Tues- the Ryan Institute. day, June 21st in the Pharmacy building. Questions and comments covered a broad The Forum was led by Provost and Vice Presi- range including the Ryan Institute’s support for dent of Academic Affairs Donald H. De Hayes research and teaching, a discussion on drug and Paula Grammas, Ph.D., executive direc- treatments versus behavioral interventions, the tor of the George & Anne Ryan Institute for impact of diet and exercise factors on cogni- Neuroscience. Also present on the panel were tion, and preventative brain health. Community William Renehan, Ph.D., associate director of outreach was an important topic that Dr. Gram- the George & Anne Ryan Institute, and Nasser mas said is a vital part of the Institute’s plan to Zawia, Ph.D., dean of URI’s Graduate School become more involved in the community. The and director of the Interdisciplinary Neurosci- significance of collaboration among research- ence Program. All URI faculty, staff and gradu- ers, clinicians, and the public was also a theme ate students were invited. in much of the dialogue; panelists and audi- Provost De Hayes, Dr. Grammas and Dean ence members pointed out that partnerships Zawia began the Open Forum with a brief ex- with URI colleges and departments, as well as planation of the establishment of the George with organizations outside URI, are integral to & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience from a the evolution of the Ryan Institute. $15 million gift from former CVS CEO Thomas The Open Forum concluded at 1 p.m. but Ryan ’75 and his wife Cathy Ryan in 2013. The discussions continued into the foyer where Ryan Institute’s focus is on research, teaching attendees enjoyed a catered lunch. To learn and outreach on neurodegenerative diseases more about the George & Anne Ryan Institute such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s dis- for Neuroscience visit: ease and ALS. After the introduction, the panel- http://ryaninstitute.uri.edu/ photo by Michael Salerno Photography URInformed SUMMER 2016 Pictured above: Paula Grammas, executive director of the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience; Provost DeHayes; Professor Nasser Zawia, PAGE 3 PAGE dean of the graduate school and director of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program; and William Renehan, Ph.D., associate director of the Ryan Institute. Admission tour guides give first-ever tour by bicycle Tour D’Admission group impressed with hospitality, campus growth by Dave Lavallee One of the skills a University of Rhode Island Hope Commons while meeting with URI Ad- tour guide has to master is walking backward mission Dean Cynthia Bonn, other staff mem- while imparting detailed information about the bers and their tour guides. Then it was onto the institution in a lively and fun way to prospective bikes and stops at the Fascitelli Fitness and students and their parents. That includes skill- Wellness Center, the Center for Biotechnology fully dodging bushes, light poles, other people and Life Sciences, the College of Pharmacy and buildings. and the quadrangle. At the stops, everyone dis- Now, three tour guides, Kinte Howie of Provi- mounted to listen to the tour guides, but along dence, Olivia Hallam of Cumberland and Nicole the way, Howie, Hallam and Cloutier chatted Cloutier of Warren, can add another skill to their alongside the cyclists, while pointing out certain resumes -- being able to give a tour while riding aspects of the campus. Howie faced the rid- bicycles around the Kingston Campus. ers behind him to keep the cyclists informed on They did that in July for six guidance coun- what they were seeing. None of this occurred selors from public and private schools and pri- on busy roadways, but on the wide walkways vate consulting groups who for more than eight around campus. years have been combining a week-long cycling One of the cyclists, Richard Johnson, a guid- tour in different regions of the country with visits ance counselor at Ridgefield High School in to college campuses. They started in Connecti- Connecticut, said he visited URI about 30 years cut, visited URI, and then were on their way to ago to see a friend.