{"id":36786,"date":"2026-04-22T16:55:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/?p=36786"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:55:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:55:37","slug":"cook-cohen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/cook-cohen\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 22, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

URI Board of Trustees chair, spouse gift $2.145 million for new endowed scholars program<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Gift from Margo Cook \u201986 and Renee Cohen will provide full four-year scholarships to help students succeed in any field<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"From<\/a>
From left, URI Board of Trustees Chair Margo Cook and her spouse, Renee Cohen, have gifted the University $2.145 million to create the Cook-Cohen Scholars program. (Courtesy Margo Cook and Renee Cohen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 22, 2026 \u2013 University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees Chair Margo Cook \u201986 and her spouse, Renee Cohen, have gifted the state\u2019s land- and sea-grant institution $2.145 million to create a new endowed scholars program and support other various academic and athletic programs at URI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of the gift\u2014$1.82 million\u2014will help launch the Cook-Cohen Scholars Program to attract the most highly sought-after students from around the United States and the world. The program will establish in the fall of 2026 its inaugural cohort of scholars possessing exceptional academic achievement, intellectual curiosity, and demonstrated leadership potential and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook-Cohen scholars will receive full, four-year scholarships that cover tuition and fees, housing and dining, and a global travel experience during URI\u2019s Winter J Term. The scholarships will apply to any field of study at URI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis extraordinary gift reflects both a deep belief in the transformative power of education and a lifelong commitment to the URI community,\u201d URI President Marc Parlange said. \u201cAs chair of the Board of Trustees, Margo has helped shape our vision and strengthen our mission. And as an accomplished professional, she has exemplified the leadership, curiosity, and excellence we seek to cultivate in our students. Together with Renee, their generous investment will open doors for future scholars of exceptional promise\u2014students whose academic achievement, intellectual curiosity, and demonstrated leadership will position them to make meaningful contributions to society. We are profoundly grateful to Margo and Renee for their enduring confidence in the potential of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a financial scholarship, the cohort model also offers access to the University\u2019s Honors Program and Colloquium, URI\u2019s Leadership Institute, special advising, priority course registration, donor mentoring, and access to special University events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook-Cohen scholarship nominations will be based on a holistic review of prospective student scholars by a URI admission team and review committee, including reviewing the strength of the students\u2019 high school coursework, and academic and extracurricular interests; leadership service; and unique talents and impact on their community. After applying to the University, Cook-Cohen finalists will be invited to campus to interview with a selection committee and take part in several scholar activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remaining $325,000 of the gift will be split among four established University programs and initiatives\u2014the URI Women\u2019s Basketball Cook and Cohen Wellness Program, URI College of Business, URI President\u2019s 21st<\/sup> Century Fund for Excellence, and the Margo Cook Internship\/Study Abroad Scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMargo and Renee have been steadfast supporters of URI, and this latest investment builds on the powerful momentum we\u2019re seeing across our donor community\u2014propelling the University\u2019s work to support student achievement to an entirely new level.\u201d URI Foundation CEO and Vice President for Advancement Mark Antonucci said. \u201cTheir investment spans the entirety of URI\u2014a powerful testament not only to our mission of helping students succeed, but also to the strength and vibrancy of the University community as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dean Libutti, URI\u2019s associate vice president for enrollment management and student success, says Cook and Cohen\u2019s gift also comes as the University is experiencing tremendous momentum amidst national challenges surrounding student recruitment. URI saw a record 29,000 applications from prospective students, supported by the University\u2019s various scholarship programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving premier scholarships at a time when enrollment in higher education is challenging is a beacon for URI to maintain our momentum, and making education affordable is paramount to who we are as an institution,\u201d Libutti said. \u201cMargo and Renee\u2019s gift is about more than just providing students financial support, it is also about bringing a cohort together to do great things at the University and be part of our amazing programs. We are grateful to both Margo and Renee for their generous support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relieving financial burdens<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook saw early on how transformational donations to URI can impact a student\u2019s future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had attended dinners commemorating substantial monetary gifts from former CVS chair, CEO and president Thomas M. Ryan \u201975 Hon. \u201999, and his wife, Cathy Ryan<\/a>; and former Hasbro CEO Alfred J. Verrecchia \u201967, M.B.A. \u201972, Hon. \u201904, and his wife, Geraldine Verrecchia<\/a>. Those gifts helped launch scholars programs ensuring students receive an education at URI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In meeting parents at those dinners, Cook not only was excited to see students eager to collaborate in cohorts and build bonds with one another, but also felt grateful to see the families\u2019 appreciation for scholarship aid. Both Cook and Cohen were subsequently driven to further that mission in their own way through this new scholars program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur motivation is to help remove that financial anxiety for students and their parents so that we can unlock students to be the best they can be,\u201d said Cook, who graduated from URI with a degree in finance and worked close to four decades within the asset management industry, including as an executive leader. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook also loves when students from other educational backgrounds create a melting pot to better understand both each other and what the URI community is all about\u2014further enriching their overall University experience. She also said ensuring public flagship universities such as URI can thrive through gift-giving is critical to society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cohen also said URI elevated its academics to where it once again was ranked the No. 1 public university in New England by The Wall Street Journal <\/em>and has maintained its R1 designation as a top research institution in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The new Cook-Cohen Scholars program will be a win-win for the University, she says, where the scholarships will bring in exceptional students to pursue strong academic offerings, and in turn further build on URI\u2019s global educational reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continued alumni support<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last seven years, URI has received approximately $120 million in major gifts from alumni to help students succeed at the University and beyond. Most notably, URI in 2024 received a landmark $65 million gift<\/a>\u2014the largest in URI\u2019s history\u2014from the estate of the late alumna Helen Izzi Schilling to create an endowment to award scholarships to high-achieving students majoring in science, technology, engineering, or math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This academic year, Mark S. Cruise \u201981, \u201984, a URI football stand-out, and his wife, Sue Cruise \u201984, gifted their alma mater $2 million<\/a> to establish an endowment fund to support URI\u2019s student-athletes. Also, Joseph F. Matthews \u201980, chair of Westerly-based Maxson Automatic Machinery Co. and a URI trustee, recently awarded the University $1.6 million<\/a> to financially support engineering students transferring to URI from the Community College of Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, Cook\u2019s and Cohen\u2019s latest financial gift follows a $1.05 million donation<\/a> they gave URI in 2019 to establish the Margo L. Cook Executive-in-Residence Fund to address the gender gap in the finance industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe as alums have to support this University for it to grow,\u201d Cook said. \u201cIt is an obligation based on the gratitude I feel for getting an education here at URI. It\u2019s every alum\u2019s responsibility to ensure future students can have the same experience at URI that they had.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledgment: This article was reposted from Rhody Today<\/em>.
Media Contact:
James Bessette<\/a>\u00a0401-874-3520<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 22, 2026 URI Board of Trustees chair, spouse gift $2.145 million for new endowed scholars program Gift from Margo Cook \u201986 and Renee Cohen will provide full four-year scholarships to help students succeed in any field. KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 22, 2026 \u2013 University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees Chair Margo Cook \u201986 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2556,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36787,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36786\/revisions\/36787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/admission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}