Department of Campus Recreation Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
Campus Recreation enriches the holistic well-being of the URI Community through diverse recreational opportunities and a commitment to inspiring a sense of belonging.
Vision
Inspire a culture of well-being that celebrates individuality and the fostering of an active, safe, and united URI community.
Values
Campus Recreation Wellness Wheel
Social – Campus Recreation fosters Social Well-being by providing diverse programs and services that encourage active engagement and a sense of belonging among students, faculty/staff, and the URI community.
Emotional – Participating in Campus Recreation’s diverse offering of programs and services provides a valuable outlet for stress reduction and healthy emotional expression; and is directly linked to Emotional Well-being.
Intellectual – Campus Recreation supports Intellectual Well-being by offering unique opportunities to learn through sports, fitness, and wellness related activities, programs, and services.
Environmental – Campus Recreation promotes Environmental Well-being by being respectful of the land we occupy and providing safe indoor and outdoor spaces for our patrons and members to navigate and participate in recreational activity.
Financial – Campus Recreation promotes Financial Well-being through a variety of affordable sport programs, over 20 different complimentary fitness classes, and employment opportunities for students.
Physical – Physical Well-being is the corner stone of Campus Recreation – as we offer a variety of activities and programs that allow for movement, play, and reinforcing the strong connection between mind and body.
History
The Department of Campus Recreation was established in 1980 with the formation of the Recreational Council under the direction of a new position, Assistant Director of Recreational Services and Facilities, as part of the Department of Athletics. This new area started with one staff member and offered recreational opportunities that included Intramural Sports, Club Sports, and Open Recreation with the help of approximately 80 student employees. At this time, recreation was held in varsity facilities, Keaney Gymnasium (which opened in 1953) and the Tootell Physical Education Complex (which opened in 1971) during non-peak times for academic classes and varsity practices.
Since then the Department of Campus Recreation has become its own department (2008) under the Division of Student Affairs, and has continued to provide holistic well-being programs and services for the URI students, faculty, staff, and community. The Mackal Field House, which opened in 1991, was sponsored by the generous gift of $500,000 from the late Henry H. Mackal in 1975 and made feasible by a $5.4 million state bond referendum (1986), a $200,000 contribution from Fleet Bank and University capital funds, in order to meet the needs of the URI Sports Community. In 2013, the department expanded its services and facilities with the building of the Anna Fascitelli Fitness & Wellness Center. With collaborative efforts between 350+ part-time and full-time employees, seven program areas, and campus and community partners; Campus Recreation has been committed to promoting a healthy lifestyles, and supporting personal growth and development.
University of Rhode Island Land Acknowledgment
The University of Rhode Island occupies the traditional stomping ground of the Narragansett Nation and the Niantic People. We honor and respect the enduring and continuing relationship between the Indigenous people and this land by teaching and learning more about their history and present-day communities, and by becoming stewards of the land we, too, inhabit.