Welcome to the 2024-2025 academic year, our first anniversary as a stand-alone College within the University of Rhode Island.
It has been a year of great beginnings, accomplishments, and joyous celebrations, but also some sad moments.
In September, our College’s namesake, Alan Shawn Feinstein, passed away after a lifetime of distinguished service through his philanthropic work and commitment to educational excellence. At his memorial service, I was personally touched by the uplifting nature of the atmosphere, complete with music sung by those in attendance and the loving remembrances from his family and friends.
The work of our College will continue to carry his legacy of making the world a better place for students.
Over the summer, I had the pleasure of meeting Diane and Kent Fannon, both graduates of the class of 1974. Their love for URI is palpable, and I speak for the entire College in expressing our sincerest appreciation for their $500,000 gift to support faculty research. The Diane and Kent Fannon Education Research Endowment acknowledges our faculty’s scholarship and the many ways that we strengthen education across the lifespan.
This edition of Educators & Innovators highlights several ways we are enhancing educational opportunities locally and globally:
- Our new Office of English Language Programs hosted 25 international educators from 16 countries as part of a U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Office of English Language Programs through the English Access Scholarship Program.
- Emily Clapham was awarded a Flutie Foundation grant for the URI Xtreme Sports program, which fosters inclusion for children with autism and other disabilities.
- Governor McKee once again awarded the partnership between the college and the Jonnycake Center with a LEARN365 grant. Dr. Diane Kern leads this initiative for the college.
- Benjamin McMichael (’24), a graduate student in our TESOL/Bilingual and Dual Language Immersion program was awarded a grant that will allow him to work as a teacher’s assistant in France.
Also, please join us in welcoming our new faculty and staff to the College, as we introduce them in this issue of Educators & Innovators, and continue to share the latest endeavors of our College.
Danielle V. Dennis
Dean