\u201cToday, we honor the many hands and minds that have shaped our campuses \u2013 faculty in chemistry, psychology, environment and life sciences, molecular biology, physics, and business, and leaders in facilities, landscape and groundskeeping, and the Narragansett Bay Campus,\u201d said President Marc Parlange. \u201cYou have educated, inspired, and kept our university running. We thank you for the tremendous impact you have made on URI, and we honor your legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friday\u2019s recipients, who retired between January 2023 and July 2024, received certificates of appreciation from the University, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, and Gov. Dan McKee. A commemorative brick engraved with each inductee\u2019s name and years of service will be placed in the patio in front of the entrance to the Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI look upon all of you with us today \u2013 and remember with fondness those who could not be with us \u2013 and I wonder how the decades could have passed so quickly,\u201d said Barbara Wolfe, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. \u201cThe University has changed and advanced in significant ways due to your efforts, passion, and dedication to both students and colleagues, and it is a better place because you chose to make your life\u2019s work here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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During the ceremony, each honoree was introduced and honored by a colleague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jane Miner,<\/strong> of Jamestown, business manager for the Narragansett Bay Campus and the Graduate School of Oceanography, was introduced by David Smith, professor of oceanography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miner, who grew up in Jamestown, never strayed far from her beloved island but she made a world of difference at URI as part of the GSO for nearly its entire history, said Smith. After graduating from Clark University with a degree in environmental science, she started working at the newly established Coastal Resources Center at the GSO in 1977.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEventually, Jane came to sit at the center of all things financial at GSO,\u201d said Smith. \u201cThe answer to most questions regarding money was \u2018go see Jane,\u2019 as she has a truly complete and nuanced knowledge of every separate unit at GSO. \u2026 [H]er efforts at GSO were essential in supporting research around the globe by dozens of faculty and hundreds of graduate students. We are all grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n