Carl Raymond Woodward came to the Rhode Island State College as president, and just one year later became president of The University of Rhode Island. President Woodward led the charge to grant the college with its university status. Having started as URI’s fifth president just one month before Pearl Harbor, President Woodward led the University and through the war and postwar periods and outlined plans for later growth and service. Before joining what was then the Rhode Island State College, President Woodward had served as assistant to the president and secretary at Rutgers. President Woodward earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.