On Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008, over 200 members of the URI community walked four laps around the Quadrangle in memory of Professor Yngve Ramstad.

Ramstad, who was URI’s former faculty athletics representative, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) in December 2006. He died on July 5, 2008. Ramstad was honored with the Brian Dickinson Courage Award as part of the ALS Association-Rhode Island Chapter’s 2008 Evening of Hope on June 12, 2008. In the fall of 2007, a committee comprised of student-athletes, administrators, staff, and faculty, formed Ramstad’s Rams. The group organized a charity Walk Around the Quad (part of the statewide Walk to D’Feet ALS) to honor the former chair of URI’s Economics Department, who watched the walkers from his wheelchair. The event raised more than $10,000 for ALS research.