University of Rhode Island

The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. It became the Rhode Island College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in 1892 and the first class was graduated two years later. The name was changed in 1909 to Rhode Island State College and in 1951 the college became the University of Rhode Island.

"Legacies of the Vietnam War" was an Honors Colloquium presentation series sponsored by the University of Rhode Island throughout the Fall of 1999. Directed by Professors Don Kunz and Gerry Tyler of the URI Departments of English and Political Science, respectively, the series featured as guest speakers journalists, politicians, authors, professors, and Vietnam veterans. A stage play, a full length film and a photo exhibit were also part of the series.

Various faculty and administrative advisory and policy making groups have been part of the University of Rhode Island's governance system since its inception as the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. The Faculty Jury, Faculty Council, Executive Council and Administrative Council were presidential advisory groups consisting of administrators and some faculty. The general faculty and the Faculty Senate represent the interests of the faculty.

The University of Rhode Island traces its roots to 1888 when a State Agricultural School was established at Kingston. In 1892 it became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. The name was changed to Rhode Island State College in 1909 and the University of Rhode Island in 1951.

In 1992, Jim Leslie, Vice President of Public Relations and Secretary of the University of Rhode Island Foundation Centennial proposed that a "coffee table book" about the University of Rhode Island be written to commemorate the centennial of the establishment of the institution. James Wheaton had volunteered to assist Mr. Leslie with this project. However, the book was never produced. A University of Rhode Island accounting professor, Dr. Richard G. Vangermeerch, become aware that the Images of America historical series was publishing books on various colleges and universities. (The Images of America is a series of books published by Arcadia Press, of pictorial and limited historical information on a variety of communities and institutions in the United States. For more information on the Images of America series visit www.arcadiaimages.com) With the knowledge of the existence of the Images books and the project proposed in 1992, Dr. Vangermeerch expressed renewed interest in the book project before a meeting of the Alumni Association.

In June of 1998, Mr. Wheaton, who had produced two books on Pawtucket for the Images of America series offered to co-author an historical book with Dr. Vangermeerch. Dr. Vangermeersch did all the historical research and arranged for duplication of materials. He worked in conjunction with Kevin Logan, Records Analyst in Special Collections and Archives, to collect and duplicate materials. With the exception of more contemporary information, almost all materials were gathered from printed and photographic material housed in the University Archives. Mr. Wheaton did the editing and layout work and wrote captions.

The book, University of Rhode Island, was published in 1999. A second printing was published with corrections in October 2000. However, this issue is not identified as a "second printing."