University of Rhode Island - Renaissance / Grist Yearbook (Kingston, RI)

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University of Rhode Island. Kingston. R. I. 02881 Office of the President. 401-792-2444 To the Graduating Class of 1983: Often, as I walk across the quadrangle in the early spring evenings on the way home from the office, I am struck by the same sequence of thoughts. First, I am struck by the peacefulness and beauty of the campus — so different from the bustle at ten minutes to eleven — when the quadrangle is crawling with students as classes change. In the evening there is a different air. When it is crowded there is an air of excitement, of purpose that is gratifying. But the loveliness of the campus — with the pathways cleared and the benches emptied of their earnest duos — has a captivating, though gentle spirit. It seems a reminder that the life of the mind requires tranquility on occasion more than activity. These thoughts usually lead, in turn, to a realization of the timelessness of the University. We laugh over the old fashioned clothes and stilted poses in those black and white photographs of students in 1911 or 1932, but beneath those surfaces they seem fundamentally the same as students now. They went to class, worried about their careers, did not write home enough, talked to each other until the early morning. In a time of confusion over public purposes, it gives one a sense of security to realize that universities, while they appear fragile, are in truth some of the most durable of institutions. I would bet that the University of Rhode Island will be a going concern in the year 2000 sooner than I would bet on General Motors. Inevitably, this in turn leads me to the next thought — durable, yes, but constantly changing as well. How little the granite exteriors of the buildings reveal the tremendous changes inside. Passing Pastore Hall, I fall to thinking about the graduate students I watched, proudly displaying the latest in sophisticated instrumentation, and without quite intending to, revealing their own sophistication as well. Before long my memory cells pour out a mass of images: spectrophotometers, electron microscopes, computers big and small. But wait, the old brain says, there is stability as well. We are still teaching History and English and Philosophy. If anything, there is more emphasis on the centrality of these subjects and of the need for a liberal education than at any time in the last thirty years. Yes, but these subjects are changing in their own ways. Suddenly, I am reminded of all those Faculty Senate debates on the curriculum. Fortunately, there is just time as I turn toward the graceful white house which serves as the President ' s residence, to realize that the Senate debates, as important as they are, the budgets and meetings, and meetings and budgets, are not the entral parts of this grand old place. The central parts are the students — bright, cheerful, confused learning, struggling — but inevitably optimistic ... the faculty and staff — hard working, knowledgeable and caring deeply about the world of the University and the world beyond . . . and the ever-present beauty of the campus. Graduation is almost here. It is hard to think of leaving this institution. My love for it runs deeper than I have realized. Frank Newman, President President ' s Message 11

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STUDENT LIFE 13