Success of graduates helping to build pride in URI

COURTESY URI/NORA LEWIS
ADVANCED THINKING: Bob Beagle, recently retired vice president of university advancement at URI, says that in the absence of exorbitant budgets, the school has had to rely on fundraising efforts.
COURTESY URI/NORA LEWIS ADVANCED THINKING: Bob Beagle, recently retired vice president of university advancement at URI, says that in the absence of exorbitant budgets, the school has had to rely on fundraising efforts.

When Bob Beagle, recently retired vice president for university advancement at the University of Rhode Island, came to the school in the early 1990s, the national banking crisis had left the state in fiscal disarray.
Undeterred, he began the university’s first-ever capital campaign, ultimately raising $17 million more than its $50 million goal and, over the years spearheaded fundraising that has brought in more than $150 million for various campaigns despite a series of national economic slumps.
He also essentially established the school’s alumni-relations program, including overhauling its programming, publications and marketing and communications to the current “Think Big. We Do.” URI brand in an effort to boost school pride.
Beagle retired June 30, but won’t be completely absent from campus. He plans to teach within the Harrington School of Communication and Media.

PBN: You went to school for political science but ended up in higher education advancement. How did that happen?
BEAGLE: I was always very interested in politics. … Like a typical college student, I didn’t have a particular game plan and gave a lot of thought to maybe law school but the answer was no. I ended up going to graduate school and had two job offers – either to become a professional in Boy Scouting or to teach and coach college debate at Penn State. Then I became head debate coach at Edinboro University (in Edinboro, Pa.) and then got a job as executive assistant to the president, then moved to university advancement. By going into administration, I could get to do a lot of the things I thought I would do.
PBN: What made you well-suited for this career? Why not finish the Ph.D. and stay in teaching?
BEAGLE: I think I was anxious to be doing rather than teaching. That’s not a put-down on teaching, because I still occasionally teach. I think it was my background in politics, government and communication that had a practical application. My whole career has been on the external-affairs side. I absolutely love campaigns, whether it is political or fundraising, which is an offshoot of my interest in politics. PBN: What are you most proud of from your time at URI?
BEAGLE: I think the fact that we – I don’t mean just me – built an advancement program, that we were able to build a program that was very comprehensive and I think very successful. We were able to take it from scratch. Then, the [Thomas M.] Ryan Center because everybody said URI can’t raise money for buildings.

PBN: Does getting alumni involved in campaigns really start while they’re students, in terms of instilling pride?
BEAGLE: I think one of the advantages, historically, that private schools have had over public schools is that they have a culture of philanthropy that starts with students. That tends to happen because they’re smaller. Traditionally, public institutions have not been good about building cultures of philanthropy. It’s also true that if the undergrads don’t have a great experience, they’re not going to be donors. It’s very important that they have pride in their degree and experience. We’ve put a lot of attention on showcasing the achievements of our alumni. … URI historically [has had] students who didn’t start out with advantages in life and you can say to current students, look at what they were able to do because they have a URI degree. That helps build pride.

PBN: How have you run such successful campaigns during down economic times?
BEAGLE: At URI we’ve never had the kind of budget and resources to do this that you’d probably have at other schools. One thing is getting good people and being smart enough to let them do their jobs. I’m a great believer in teamwork. Part of the success is that even though URI had no history of fundraising campaigns we found that URI alumni really have a passion about the place. I like to create and build, personally. And I love campaigns. It’s really been all about the people – the alumni feeling passionate and being proud of the place. PBN: You say you’re a creator who needs new projects after a few years. But you’ve stayed at URI for 21 years. How did that happen?
BEAGLE: That’s a good question because along the way I’ve had a number of very attractive offers to go elsewhere. It’s a combination. I really like the people here and I really like the university’s alumni and I have, over the years, formed a lot of personal friendships with people I would meet and work with. I said I always need something new to do. I always had something new to do here. Every time I thought, ‘I could leave now’ a new challenge [came along]. It’s also a pretty nice place to live.

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PBN: So then why is now the right time for you to retire?
BEAGLE: If you add up all the years, I’ve been either an executive assistant to a president or a vice president for almost 35 years. I’ve done enough. I’m 68 years old and [these] are 24-7 jobs. … It’s an opportunity to spend more time with my grandchildren and I love to read and I don’t get a chance to read much in this job besides [professional requirements].

PBN: Any big plans set for all that free time?
BEAGLE: In September, I’m going to teach a course [here] that I’m creating, called communication and leadership in a nonprofit world. I like being with students even though I left the classroom decades and decades ago. We have a lot of students who graduate URI and get jobs in the nonprofit world and we don’t really have any courses here that teach them that type of stuff – marketing, fundraising, board relationships. •

INTERVIEW
Bob Beagle
POSITION: Vice president, university advancement, University of Rhode Island (retired)
BACKGROUND: Beagle has had a 45-year career in higher education, first as a professor of debate and persuasion, before moving into academic advancement. At URI for the past 21 years, he has been credited, as the university’s longest-serving vice president, with establishing its alumni network, capital campaigns and enabling the university to raise the private-funds portion of the $54 million Thomas M. Ryan Center, an 8,000-seat sporting-and-entertainment complex, in 2002. He retired from his post on June 30.
EDUCATION: Bachelor of arts in political science, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., 1965; master of arts in communication, Pennsylvania State University, 1967; doctoral studies completed at PSU in mid-1970s (no dissertation completed)
FIRST JOB: Boy Scout camp counselor
RESIDENCE: Wakefield
AGE: 68

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