One of University of Rhode Island President David M. Dooley’s goals is to make URI a larger player nationally in game-changing research. The payoffs for success in that realm reach far beyond a higher profile for the school, its faculty and administration.
The end result, Mr. Dooley has said on a number of occasions, is the fulfillment of a state land-grant university’s mission, which includes, he says, improving the economic well-being of the state.
A crowning example of the potential of this approach is the more than $20 million in National Institutes of Health grants that Dr. Alan L. Rothman has garnered for his groundbreaking research on dengue fever.
As historic as the grants are – they represent the largest amount pulled into URI by a single researcher – they represent something much larger. Dr. Rothman’s success in attracting major federal grants shows the scientific world that serious science can take place here and is likely to attract other similarly accomplished faculty, something the entire state will benefit from. •