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. more

Sometimes, time off from work can generate the best business leads and ideas. more

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth will inaugurate Chancellor Divina Grossman at around 2 p.m. on Thursday, topped off by student appreciation and engagement events that will continue through the weekend. more

BOSTON – The University of Massachusetts board of trustees has approved a plan to spend $3.1 billion on new construction, renovations and other upgrades over the next five years that would help in part to fund a new academic building and repairs to four residence halls on the school’s Dartmouth campus. more

Tricia Rose, professor of Africana studies at Brown University, has been selected as the new director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, effective July 1. Rose will succeed Evelyn Hu-deHart, who has led the academic center since 2002, according to a release from Brown. more

PROVIDENCE – The effort to build a rock-climbing playground for Jamestown children got a push recently when the R.I. Department of Environmental Management awarded the project a $38,000 grant. more

NORTH KINGSTOWN – Brandaris Maritime, a local provider of marine-related educational-enrichment programs, has partnered with St. Mary’s Home for Children on the “SeaPerch” program, which equips students to build an underwater Remote Operated Vehicle. more

The University of Chicago paid James Madara $2.5 million in severance when he stepped down in 2009 as medical dean and hospital chief. Madara, who remained on the faculty, later joined the American Medical Association. more

Financed largely by a voter-approved $65 million bond in 2006, the University of Rhode Island opened the new home for the College of Pharmacy last week. Among those in attendance were URI President David M. Dooley (with scissors), and former URI president, Robert L. Carothers, standing behind U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin. more

JPMorgan Chase & Co. charges Mirella Tovar as much as 10.25 percent annual interest on her student loans – a rate as high as a credit card. more