In support of Dr. Carothers
The measure of this man should not be in his interpersonal relationships or political standing with members of the Board of Governors for Higher Education, but whether the University of Rhode Island is a better place today than it was eight years ago when he became the school’s president. What Dr. Robert L. Carothers may be guilty of is being overzealous in vocalizing his support for the university that he has guided for nearly a decade. But what he is also guilty of is raising the academic standards at URI, increasing the university’s visibility, engineering the first major capital campaign in the university’s history, attracting top quality faculty and deans to the university, being steadfast in his determination to improve the university’s infrastructure, and being unafraid to confront campus issues, whether it is between the university and state legislature or among student groups.
Dr. Carothers is up for review before the Board and in an exchange of correspondence there has been some question whether the board will renew his contract. Dr. Carothers, after a substantive cut in his budget request, was vocal in his disappointment and critical of the board’s role in obtaining adequate funds for URI. The friction that evolved led one board member to publicly maintain that Dr. Carothers has treated the board “like it’s an inconvenience for him.”
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To the contrary. While there may have been some disagreements over particular issues, Dr. Carothers has been the board’s greatest advocate when it has come to educational bond issues, criss-crossing the state, meeting with constituencies and editorial boards to promote the board’s position.
When Dr. Carothers came to URI from Minnesota his first priority was to review various academic programs, making substantive changes in some to increase the academic credibility and excellence of the university. He succeeded. The result is that admission standards are now much higher than when he first arrived.
When the Board of Governors conducts its review of Dr. Carothers, we hope it will put the friction and politics aside and measure this man by the progress that URI has made during his tenure–accept and applaud his advocacy of an institution that is more representative of our state than any other single institution or organization within our borders.
The University of Rhode Island is our marquee and we want as its standard bearer someone with the courage to speak out in support of it, with a commitment to academic excellence, and with an appreciation for our community.
Looking beyond the mall
It’s time now to deal with the whole of downtown Providence, not just the few square blocks of Waterplace Park, Providence Place, the Convention Center and surrounding area.
We’ve invested our money, our energy and our hopes on a Providence Renaissance that has captured the attention of many throughout this nation. But we’ve created this renaissance in an area that really only encompasses a few square blocks downtown, not really even in the heart of downtown.
Within a five minute walk of the renaissance, we find beautiful historic structures that are decaying, vacant store fronts, littered streets, and homeless individuals who have lost purpose and meaning in their lives. It’s time to turn our attention from the Renaissance to the revitalization of a downtown that can only complement that which we have most recently created.
And it is not just government that needs to be involved. Times Square in New York is a great example of how government and private businesses can work together to clean up an area, while restoring beautiful structures, and building new ones. They did it with an organization of businesses that supplemented city services such as additional security forces and garbage collection. The result is an area that now attracts families, instead of hookers and drug dealers.
We can do the same. What has been accomplished is remarkable; now let’s attract these thousands of new visitors into a different downtown, where they can discover a flourishing arts district, architecture and history and a business community that is thriving because of it.
