KINGSTON VILLAGE – The University of Rhode Island’s College of Nursing today announced that a new faculty chair has been established, through a $500,000 gift from the E.J. and V.M. Routhier Foundation.
Dayle Joseph, the dean of nursing, said during a ceremony today at URI’s White Hall that Lynne M. Dunphy – whom Joseph described as a renowned professor, researcher and practitioner – has been selected as the first holder of Routhier Chair of Practice.
Dunphy joined URI in September. She has been focusing on primary care and work force issues, as part of a college effort targeting the multifaceted nursing crisis.
The Routhier Foundation’s gift – part of URI’s Making a Difference Campaign – was the result of talks involving the nursing program’s Joseph; URI President Robert L. Carothers; the Rhode Island Foundation, which manages the Routhier Foundation; Paul Witham, URI’s associate vice president for development; and Jack Warner, the state commissioner of higher education, the university said.
Initially, the foundation is to provide $100,000 per year for five years to support the chair, URI said. The Routhier Chair will be funded beyond that time “if the mutual goals of the foundation and the university are met,” the university said in its announcement.
