SOUTH KINGSTOWN – A recent $1 million gift will advance efforts to upgrade facilities at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography.
Stephen M. Greenlee, a 1982 URI graduate, and Donna Church Greenlee made the gift to support detailed development efforts to expand research and teaching capacity, according to a URI news release.
The Greenlee Family GSO Campus Redevelopment Fund will support construction on the Narragansett Bay campus. The Greenlees said they hope to inspire interest in and support of oceanographic research.
The gift follows a $45 million bond issue approved in November for the School of Oceanography to improve research capabilities and to prepare for a new research vessel slated to arrive in 2021. In July 2018, the National Science Foundation awarded the vessel – one of just three in the nation – to the East Coast Oceanographic Consortium led by URI.
“Donna and I feel that our investment in GSO’s Bay Campus renewal will help to ensure that their mission of research, education and outreach can be fulfilled well into the future,” Stephen Greenlee said. “We believe strongly in GSO’s capacity to impact our knowledge of the world’s oceans and help solve critical challenges in this area.”
Bruce Corliss, dean of the school, will oversee use of the funds in coordination with the upgrades financed by the bond issue.
“We are grateful for the Greenlees’ confidence in our work, particularly at this key moment for the school,” said Corliss. “Their gift will expand the possibilities for our faculty, researchers and students.”
Stephen Greenlee is a geoscientist and president of the ExxonMobil Exploration Co. He is a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. He earned a master’s degree in oceanography at URI after getting a bachelor’s degree in geology at Duke University. Donna Church Greenlee, originally from Portsmouth, worked as a geophysicist at ExxonMobil and Kerr-McGee Corp. The Greenlees live near Houston, Texas.
William Hamilton is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Hamilton@PBN.com.
