Simonini came to һҹ����Ƶ because it was affordable. “I had mixed feelings initially,” she admits. “I wanted to get out of Rhode Island and thought doors had closed for me, although it was economical. Now I’m happy to be here.”

Simonini says that her һҹ����Ƶ classes challenged her and the extracurriculars helped her find a sense of self. “һҹ����Ƶ faculty instilled a sense of confidence in me,” she said.

In March the Cumberland resident learned that she received a prestigious which she’ll use to study and work in Greece in the year ahead, one of the most competitive Fulbright destination countries.

As Simonini’s previous travel experiences were confined to New England, the chance to spend a year in Greece is a dream come true, one that’s becoming more real as she works through her pre-departure checklist. For a student who didn’t think she could study abroad, to be selected to live and work in Greece is the perfect way to cap her һҹ����Ƶ career. Airfare, housing, and travel insurance are provided by Fulbright; she’ll even get a stipend for her time there.

To date, 47 һҹ����Ƶ students and alumni have been selected to receive Fulbright awards to conduct research, study, or teach English overseas. Simonini will serve as a at Athens College-Hellenic American Educational Foundation in Athens, helping students improve their English, reading and writing skills, while teaching them about American culture, traditions, and current events. She will also be tasked with serving as a coach and mentor to the school’s large Forensics Club, drawing upon her own background as a top high school debater.

Simonini will arrive in Greece with some teaching experience, having served as a residential academic mentor (RAM) for first-year students at һҹ����Ƶ. She started student-teaching in her first year at һҹ����Ƶ, and has served as a substitute teacher across Rhode Island, in every grade from preK to 12, and completed her student-teaching at Narragansett Elementary this spring. Faith will graduate summa cum laude in May, completing bachelor’s degrees in English and elementary education in only three years.

“Faith loves to interact and is comfortable speaking with people from diverse backgrounds and walks of life,” says of һҹ����Ƶ’s . “She will make a terrific representative of the United States.”

Early journeys

Before she ever left Rhode Island or applied for a passport, Simonini traveled, as many do, through books. As a child, she fell in love with Greek mythology. Her connection to contemporary Greece expanded when she arrived at һҹ����Ƶ and met one of her closest friends whose family emigrated here from the Mediterranean nation. Visiting with them, Simonini relished hearing stories of life in Greece today.

“We would sit outside, eat souvlaki, and listen to his mother’s stories,” Simonini says.

Now Simonini is taking her interest and appreciation and passion for Greek culture to the country itself, to experience it all firsthand.

After her Fulbright year, Simonini hopes to further her education by getting a master’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) to teach English-language learner students. She is interested in social justice in education.

A first grade classroom in Providence’s Silver Lake neighborhood was Simonini’s first placement for her first practicum experience in her first year at һҹ����Ƶ; she still thinks about the students she met there.

“I loved those kids,” she says. “I feel like kids in urban schools are often written off so early in life, as if they won’t succeed or they can’t have a quality school experience.”

Teaching students to communicate is the goal of all of her work.

“Language is the cornerstone of not only a thriving society, but an empowered individual,” Simonini says. “I am fortunate to have found a love for language at a very young age. That is why I have dedicated my life to sharing its beauty with others, instilling that love in children.”

Connections

A first-generation college student herself, Simonini believes that positive connections are one the most important aspects of education. During her practicum, she ate and talked with students on her lunch break and she’s looking forward to doing the same with students in Greece.

She says that teachers who noticed and helped her in her own school journey inspired her to try to be that kind of teacher for students coming after her.

Professor comments, “Students and learners positively respond to her clarity and authentically caring presence. Faith embodies our nation’s ideals of friendship, competence, harmony, equity, excellence, and a strong work ethic. She will do the U.S. proud.”

Fulbright awards are awarded to U.S. students as seniors, young alumni, or graduate students representing various areas of study. Those interested in applying for the next round of scholarships, or other scholarship/study programs, are encouraged to visit һҹ����Ƶ’s or contact Kathleen Maher (kmaher@uri.edu) for information.

This week, Christopher House received a new decoration – a 2024 Y HEROES award from the YMCA of Greater Providence that was presented to һҹ����Ƶ Greek Life for its generous support. Victoria Johnson ’24 and Nathan Goulart ‘25, leaders of the Panhellenic and Interfraternal Council that oversees һҹ����Ƶ’s Greek Life community, accepted the award Tuesday, May 14, at the YMCA 2024 Heroes Celebration at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick. 

“The Greater Providence YMCA is incredibly grateful to һҹ����Ƶ Greek Life for their above-and-beyond generosity, particularly in the last two years, to provide summer camp scholarships and other programming opportunities to youth in the communities we serve,” said Karen Santilli, the YMCA’s chief economic officer.

һҹ����Ƶ Greek Life donations totaling approximately $122,000 during the 2022-23 academic year benefited the YMCA’s annual fund, which enables support of its mission to ensure that every child and family—regardless of income or background—has the opportunity to lead a healthy, confident, and connective life at the Y. The annual fund supports scholarships and financial aid for such programs as after-school childcare, summer camp, and swim lessons.

“Being recognized for important work is huge for Greek Life,” said Goulart. “Greek Life does so many good things that go unnoticed. Our community – from individual students to chapter houses to our membership as a whole – spends countless hours raising money for good causes and doing philanthropy work. It’s nice to have that recognized.”

“This award means a lot,” added Johnson, president of the Panhellenic Association. “Students join Greek Life to get involved and what a great way to make an impact.”

Service is one of the core values of һҹ����Ƶ’s Greek Life, and students take that seriously, Johnson said. Each academic year, Philanthropy Week in the fall and Greek Week in the spring raise hundreds of thousands of dollars that go to good causes. In 2022-23 alone, the community raised more than $300,000, with donations going to six benefactors, including such causes as sexual assault and domestic abuse awareness, along with the YMCA. 

Along with events at least once a week, you can find sorority and fraternity students raising money through numerous smaller fundraisers – including donations directly from family and friends and smaller events such as hot chocolate and donut sales outside the Memorial Union. Individual chapter houses also do their own separate philanthropy. And students come together for service initiatives, such as building playhouses for families served by Habitat for Humanity or packing groceries for people in need. 

“Students enjoy giving back to the community,” said Johnson. “I think that’s definitely a big factor. And it’s also fun. You’re helping other people. It makes you feel good and makes the community feel good.”

“I’ve always been involved in community service,” said Goulart. “Last year, when I first joined the Interfraternity Council, my job was helping chapters raise money, helping them put on their philanthropy events and all these service projects, and picking the beneficiaries that we donated to. I just love giving back to the community.”

While fundraising is a big part of Philanthropy and Greek weeks, the events also serve as morale boosters for the students. And while events, such as dance contests or lip sync challenges, help students blow off steam, they also draw representatives of the charities to campus to serve as judges in the contests. 

Like many other students in Greek Life, Goulart and Johnson found community in their fraternity and sorority houses.

Johnson, a senior double-majoring in nursing and Spanish from Glastonbury, Connecticut, joined Sigma Kappa as a first-year student in fall 2020. The pandemic was at its peak, so she didn’t move into the sorority house until the following fall.

“My first semester, I lived in a residence hall but there was nothing to do,” she said. “So, I said, ‘Let me give it a shot.’ And I just met such great people. The women in my chapter are all so great and we all get each other, which is really nice.”

“This is my third year on the Panhellenic Council,” she added. “In this time I have grown a lot as a leader, and hope that I have bettered the Greek community.”  

Goulart, a environmental economics major from North Kingstown, wasn’t initially interested in joining a fraternity. But he joined Theta Chi his sophomore year after friends convinced him to attend some rush events.

“I just immediately connected with my chapter and the guys there and the beliefs they stood for,” said Goulart. “The whole journey of being in Greek Life is just becoming a better man at heart.”

He credits that journey with making him more self-reliant and mature through problem solving, critical thinking, and taking on the responsibility of looking out for 3,400 students as IFC president. 

When he was initiated into Theta Chi, he learned his great-uncle had been the president of the same chapter in the early 1960s. “It all just aligned,” he said.

һҹ����Ƶ the Greater Providence YMCA

GPYMCA includes six branch locations across Rhode Island and in Seekonk, Massachusetts, plus Providence Youth Services, Camp Fuller, and the Shooting Stars School of Dance in Seekonk. The organization provides programs for Rhode Islanders and Massachusetts residents of all ages and supports equitable access to health, fitness, recreational, and other services. In addition, GPYMCA supports high-quality out-of-school time programs and other community-based approaches to delivering health and wellness opportunities, academic enrichment and achievement, and youth development skills.

There are photos of the 193 Coffeehouse in the Memorial Union, his “home base,” where he was a barista and took part in poetry readings. There are also a lot of candids with friends.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to take in every last little moment,” said Heard, who graduates this week with bachelor’s degrees in English literature and political science. “I’ve brought my little old digital camera and I’ve been taking photos all the time, spending time with friends, and just trying to soak it all in.”

Heard, a Cranston native, transferred to һҹ����Ƶ from Syracuse University in spring 2022 to be closer to home. At һҹ����Ƶ, Heard, an avid potter since high school, has found little time to make mugs and bowls, or other functional pieces. But his other passions – writing, reading and research – have gotten a good workout. 

Along with being a blogger for һҹ����Ƶ Campus Recreation, Heard has expanded his scholarly writing at һҹ����Ƶ. He’s explored research projects on topics that have looked at the intersection of conspiracy thinking and the rise of authoritarianism, and people’s reaction to transgender inclusion in athletics. 

“I’m very invested in social justice issues and transformative justice issues and advocacy,” he said. “The research on trans athletics is very important to me because I’m transgender and I did sports all through high school. I wasn’t out as trans then but I know sports are helpful for mental health and for keeping kids in school.”

That independent study project with political science professor Emily Lynch gave him great experience, developing his own research questions and learning how to do a survey. It also earned him an invitation to the New England Political Science Association Conference.

Instrumental in helping him navigate һҹ����Ƶ and connect with people around campus has been philosophy and political science professor Cheryl Foster. Heard has taken two political theory classes with her, including a capstone class in which his final research project was selected by the department’s Curriculum Assessment Committee as emblematic of the highest level of student achievement.

“It was a very intense class, requiring a lot of reading in political philosophy every night,” said Heard, a Dean’s List student and member Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society. “But I had such great academic conversations with her. She really pushed me to explore things outside of class. It’s nice to have a teacher who is genuinely excited about your academic progress.”

“Milo has been the indisputable thought leader among his peers, offering nuanced yet inclusively framed insights about an impressive spectrum of political philosophers from the early Enlightenment forward,” said Foster. “He is nothing if not inventive, as capable of lighthearted originality as incisive interpretations.”

While Heard is chronicling his recent past at һҹ����Ƶ, he is ready to get out into the world and explore. 

Specifically, Heard is eager to start on new research – the history of LGBTQ+ activism. The project is being supported by a grant from the Michael P. Metcalf Memorial Fund and Christine T. Grinavic Adventurer’s Fund, which are administered by the Rhode Island Foundation. The grant will help him travel to San Francisco to explore the Dr. John P. De Cecco Archives and Special Collections of the GLBT Historical Society, one of the largest holdings in the world of materials pertaining to LGBTQ people.

Heard’s interests are in community organizing and the preservation of archival materials – along with the impact of the AIDS epidemic on oral storytelling and preserved knowledge.

“I strongly feel that my generation has lost some of that information and history of queer organizing because we’ve lost so many people to the AIDS epidemic,” he said. “There’s so much incredible organizing that happened during that era.”

Eventually, he would like to create a similar archive in Rhode Island, including looking into the history of the 193 Coffeehouse, which was established in the 1990s by gay and lesbian activists. “There are queer organizers in Rhode Island whose work is important,” he said. “Who’s documenting that?”

Eventually, Heard plans to return to school to pursue a Master of Library and Information Studies, which would allow him to combine his interests in reading, writing and research.

“I want to be someone who can make a difference in a community and I think librarians do that,” said Heard. “Libraries are incredible resources for people. I’ve gone to the library my entire life and there are amazing things you can find if you work with a librarian. They’re so dedicated.” 

That’s what a new paper published by the һҹ����Ƶ’s (GSO) reports — news, recently uncovered, that is both surprising and concerning.

Analyzing the full time series of the bay, the research team found that phytoplankton biomass in Narragansett Bay declined by a stunning 49% from 1968 to 2019. The intensity of the winter-spring bloom, which starts the annual cycle of productivity in the Bay, decreased over time and is also occurring earlier each year.

һҹ����Ƶ’s new study in (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) shares information from series in the world. The subject of study is not only a destination for generations of Rhode Islanders and tourists but a fruitful site of research for oceanographers at һҹ����Ƶ’s Narragansett Bay Campus.

“A lot of people live, work and play on the shores of Narragansett Bay,” Oceanography Professor says, providing key goods and services for the nearly 2 million people who inhabit its watershed. Even in the dense Northeast, Narragansett Bay stands out as a well-used body of water. The bay sits between regions of cold winters and warm summers, Arctic waters to the north and warm waters to the south, existing at a bit of a scientific sweet spot that offers researchers a dynamic environment to study.

At the Bay Campus, Rynearson and colleagues have been looking closely at changes to phytoplankton in the bay. Their new study represents the first such study of Narragansett Bay, offering a baseline look at changes occurring there since 1957.

Much has changed around the bay since then, and in it, too.

Rynearson has directed the Narragansett Bay Long-Term Plankton Time Series since 2008. Years of accumulated data existed on paper in a locked storage room. Digitizing those files (pre-1997) was a longstanding goal of hers, and so she and her team transferred those data snapshots of Narragansett Bay from the analog 1960s through the ’90s, eventually gaining a complete dataset of long-term information on the bay.

“There’s so much value in this one-of-a-kind data, which had been sitting in holding over the decades,” she says. “Now we have all this beautiful data in a form we can better access and share with the world.”

Rynearson credits lead author and former һҹ����Ƶ postdoctoral fellow Patricia Thibodeau (now at the University of New England) with bringing the data backlog into the digital age, a painstaking process that took almost a year. Once fully digitized, it was time to assess the results, with collaborator in һҹ����Ƶ’s Department of Computer Science and Statistics.

They shared their results with David Borkman (Ph.D. ’02) at Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management, who collected study samples when he was a student and later post-doc at һҹ����Ƶ. Borkman is now the principal environmental scientist in shellfish water quality at DEM, conducting water analysis for the state.

“The plankton time series is extremely valuable,” he says.

The time series provides useful context on phytoplankton abundance and community composition during a period of climate change and nutrient change in Narragansett Bay. Borkman notes that this long-term phytoplankton information is especially useful when unusual events occur, like the 1985 ‘brown tide’, occasional summer ‘rust tides’, and the 2016-2017 bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia, a type of phytoplankton that can cause harmful algal blooms (HABs). The weekly observations of bay phytoplankton are thus an important component of Rhode Island’s efforts to monitor HABs. 

Phytoplankton plummeting — and blooming earlier

‘Primary producers’ in the marine environment, phytoplankton are small in size but big in impact, fueling local food webs, indicating environmental quality and pointing toward climate trends. The local declines mirror those observed elsewhere in the Gulf of Maine, Australian coast and Black Sea.

One possible silver lining is that variability in phytoplankton biomass may point to resilience in the face of climate change. Researchers hope to examine such trends further, highlighting the need to sustain such marine time series in coming decades.

Rynearson is looking forward to sharing the new research with the scientific community, as well as the public; she describes the impact and importance of phytoplankton by asking a visitor to picture the microscopic organisms like grass on the African savannah. All the animals rely on the grass, she says. Similarly, phytoplankton are key to the survival of all of the organisms in the bay.

“Phytoplankton are a key food source,” she says, “so this decrease we’re seeing is important.”

The winter-spring phytoplankton bloom kicks it all off early in the year, the start of the annual feeding cycle in the bay. The bloom provides nutrients to many animals, including those coming out of hibernation. Now researchers can also see that the bloom is happening five days earlier every decade.

“This event has a big impact,” Rynearson says, “and its timing is important; changes in the ecosystem are very delicate. Everything acts in concert.”

As the timing launches a process of energy transfer through the food web, what could a potential mismatch mean?

Rynearson isn’t sure, noting that the first step is to understand what’s happening at the base of the food web; next will be to see how it tracks and what’s causing these changes.

The time series’ weekly data results are communicated to GSO and beyond, provided free to two dozen partners across the state at DEM, the Narragansett Bay Commission, nonprofit agencies and interested academic and government partners.

“This data is of interest to time series studies all over the world,” Rynearson says. “And now that we have information on the status of the phytoplankton at the bottom of the food web, we can set goals for collecting more information across the entire food web, while there is time to influence it.”

“People at һҹ����Ƶ are aware of and the importance of funding them over time,” Rynearson says. “There’s so much we can do with this data. GSO’s commitment to the time series is invaluable for many reasons, including һҹ����Ƶ student training.”

And the time series continues each Monday morning, at 7 a.m., when the R/V Cap’n Bert heads out. A 53-foot stern trawler operated by һҹ����Ƶ’s Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, the Cap’n Bert sails out of Wickford Harbor weekly to capture the newest data point on the bay.

“We want this data from the bay to help tell the story of Narragansett Bay and be read by people in and around Rhode Island, the bay and beyond,” Rynearson says. “We want to get people interested. With more people knowledgeable, it’s possible to make a difference.”

This research is supported by the National Science Foundation and Rhode Island Sea Grant. To learn more, visit

һҹ����Ƶ will honor graduates during .

The University will confer honorary degrees upon Viola Davis, one of only 19 people to have won all four of the major American performing arts awards; and Charles M. Royce and Deborah Goodrich Royce, noted for their literary and investment success and preservation work in Rhode Island. They will be honored at the University’s College of Arts and Sciences ceremony Saturday, May 18, at 10 a.m. Davis will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters, and the Royces will be awarded honorary Doctors of Humane Letters.

Here’s what else you should know about this year’s Commencement:

Spring 2024 Commencement schedule

Friday, May 17
11 a.m., College of Business
3 p.m., College of Pharmacy

Saturday, May 18
10 a.m., College of Arts and Sciences
3 p.m., College of Nursing
6 p.m., College of Engineering

Sunday, May 19
9 a.m., College of Health Sciences
2 p.m., Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education
5 p.m., College of the Environment and Life Sciences and Graduate School of Oceanography

How many students will graduate this weekend?

This weekend, һҹ����Ƶ will confer 4,762 degrees (3,980 undergraduate and 782 graduate degrees) upon 4,169 graduates. (Some students will earn multiple degrees.)

What are their ages?

Students range in age from 19 to 68. һҹ����Ƶ’s oldest and youngest undergraduate students to receive degrees are 62 and 19, respectively. Among graduate students, the youngest student to be awarded a graduate degree is 21, while the oldest is 68.

Where are the graduates from?

һҹ����Ƶ students come from all over the United States and the globe – representing 43 states and 32 countries.

Among the undergraduates, about 58% are from Rhode Island, 17% are from Massachusetts; and about 12% are from Connecticut.

Among graduate degree recipients, about 54% are from Rhode Island; and about 10% are from Massachusetts. 

Who are the student speakers?

This year, there will be eight student speakers representing the schools and colleges: Jaylyn De Leon, Victoria Fulfer, Melany Feliz Garcia, Jacob Iacobucci, Jordan May, Sarah Mayer, Emma Simas, and Victoria Wrage. 

What else can you tell me about the graduating class?

The University will graduate 47 military veterans this year – 33 undergraduates and 14 graduate students.

The Class of 2024 also includes 14 sets of twins and one mother/son pair.

 Can I watch the ceremony online?

The University will offer live broadcasts of all ceremonies .

Members of the media who are scheduled to cover the event should be in touch with Dave Lavallee at һҹ����Ƶ Communications and Marketing, no later than Thursday, May 16, at 3 p.m. Credentials will be needed to enter the Ryan Center.

Effective May 7, the University has updated its policy on Hazardous Materials and Laboratory Move-Ins and Cleanouts.

Hazardous Materials and Laboratory Move-Ins and Cleanouts

As of May 7, 2024, the University has updated its policy on . This policy establishes safe procedures for vacating or setting up laboratory spaces containing chemical, biological, or radiological materials. The new required notification period prior for laboratory transitions and associated cleanouts is four weeks.