Carnival cruise vice-chairman to offer advice for cruise travel in URI web chat, Dec. 12

KINGSTON, R.I. – November 27, 2006 – Howard Frank, vice chairman and chief operating officer for cruise line Carnival Corp. will answer questions about cruising in a University of Rhode Island online chat on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.


Cruises have been growing in popularity for people of all ages and interests. Frank will answer a wide range of questions about sailing the seven seas, including the latest trends in cruise travel, how best to plan a cruise, and how to get the most from the experience.


After graduating from URI in 1962 with an accounting degree, Frank worked for Price Waterhouse in New York and Miami, becoming a partner in 1975. He joined Carnival Corp. in 1989 and has been the vice chairman and chief operating officer since 1998. He was inducted into the URI College of Business Hall of Fame in 2000, and is an honorary member of the College’s Advisory Council.


A service of the URI Division of University Advancement’s electronic communications program, online chats are free and open to the public and are accessible through the URI website.


To enter the chat, go http://advance.uri.edu/chats for instructions. Participants may submit questions in advance, but the chat will not begin until the scheduled date and time. Thirty minutes is the total time allotted for the chat. A full transcript will be posted to the University’s website once the chat has been completed. Questions about web chats should be directed to the URI Publications Office at 401-874-2075.


URI’s online chats, which began in September 2004, have featured question-and-answer sessions with such alumni as Tom Mulligan, Los Angeles Times senior correspondent discussing the Iraq war, and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ross Kaufman talking about the making of Born into Brothels, as well as with URI administrators, faculty and coaches.


The chats are made possible through the cooperation of the URI Athletics Department and College Sports Online, hosts of the GoRhody.com web site.